b_rashed

Dropped my car off at the dealer yesterday to get that check up on why my car was jerking back and forth and i got the call today. seems that i need a new transmission, radiator, torque converter, o-rings, and on top of that my rear shocks need to be replaced . he gave me a grand total for the job with labor is around 9200.00 now heres my sitation, i bought the car about 3 months ago and have put 5600 miles on it so far. should i go back to the dealer that i bought the car from b/c that doesnt seem right that i buy a 30,000.00 car and it goes bad with no warning. so what u guys think i should do. all help is appreciated. thanks

lig

I would check and see if the car has had all the TSBs performed.

I'm assuming that you're out of warranty - I don't know if M-B will do the TSBs out of warranty though.

Good luck in getting this handled.

mpx220

I'm not sure you can go back to the dealer that you bought it from after the first 30 days...you might be SOL sorry to say.

W Cole

Wow man, some luck. I would definately contact the dealer you bought the car from. I think anyone would agree that these problems didn't just arise in the last 5k miles, they sold you a broken vehicle. Whether or not you have any legal recourse I have no idea.. maybe contact a lawyer?

I cant believe that the tranny and torque converter would both be broken. I would definately get a second opinion. Seems like they might be trying to rip you off.

W Cole

They will do the TSBs out of warranty or so I read on the forums - I dont have any first hand expierience. It makes sense that they would.

mbuskuhl

Except for the shocks, the radiator/trans problem is well known by MB. Do some searching on this site and you'll see lots of problems with some of the early radiators (problem later corrected) that leaked coolant into the tranny fluid causing failure. Here's another recent thread with your same problem... looks like he got possibly a 50% off discount on the repair. Put up a fuss and you might get lucky. Good luck, I'm reminded why I paid for an aftermarket warranty.



https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/207747-e500-coolant-mixed-trans-fluid.html

TSB:
P-B-27.55/50a FEB05 Harsh Engagement Possibly Followed by Droning/Buzzing…
Up to Production Date 9/03 - Incomplete adaptation of the torque converter, the transmission (EGS) ECU software or glycol contamination of the automatic transmission fluid.

Untertürkheim

You bought a used MB without any warranty?

Iceman

Did you purchase the car with a warranty? If not, most likely the sticker in the window said "As is, no warranty expressed or implied" which would make you fully responsible for any maintenance issues from the time you drove the car off the lot. The dealer is also going to look at the fact that you have driven the car 5,600 miles and owned it for three months. The car belongs to you and they have zero responsibility towards any issues. Otherwise, where would you ever draw the line...what if you owned it for two years and only drove 2,000 miles, whould they still be on the hook for repairs even though there was no warranty coverage? I think you are going to be responsible for the repairs and have to realize that owning a MB without a warranty is a huge risk (I know this first hand, my E500 has 138K miles and has been out of warranty for a long time). Good luck getting it fixed, hopefully you can negotiate a better rate on the repairs.

JDM_SXE-10

Yes, they will correct TSBs even if you're out of warranty. I had some stuff done on mine after warranty expired.

RJF

Time to park the car near a very low street near the water in my opinion

joelaff

So your insurance company can pay to have the car "cleaned" once it has been filled with water ;-)

Honestly, talk to the seller and see what you can work out. Otherwise, you could just have some of the work done (like the shocks could perhaps wait).

b_rashed

thanks guys. as one of the members said the coolant leaked into the tranny and there it went. and me and my cousin are gonna go back to the dealer that we bought the car from and see what they can do b/c there was no warning info on the coolant leaking in to the tranny. idk though ima see what we can work out and ill keep u guys updated. thanks again by the way.

b_rashed

TSB:
P-B-27.55/50a FEB05 Harsh Engagement Possibly Followed by Droning/Buzzing…
Up to Production Date 9/03 - Incomplete adaptation of the torque converter, the transmission (EGS) ECU software or glycol contamination of the automatic transmission fluid.[/QUOTE]

with this my car was delivered on 7/21/03. thats what it said on my datacard.
does that mean i can use the tsb or whatnot.

ohlord

go to the mb dealer and see what they will do about this long standing problem.
another link from years ago
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/113984-03-e500-transmission-problem.html
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showp...1&postcount=33
we feel your pain

konigstiger

FYI: The actual DTB to refer to is P-B-27-20.78 AUG06: https://mbworld.org/forums/showpost....83&postcount=1


Check your email.

b_rashed

so how do i take this up with mb. what do i tell them and what do i bring to them?

konigstiger check ur email. thanks

b_rashed

so went to the dealer today with the star bulletin that dan emailed me and they said that doesnt do anything. its not a warranty or a recall. i dont know if they are all just bulls*%t or what but i dont know what to do. im gonna go to a different dealer tomorrow and see what they say about the issue.

mbuskuhl

This is MB's responsibility to at least cover part of this, it may not be a written policy but is the right thing to do and been done many times before. It is a known flaw with the car. Try another dealer and read this before you go...

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/186549-when-you-complain.html

Remember to act nice and professional rather than a jack a**. I think you'll find a dealer willing to step up and try to get MBUSA to cover at least half this. As a last resort, which should not be needed, you can check into filing in small claims court depending upon what your states monetary limits are (some are up to $10k, others $5k, etc). The downside is you will be out of pocket for the repair but if you get your ducks in a row they will settle out of court. If you don't have any natural lawyer skills in you, it might be worth it to spend a grand on a good attorney to write a letter or two and make some calls to the right people.

Lane from s.c.

I hate to here a story like this. If you can`t get them to help, I would try to locate a wreck and have a independant change it out. Good luck, I hope things go in your favor.

Lane

csumt76

Seriously, buy the radiator and have them flush the trans fluid. There are machines that connect in line with the radiator and will completely remove all of the old fluid.

The worst I have seen the coolant do is damage the electrical plate on top of the valve body. Tell them this is all that you want to do, and that you are willing to take a chance. This will bring your repairs down to about oh... %10 of that estimate.

Kar don

I concur with the trans flush. Replace the radiator and completely flush out the trans.

TSBs are a guide for the dealership to aid in diagnosing and repairing vehicles for commonly occuring issues with known countermeasures, they are not service campaigns or recalls which are typically done for free at any point in the vehicle life.

Not to mention I don't think all your mods are helping your case.

sack5000

Did they represent that they had checked the car during your sales negotiation? That seems to be the first thing they tell a customer about the condition of the car. If so, and even if this was oral statements on their part, you will be able to write a letter (or have your lawyer do so) and request that they handle the portion of the repairs related to as the car existed when you bought it. They won't try to weasal out of it becuase your next step would be to file a lawsuit for fraud and put some of the liars under oath at a deposition. I would expect them to come around, it matters not what the warranty sticker said if they committed fraud by failing to disclose significant problems to you. The mechanics can also be put under oath and they will disclose what they knew about the car. Good luck in getting this resolved and "peel" their eyelids off as necessary. Your first contact will let them know that you mean to play hardball with them.

konigstiger

I agree. However, in these cases the related DTBs qualify as documentation of a known MB problem unaddressed by a service campaign or recall:

DTB P-B-27.20/78: “mileage > 40,000”; “verify there is no glycol contamination of the automatic transmission fluid by following the glycol test procedure in DTB P-B-27.55/50f”

DTB P-B-2755/50f: “glycol contamination of the automatic transmission fluid”; “vehicle was produced before 9/03”; “radiator manufactured by Valeo”; “old crimping method used to assemble radiator end tanks”

It is my strong opinion that MBUSA is responsible to provide a no cost goodwill repair, as recommended by their franchised dealership service department in whole, because as a manufacturer they are responsible for the defective radiator installed during production. It was through no cause of the owner that glycol made its way into the transmission. Therefore, a goodwill repair is the only fair solution in the absence of an official service campaign or recall.

b_rashed

alright let me see what my problem is right now. i know that the coolant got into the transmission fluid. does this mean that my transmission is gone or what? and i think im gonna go and get another dealer to talk to this sacramento, california one are *******s. they havent helped me out ever and ive been there many times before and we have bought many cars from them before.

Untertürkheim

Your transmission may still be good, but you should not drive the car at all until this is resolved, since driving it in this state will continuously damage the transmission.