edwinwalke

[quote=NoFoolyn;4788991]Nice surprise to hear from Carsy ( Howdy mate ) and the Listerone in the Nutmeg State ( ie Connecticut ).

(1) Thank U Carsy .... good news that so many more oils meet the M-B spec 229.51. I'll check it out. I saw a FLEECE filter for M-B (Fram brand ) listed on website site oil seller, for 11. I have to go to M-B dealer to buy new M-B floor mats, tomorrow, so I'll ask 'em what they get for Mobil 1 ESP 5W-40, and the oil burner fleece oil filter.

I don't think the Diesel filter is fleece. Check it at the dealer. The one on my 06 E320 CDI is not.

listerone

While I had my BMW "d" I took it once to the dealership for an oil top-off (BMW has "free" maintenence).I stayed with the car and discovered that the kid came over with a quart of non-diesel-approved oil.Only after I chastised him did he return with the right stuff.

fatherhood

NoFoolyn hope you have better luck than me. The transmission on mine is driving my crazy. Rough shifting in the first 3 gears, way too much engine breaking, and thanks to the latest and greatest transmission and engine software updates I now no longer have "C/S" modes. (The indicator still switches on the dash when you press the button but there's no difference in the shifting pattern and the car now always starts from 1st gear from a dead stop.) The issue remains unresolved after several dealer visits. The dealer now wants to replace the valve body, I'm outside the warranty period meaning there's a $1k+ bill in my future. Judging from others in this forum even that won't necessarily fix it, meaning I might have to get a whole new transmission. Hope it doesn't come to that.

Aside from the transmission I love every thing about the car, with the possible exception of the comand/navigation system.

Like I said hope you have better luck, there seem to be lots of happy owners out there and I would be one of them if it wasn't for the transmission issue.

Carsy

Fatherhood,

I wondered ,how many miles has the car done & whether the trans has had the oil flushed ?

From memory the 7 speed is supposed to be serviced at 39,000 km .

MB say the 5 speed is OK for life but all MB mechanics say to change the oil at 39,000 miles ( 60,000 km) also.

fatherhood

As a matter a fact I did have the fluid flushed and filter changed very recently at about 45K miles, cost a bloody fortune. I don't know if it was ever changed before that since I got the car with 40K miles on it. Initially that made things, especially the harsh shifting, much worse until the adaptations took hold and now it's back to were it was before. Now I'm wondering if they're going to charge me for the fluids again when they change the valve body.

Just today I got perhaps a taste of what's coming this winter. Twice I unintentionally peeled out turning onto a busy road to merge with rush hour traffic. Had this been a snowy road I would have been dead in the water even with snow tires. Having a high torque rear wheel drive car with no "winter mode" is insanity. The trick to driving in the snow is smoothness, no big sudden inputs.

Carsy

I hope they used the correct oil .ie Mobil AFT 134, Shell AFT 134 ,Fuchs Titan AFT 134.Did you receive a report on what the pan looked like & filter condition? ie much wear material.A Mercedes workshop no doubt would.

Do you have a good independent European auto GB specialist nearby ?

If you look on the W 203 forum search engine in MB World you will see some info on changing valve bodys ect.

Good luck with it & let us know how you go.

fatherhood

I had the transmission flush performed by an independent guy who works primarily on MBs. I inspected the filter myself, I work for an automotive filter media manufacturer so I was interested. The filter looked clean, well it wasn't caked with metal filings, and the magnet in the housing was also clean according to the mechanic.
I trust for the price per quart I was charged he used the right fluid, but I can't put my hands on the service receipt at this time. This guy is very particular about fluids, he always uses some German synthetic engine oil instead of Mobil-1. In talking to him I came away with the impression that he was not entirely comfortable with everything related to changing the valve body. specifically he various SW updates. That's why I am concerned about being charged again for the fluids if I have to go to the stealership.
Diesel Benzes are rare birds around these parts so there's not a deep repository of knowledge regarding the vagueries of Bluetec automatic transmissions. For example it took three visits to the dealer to find out about the "C/S" button disablement.

Carsy

Good news regarding the possible wear .

Obviously you need some top technical advive regarding symptoms.

A few phone calls to capital city dealerships may be worthwhile.

Here is a tread from the 203 forum https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-2nd-gear.html

Good luck. Keep with it. You will win in the end.

fatherhood

Mmm, top technical advise is not what I've been getting so far. When you say "capital city dealerships" I assume that your talking about "major" city dealerships.
I have talked to other dealerships and I get "we can't give an answer without looking at the car first" type answer. Meaning take a day off from work and pay us $150 to get an answer.
Thanks for the link of the thread. I've read many threads on this forum and others. There are definitely issues with the 7G transmission regarding the shifting issues, with no clear single issue resolving them.

Off topic, what is behind your C in your avatar? It looks like a trailer. In this country, USA, only the MB light trucks, ML, GL, R, and G our allowed to tow anything. Some sort of liability issue because the same is true for almost all manufactures.

Carsy

Fatherhood,

Yes, its a trailer of about 1 ton of cow manurefor the vegies.I think the unbraked legal load for the car is about 700kg . I am amazed at how well the car handles this load. Very stable & with 400 Nm of torque you hardly know it's there.

Good luck with the gear box. I remember reading that the 7 speed has a memory of the way it is driven . This can be reset.

There are some very good technical minds on the 203 forum which may be able to diagnose your problem. I suggest leaving a post there explaining your problem.

NoFoolyn

I was out of pocket for a few weeks and thought I'd check in again.

Hello Carsy and Gang.

Fatherland ... I bought my '07 E320 Bluetec with 54K miles about 3 weeks ago. The MB dealer I use ( Shrewsbury, MA ... 35 miles west of Boston ) did some earlier warranty work on my car.. The trans was ONLY TIME NEEDED serviced at 43K miles ( 40K is the callout ) then U leave it alone for life of car. So says the "official" maintenance schedule

I bought car from a local "legal" VW dealer, and it still has 30 + days left on limited ( 60 day ) warranty. In both C and S ( comfort and sport ) settings, the 7G-Tronic starts in 1st gear, and has same shift pattern. So, I'd better get my sorry *** to MB dealer to see if I have a "warranty claim" with VW dealer. THAT should be interesting. VW dealer "tried" but put wrong diesel oil in car when they serviced it for resale. I had MB dealer use the right stuff ... in BULK, they charged less than internet sellers of Mobil 1 EPS M5W-40. So I really don't want VW guys playing with 7G trans ..

This MB dealer seems familiar with the car and tech stuff....FOR YOU, I will ask them about the abrupt shifting issue in first 3 gears. I will send U a private e-mail via MBWorld, and will also post it on this thread. Give me a week.

Stay Well To All >> NoFoolyn

zemun1234

Somebody was so desperate to replace MB for VW

NoFoolyn

Nah ... the VW dealer told me this guy has 2 other MB's, and he traded in the Bluetec for a new VW as gift to his daughter who is going off to college. Nice Dad.. he must have liked the Bluetec, he sure took good care of it visually.