tabakin

Peter

I've been following your saga, and its terrble. I am awaiting a CPO delivery from Southern CA 2012 E BlueTEC. This is not the same transmission in your car, correct? I have only driven a like ehicle, not this particular car and am a little worried.

Thanks

PeterUbers

Thanks for reading tabakin;

I have no idea, honestly if this is the same transmission as in your 2012 blutec -- so few people in the svc department actually know details about these things. The people who actually have detailed knowledge, the engineers, are people you have little or no access to.

I would do some research -- I do believe you have a 7G transmission in that 2012.

That being said, if the CPO car drives fine .. then I feel that you'll be ok. There are many many threads on problems with the 7G transmission on this board .. just a matter of your risk tolerance I suppose.

2006_C350

Peter, you will probably get a new car. It makes more sense to take your car back, fix the problem, and sell it as CPO and get you into a new car. The margins on these cars are huge, especially the more expensive the car.

MBUSA already made money selling you the car to begin with and they will make more money when they CPO your car and sell it. I don't see them losing any money getting you into a new car.

In the case they don't do anything for you, they will just lose one customer for life, I would assume you would never buy another MB again and MBUSA will get bad references especially on these boards.

All in all, they will get a happy customer who will stay with MB for life. Win-Win.

Please keep us posted on your saga!

PeterUbers

Thanks man, this forum has been therapeutic during this crap shoot of an experience!

E Classy

I've been following this, too. Man, I feel bad for you even though it will get taken care of, because your time and patience are worth way more than the car. Even routine stuff that requires a few days in the service bay is an inconvenience. It really sucks when the car is brand new. Interested to see the final outcome, whether or not you lemon or get a replacement.

samkimg

Keep the faith Peter ... With my buy-back from MB .... once they made the decision, it was pretty smoothly completed.

PeterUbers

UPDATE:

The vehicle is going to be replaced with a new one:
a) something I find in the country on lot (only 1 out there now, not nearly as loaded as my car)
b) a made to order car with my options -- 2-3 months eta for delivery

NO cash out of pocket for me, transferring the 7/100k warranty and the 4 yrs svc plan that I have to new vehicle, NO depcreciation to my vehicle or proration.

MBUSA did me good on this one.

DerekACS

It just goes to show that keeping your cool and being firm got you a favourable result. 'All's well that ends well !'

ronyg7

Hello Peter,

Congrats on achieving your goal of a replacement vehicle. It's reassuring to hear that common sense has prevailed and that Mercedes are willing to look after their customers.
I'm sorry to report that my situation is still not resolved. The car is still with the dealership. They have tried adaptions, software updates and have replaced the electro hydraulic controller to no avail. The next step is a replacement valve body.The situation seems to be developing pretty much as in your own case.
I will update further as things develop. I've driven my car for all of five days since I purchased it. It really is a bummer !!
Ron

PeterUbers

Ronyg7!

I'm sorry to hear your struggles:

1) have you contacted MBUSA yet? -- if not, get them involved asap
2) what do you want at this point? Are you happy with a repaired car, or do you want money back or a new car/replacement?
3) Sounds like there was a batch of bad transmissions out there, and you and I got them

I just got back from Naperville Mercedes -- ordered my brand new obsidian black 2014 E550 with all my current options but added pano and heated steering -- build date is March 2014. It's $1340 extra, but they'll find out if benz will cover that.

I worked with Mary Marten at MBUSA, a case manager.

Sounds like you're going to qualify for a buy-back or trade-assist (replacement) -- let me know how it goes -- use this thread or a new one to update everyone so we can all follow along. Best of luck and that's for YOUR support while I was dealing with this crap.

Thanks to all of you for supporting me, special thanks to SolidGranite my best buddy for being my personal therapist through this and giving me, as always, solidgranite, sound advice and always pointing me in the right direction. And I'd also like to thank the academy....

samkimg

Congrats Peter ... nice to see MBUSA doing the right thing again and again!

I also chose to have the replacement built to order, and now come the "hard part" ... waiting for delivery!

You want to get the VIN and ship name that it will be coming on right at build time, you can track the ship from port-to-port on it's way over ... kinda fun.

david55838

Well it looks like Friday, 1/24 has been a good day for both Peter and I. Peter, congrats on your upcoming new car!

If you’ve slogged through this thread in its entirety, you’ll have seen posts from me as well outlining the continuing transmission issues with my E350. They started out similarly to Peter’s, with hard shifts between 2-3 and 3-4. Over time, the issue morphed into one where the transmission ‘flared’ between shifts – similar to my old W123 diesel with a vacuum issue. This is when the transmission profoundly hesitates between shifts, and the RPMs rise as a result.

The car was at the dealer’s 3 times for all the usual tests and re-adaptations. At one point, it was reported that the ECU actually lost the previous adaptations, and those that they tried subsequently were still in Beta testing. Technicians in Germany were involved, and I understand that even one of my voicemails to the service advisor outlining the continuing symptoms was relayed to the folks in Germany. At no time was I shooed away and told, ‘They all do that’.

Only after the third visit when I was advised to ‘just drive it’ to see if it would resolve itself did I open a case with MBUSA. After a long process, they agreed to refund all monies (including dealer fees and sales tax), with the exception of a very small mileage charge (mileage issue first reported at dealer less delivery mileage).

I’ve just returned from surrendering the car and depositing my check. I must say that while the process was long, MBUSA, and my dealer, Mercedes of Rocklin, CA were exemplary in trying to diagnose and repair the issue and to keep me happy. I indicated to MBUSA that I was leery of another MB automatic so I chose another brand with a manual transmission rather than a replacement E350 – which I enjoyed independent of the transmission issue. I didn’t want to post my experience until it was complete. Superstitious, I guess. Below is the replacement car. I still love my older Benzs and am still a fan of the brand. Because MBUSA and my dealer were so great, I would consider another new Mercedes in the future – perhaps with the 9 speed.

Also, my barely used rubber all weather floor mats are for sale for W212. $95 shipped to Continental US.

martinlarose

Congrats Peter happy to hear that you have a resolution

Munich77

Congrats Peter on getting it resolved it would be a nice ending to the story if MB paid for the extra options. I was not aware that you could still order E550s - I had an extremely hard time finding one and my dealer "assured" me that I could not order one anymore. Of course it might be that there allotment had been used up.

PeterUbers

Munich thank you -- I too was under the impression I could not order.. perhaps this is an exception for this type of buy back scenario -- not sure, I didn't ask. In fact, he said he was a March build.

David -- congrats! It sounds like you're satisfied with the overall outcome, you have indeed been with me during this entire ordeal and I'm glad you and I worked together to get the outcomes we deserved considering all the hassle.

Ron -- I hope you get a similar if not better resolution.

Martin -- thanks -- I will miss palladium, but can you blame me if I never want to see any thing in palladium -- not a spoon, not a car, not a lamp, LOL

Thanks Derek and Sam

2006_C350

Hey Peter I sent you a PM if you'd rather keep the following question private.

I was just wondering, how old are you? I'm curious to see if age made any difference in getting MBUSA to listen.

PeterUbers

I'm 34

PeterUbers

Update

Possibly picking up my old e550 from dealership tomorrow, they think they have it fixed, I'll drive this until march when my car will be delivered

BenzV12

This good news I think , a repetitive occurrence possibly may put you off the car as well . Hopefully, your new car that will be delivered in March proves to be a reliable one on tranny wise

HBerman

If it is a March build, then it might not show up until the beginning of April. I had a similar buyback of a W211 in 2004. My issue was an incorrect build at the factory due to a production change that was not communicated to the dealer. The replacement car was built in March and showed up in April. One would hope that the problems that you experienced are one off. Personally, if MB has corrected your particular issues, I would have gone for a 100,000 extended warranty instead of a another car of the same content. You just don't know what other issues you may discover on the new vehicle. Good luck in any event!

PeterUbers

UPDATE:

Car is back in my possession. 450 miles added for this service, wow! A total of 700 miles have been service miles testing this transmission.

I already have purchased an extended warranty on this car before the problems even began, so no point in staying in this car -- this car is a lemon, and too much work has been done to it outside the factory for me to sleep well driving it.

The car shifts BUTTER SMOOTH. At least for now. I definitely have no perception of shifts 5 to 4 or 4 to 5. That part is resolved:

here it is:
Road test vehicle and found 5-4 shift more noticeable than other downshifts. Connect sds and run short test - no codes found. Check adaptations and all adaptations in spec however B2 was near the limit. No newer software found. Perform extended road test and perform shift adaptations. Adaptations for B2 moved out even further. open ptss case and was advised to remove trans and air test b2 (case #000043254) remove trans from vehicle. remove transfer case house and torque convertor housing. remove b2 and air test - air test was ok. remove every clutch pack and inspect for damage. all seal and clutches appear to be ok. ptss advised to replace b2. replace all b2 and reinstall trans. add 9.5qts of trans fluid. perform shift adapation and found adaptations for b2 lowered into normal range. 5-4 shift was also smooth.

I WAS TOLD THERE ARE OTHER CUSTOMERS WITH SAME ISSUE, 2014 E350 and E550 owners at this dealership, and thanks to this knowledge from my car's experience, they went straight to the clutchpack. Defective clutchpacks installed in transmission in certain batches apparently. My car was an August build with September delivery. One customer is getting his money back, another customer is keeping the car and accepting two payments for his troubles apparently.

I don't care that it drives perfectly now, I want the experience most people have with a brand new benz -- a new benz without this drama -- they can transfer my warranty and service plan to the new one and keep this lemon.

I hope this helps someone, this will likely be a TSB/TAC.

david55838

Peter, you're too young to remember back in the early '80's when GM used the buying public as their Beta testers. Feels like deja vu all over again. You must have some sense of satisfaction that you and your car may have helped solve this for others. If it was the clutch pack in my car, and they had replaced it early on, I would still be driving my E350, which would have been fine with me. Water under the Audi now...

E Classy

interesting. i find your perspective of not accepting a potentially fixed transmission in favor of a brand new exact same model confusing. i would have figured that if you didn't want the fix, you would have moved to another make? just the inconvenience alone would have sent me packing to another brand. but the fact that you have hung in there thus far, including ordering another E550 with the exact same transmission - and now are refusing the potential solution... this is unusual.

what blows my mind even more is that someone else thinks that an audi will be more reliable. i'm laughing almost to tears. really?! audi?! i would have thought a reasonable move would be to lexus or acura, but audi?! just wow.

too many krauts in this country, buying into kraut BS.

PeterUbers

E Classy -- based on your post, I agree to disagree with you, sorry to confuse you. I'm very happy with my choice, and you'd likely agree that's the most important component.

I added pano roof to my new E, if that makes you sleep better at night, something I regret not getting initially.

I also do not want a car with tons of service records indicating all these repairs and issues, I want a fresh start. I don't want a car that has had it's parts opened and removed many times and a transmission that's been service (major service/repair) twice. I want the experience I expected back in september 2013 -- a new car with no problems. Also, I feel the problem is resolved, however I have had that experience with this car before (i.e. after the valve body was replaced) and the harsh downshift resurfaced a few weeks later. Therefore I have no faith that this particular transmission has been fixed 100%. I'm just confused they didn't just replace the transmission, but I believe they fixed this transmission because they knew I opted for a new vehicle, otherwise they were going to comply with a new transmission request. Thanks for your support, nonetheless.

Packing to another brand? Why? I love the E550, it performs amazingly well -- I did tons of research on this car and have pined for it for many years. There's really no car like it for me. I'm glad I'm staying in an E550. Audi? BMW? Jaguar? Where's the historical reliability here, I agree with you! The smartest move would have been to have kept my bulletproof G37x but I got bored of it. Such is the way of life, boredom. I knew, getting into a benz, that I was leaving the world of reliability with my previous cars (Infinitis, Lexus, and Acura) and entering little more luxury with higher maintenance. I brought this on myself, I fully understand and accept that. I even tried to consider an Infiniti M50xS, but just couldn't get over my obsession with the E550.

PeterUbers

David, I feel the same way ... if st. charles benz (where I bought it) knew enough about this early and fixed it within the first or second drop offs to their service department, i too would have kept this car. I appreciate your support though all this, it's been amazing.