'01 E320 transmission slips out of gear after 5 mins... toast?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 129
Likes: 3
From: Pacific Palisades, CA & Sherman Oaks, CA (work)
2012 E350 coupe Black/Almond, 61k miles in 2020
'01 E320 transmission slips out of gear after 5 mins... toast?
I think my transmission is toast, but would appreciate your thoughts on it --
First, it has 186,000 miles, and was serviced per MB specs at 100,000 miles, which was about seven years ago.
About a month ago, I noticed that sometimes when I floor the gas pedal, the engine would rev but it didn't seem like the car responded correctly. Hmmm.
About a week ago, this happened a couple of times and then I knew something wasn't right.
On Wednesday, it happened a couple of times and this time I noticed a high pitch whir noise when I pushed the pedal hard, but the car barely responded ... even when the RPM went up as expected.
On Thursday, the whir noise was really noticeable, and after a couple of minutes, the car slipped out of gear while going about 40 mph on flat ground. The Check Engine light came on. I pulled over, waited a minute, and restarted the car and drove about 30mph for a minute. Then I got to a very mild hill, pushed the gas more, and the car started slowing down, and after about ten seconds, the cars slipped out of gear. I pulled to the side, waited a minute, and restarted the car, and after getting up to about 20 mph, it slipped out of gear again... and I was stuck.
AAA towed me to the mechanic at the 76 gas station, who said it sure sounded like a shot transmission and that I'd be better off towing it to the MB dealer. I waited an hour, test drove it out of the gas station lot, babied it, and it slipped out of gear again after about a minute. This time I let it rest for another hour, and was able to baby it home.
About three hours later, I drove it around the block, and on the way back, a small hill, it started to get sluggish again. I creeped home.
This morning, with the trinity completely cold, I drove it and it did respond to a measured gas pedal push to the floor, up to 50 mph. The check engine light is still on. I called my service guy at the MB dealer, described the above, and he said he was 95% sure that the tranny is shot.
If I am able to drive it to the MB dealer, which is a 15 minute drive, I'd get the codes checked... but not sure I can get there without the car slipping out of gear.
In your opinion, am I describing a shot transmission that needs to be rebuilt? Could anything else describe why a tranny would slip out of gear when put under load?
First, it has 186,000 miles, and was serviced per MB specs at 100,000 miles, which was about seven years ago.
About a month ago, I noticed that sometimes when I floor the gas pedal, the engine would rev but it didn't seem like the car responded correctly. Hmmm.
About a week ago, this happened a couple of times and then I knew something wasn't right.
On Wednesday, it happened a couple of times and this time I noticed a high pitch whir noise when I pushed the pedal hard, but the car barely responded ... even when the RPM went up as expected.
On Thursday, the whir noise was really noticeable, and after a couple of minutes, the car slipped out of gear while going about 40 mph on flat ground. The Check Engine light came on. I pulled over, waited a minute, and restarted the car and drove about 30mph for a minute. Then I got to a very mild hill, pushed the gas more, and the car started slowing down, and after about ten seconds, the cars slipped out of gear. I pulled to the side, waited a minute, and restarted the car, and after getting up to about 20 mph, it slipped out of gear again... and I was stuck.
AAA towed me to the mechanic at the 76 gas station, who said it sure sounded like a shot transmission and that I'd be better off towing it to the MB dealer. I waited an hour, test drove it out of the gas station lot, babied it, and it slipped out of gear again after about a minute. This time I let it rest for another hour, and was able to baby it home.
About three hours later, I drove it around the block, and on the way back, a small hill, it started to get sluggish again. I creeped home.
This morning, with the trinity completely cold, I drove it and it did respond to a measured gas pedal push to the floor, up to 50 mph. The check engine light is still on. I called my service guy at the MB dealer, described the above, and he said he was 95% sure that the tranny is shot.
If I am able to drive it to the MB dealer, which is a 15 minute drive, I'd get the codes checked... but not sure I can get there without the car slipping out of gear.
In your opinion, am I describing a shot transmission that needs to be rebuilt? Could anything else describe why a tranny would slip out of gear when put under load?
Last edited by DunninLA; Feb 15, 2015 at 11:09 AM.
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,564
Likes: 19
From: SoCal
98 Brilliant Silver E320 Wagon
There is a shift rod which can require adjustment. Since you don't appear to be in limp home mode it may not be serious. The dealer can scan the transmission and identify which trouble codes are flagged.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 129
Likes: 3
From: Pacific Palisades, CA & Sherman Oaks, CA (work)
2012 E350 coupe Black/Almond, 61k miles in 2020
