wkb98

I have a 2004 E320 Estate. Intermittently when I start the car and move it into gear there is a fairly hard clunk and and as I drive away the car will not move out of 1st gear. Also periodical while that is happening the digital indicator on the dash will not display what gear it is in (I.E. R,N,1,2,D). While situation is happening there are a number of fault indicators that light up including the check engine light and others.


If I turn off the car remove the key and lock the door then open the door with the remote and start the car in the normal fashion it will often return to normal function.

eatcake

Maybe you should get it checked out instead of driving it?

Sounds like at the very least you need to do a transmission fluid change.

Get the codes read at an independent shop or dealer then go from there before it turns into an expensive fix. Good luck.

wkb98

I have had it checked out at a MB repair shop four times. The occurrence of this malfunction happen so infrequently (once to twice a month) that the mechanics have not been able to duplicate it when the car is at the shop. The last time the owner of the shop kept the car for a week and drove it as his personal car and still was unable to have the malfunction occur.

The transmission has been flush and the fluid replaced

The car does not get driven when it is not functioning correctly.

AMGAffalterbach

TCU problem?

raymond g-

that's what i'm thinking, too AMGAff. wondering if someone spilled water onto
the shifter or other liquid contamination to the TCU. the fault codes should have
stored and been able to play back. did you bring the car to the dealer or an
MB independent repair outfit?

AMGAffalterbach

Yeah. @wkb98 for transmission issues take it to an independent, dealers will screw you over in prices for transmission work and often upsell in my experience.

wkb98

I am unsure if any liquid has been spilled on the TCU however if as you mentioned an incident such as that should show up in the memory of the fault codes then I would assume that since each time I took the car in it was hooked up to the reader and there were no codes associated to the transmission then that may not be the cause.

I agree taking the car to a dealer puts one vulnerable to elevated costs, that's why I have taken my car to a shop that is run by a mechanic with approximately 30 years of experience working on MB of which 15 years working in a dealer shop in Europe.

I am still baffled by the fact that this issue is so intermittent and when the car is turned completely off and restarted the issue goes away.

Any thoughts that it may be computer control related?

AMGAffalterbach

If the issue goes away when the car is restarted, in my opinion this would indicate an electronic issue as you're clearing any faults when you restart the vehicle.

I would not be surprised if some type of TCU software update might actually fix the issue, but that is just a guess.

wkb98

Thanks AMGAffalterbach, I will see what upgrades that might be available

Keeping my fingers crossed.

AMGAffalterbach

It's just a longshot guess, but possible it might fix it =\ you're welcome though and good luck man.

Barry45RPM

I just had this transmission problem fixed on my 07! Your transmission is in "Limp Home Mode", and restarting the car always remidies the situation. The RO Referenced Fault codes 0717/0718 requiring Valve Body repair and reprogramming the trans too.

eatcake

When something similar happened to me I ended up needing the "Transmission Conductor Plate" replaced.

FWIW the independent shop wasn't able to diagnose it but the dealer was. That's why I said get it properly checked out. Dealer in my area is not that much more expensive than an independent ($134-ish vs $99/hr) for diagnostic/repair. For that small of a difference I'd personally feel safer to have the dealer spend an hour on it than an indy 2 or half.

Barry45RPM

I also had that part replaced.

vettdvr

Have you checked the speed sensor? IF it fails the car won't know how fast it is going and therefore not shift.?

AMGAffalterbach

Does it really work like that? I would think it's based more on the RPM/load and not the speed.