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Hello. I am having issues with my 2009 GL450 transmission and I have not found any forums related to the symptoms that I am having. The problem manifests only when I push the accelerator from a stopped position. There are several loud clicking noise before the gear fully engages and after a few seconds of loud clicks, the car would start moving and would drive fine through all of the remaining gears. The only way I've found to prevent this issue if I push on the accelerator very slowly (from the stopped position), then the car would move slowly but without the clicking noise and once it gets going, all gears shift without issues no matter how hard i push the accelerator. The clicking noise is just when I go from a stopped position. Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.
Not sure some people are aware, but if I understand this correctly, the transfer box on GL450s have a manufacturing defect and are failing at an extraordinary rate.
Mercedes has not been willing to recall these transfer boxes, but they need to do so immediately before someone is killed.
The click click clicking as you accelerate is the chain slipping and hitting the side of the transfer box.
If it hits hard enough the transfer box will crack you will have to replace your entire transfer box.
I own a 2010 Mercedes GL450.
At first it was a click here and there, but it was loud enough and forceful enough the make the car shudder or feel like it shifted in a scary way.
My daughter and I would be stunned every time it clicked because it catches you off guard.
This began July 6, 2019 for me.
I went to drive out of a driveway and THUNK!
The car clunked and shifted scaring me and my teenage daughter.
Within the next three weeks my GL450 went from an occasional THUNK! then graduated to a
click click clicking if I accelerated at a stop light.
Over a period of 3 weeks that clicking increased to the point that I had no choice but have it towed to my Mercedes specialist. I couldn’t even get the car up the hill at my house.
The scariest part of the faulty transfer box was that the car would suddenly lunge 2-3 feet. It was truly scary.
I was traveling and the car lunged up toward the sidewalk at a rest stop where my 14 year old daughter was standing.
The clicking in my case became so severe that the stretched chain cracked my transfer box by banging against the side of the box itself.
This is by no means an easy fix.
It is an extremely costly repair.
A used transfer box runs anywhere from $2000 and up.
Without the transfer boxes our vehicles have no All wheel drive and can not be driven.
whats the use of an expensive vehicle of you can’t drive it?
The value of our supposedly luxury Mercedes GL450 plunges.
If I’m seeing this correctly on these Mercedes forums, there is an enormous increase of mechanics addressing many faulty or cracked transfer boxes for GL450 owners suffering with this same problem.
Some people are lucky enough to not have the transfer box cracked by the chain slipping, but the chain replacement itself is expensive.
This is unacceptable and extremely
bad PR for Mercedes.
Mercedes needs to step up and recall these transfer boxes immediately.
If Mercedes doesn’t act on these faulty transfer boxes some innocent child, adult or animal
will be hit and possibly killed by these GL450s lunging forward suddenly.
Drivers have ZERO control over the sudden thrust of the vehicle.
With this volume of Mercedes GL450 owners facing this Exact Same cracked transfer box problem
on very specific vehicles (GL450)
and very specific years,
then Mercedes needs step up to the plate and admit they have installed faulty transfer boxes in our vehicles.
They can review the many cases evidenced on these Mercedes forums.
its an Epidemic.
If Mercedes chooses not address this
manufacturing defect then we need to create a Class Action lawsuit against
the manufacturer- in this case: Mercedes.
Does Anyone know how to contact Mercedes
or create a Class Action suit?
MANY mothers and fathers buy Mercedes GL450s so we can tote around a large volume of children.
If one living being is harmed by this Transfer Box epidemic Mercedes should be held liable.
This is a known problem for Mercedes
and they are doing NOTHING
about correcting this growing Transfer Box problem.
Search the other MB forums and you will find many Mercedes GL450 owners complaining about the
exact same problem.
Wake up Mercedes.
Your loyal following is holding you accountable.
This is extremely bad PR for Mercedes given that the bulk of GL450 owners are parents and your target market.
Recall these transfer boxes before someone is seriously injured or killed.
Last edited by LAsheville; 08-15-2019 at 02:57 AM.
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. My symptoms match the problem exactly as you described. After reading more threads on the transfer case and chain issues, I certainly agree MB should be recalling these especially considering the frequency of these failures and potential catastrophic result. I too would love to see a class action lawsuit for this issue.
Over a period of 3 weeks that clicking increased to the point that I had no choice but have it towed to my Mercedes specialist.
Sooo...spot on diagnosis, but I gotta ask; why did you drive the car for three weeks like that?
The chain in the transfer case wears and stretches with use, and if gone unchecked can fail catastrophically like in your case. It is a wear item and repair kits are cheap - so catastrophic failure is preventable.
Transfer Box Problem? Contact Hagens Berman Law for a potential class action lawsuit
Mercedes GL450 owners:
if you have a Mercedes GL450 please google
Hagens Berman Law.
Below I will attach their website address.
After on going research to understand my faulty Transfer Box in my Mercedes GL450 and discovering wife Spears problems regarding the failure of these faulty transfer boxes I have looked into law firms who take class action lawsuits and who are considered the top litigators in these cases.
Steve Berman was co-counsel in the class action suit against Toyota. That team win the largest settlement in history against Toyota for vehicles that suddenly accelerated forward with zero control by the driver.
As we now know, our own faulty GL450 transfer boxes cause our own vehicles to suddenly accelerate 2 to 3 feet.
i have sent information to the law firm and hope to hear back.
Hagens Berman’s website is user friendly with any phone.
Below is their web address.
if you go to the site, all you have to do is type in your name and contact information, your year and model of your Mercedes.
it literally takes less than one minute.
it would be helpful if you would notify Hans Berman so they realize there are many of us out here with these faulty transfer boxes.
My fear are the people driving their Mercedes GL450s who do not know of this problem.
it won’t be long before someone is harmed by these faulty transfer boxes.
i live on the side of a mountain and have to park facing the edge of the mountain with only 5 feet between the nose of my car and the cliff.
My car has lunged forward unexpectedly about 3 feet several times scaring my daughter and myself.
Please register your GL450.
Here is their website address: hbsslaw.com Please click on the first page and register your faulty Mercedes GL450 so we can track this growing transfer box problem.
I was asked why I drove my car for the next three weeks with the faulty transfer box problem.
I was on a cross-country trip traveling 12,000 miles and 47 states researching a project.
My daughter and I were using my car to do my research. I was not at home, but continuously went to Firestone across the United States to have my vehicle checked.
Every time I would go to Firestone they would say it was the rotors.
They said not to worry about it and to wait until I return to Asheville North Carolina to my mechanic.
The clicking develops very slowly.
At first it’s a little click or two. The lunging occurs infrequently, but scares you.
Firestone said that I was fine to return home with my rotors clicking unless I noticed that my vehicle started to pull to the right or left.
I thought my rotors had become gouged when I hit my brakes hard after a drunk driver cut me off.
The next day after the drunk driver cut me off I went to Firestone to have them check my vehicle.
I was assured that if I could handle the clicking noise, which, at first, was only occurring on occasion as I accelerated from a stopped position.
I was driving Highway 90 East across the United States, then 95 South.
On the flat highway of Highway 90 East at any higher rate of speed there is no clicking.
After I drove from DC on Highway 81South I had to get
onto 19/23 to Asheville from Tennessee which is about an 80 mile drive through the mountains.
The clicking increased suddenly on the steep mountain pass, but I had no signal on my cell phone.
After I reached the peak of the mountain pass it was downhill.
i arrived in North Asheville and it is 2.6 miles up the mountain road to my home.
I had all of my gear in my car from the 6 weeks of camping with my daughter across the entire United States plus a soft luggage carrier in top.
As I tried to drive up the 2.6 miles to my home the clicking became serious.
On the steep mountain road to my home there is no area to pull over at all.
Stopping the car on the blind curves is not and option as it could mean a rear end collision.
i got into my driveway and called AAA to tow the car to my Mercedes Mechanic.
My mechanic was the one who let me know the clicking was not my rotors.
It was the faulty transfer box.
He told me he’d seen a sudden increase in transfer box failure in the GL450 so my other mechanic friend helped me research/uncover the faulty GL450 transfer box problem.
I assure you, my child would not continue to ride in that vehicle if I’d been told it was the faulty transfer box.
I had intentionally ear marked various Firestone repair centers across the US for them to check my vehicle on each leg of our trip as I was advised by another friend of mine who manages the Asheville Firestone dealership.
Firestone sells me my tires only.
I am extremely loyal to Mercedes.
I have owned 6 in my lifetime and am a knowledgeable European car enthusiast.
I have owned a 1973 BMW 3.0cs coupe since 1976 and sold it 2 years ago.
I know very well how to maintain a quality vehicle having maintained the 1973 BMW coupe with my father since I was 10 years old, I am now 53 and have a 14 year old daughter.
Classic cars are a passion for me so I become very close to the people who maintain my vehicles.
I bring my cars in to my mechanic without fail every 3-4 months and tell them to do whatever my cars need.
Last edited by LAsheville; 08-16-2019 at 05:26 AM.
My boss sold hers- same problems though hers is a 2012 GL450.
I saw my mechanic today and he said he’s never once in all of the years had to replace transfer cases but all of a sudden all of these GL450s are coming in with transfer case failure.
Please contact that attorney. You don’t have to speak to anyone, just register your vehicle. Takes 1 minute.
My boss sold hers- same problems though hers is a 2012 GL450.
I saw my mechanic today and he said he’s never once in all of the years had to replace transfer cases but all of a sudden all of these GL450s are coming in with transfer case failure.
Please contact that attorney. You don’t have to speak to anyone, just register your vehicle. Takes 1 minute.
Thanks for the information on the attorney. I've entered my information on their website.
My GL had 110K miles when the problem first started.
That's utterly normal - lots of cars (not just mercedes) that have chain components in the drive train need these replaced at regular intervals.
110K out of a chain driven transfer case isn't terrible. Chains are wear items - they elongate when worn and then cease to function as designed.
The cure is to replace the chain and use quality lubricants, which are also replaced at regular intervals.
This issue certainly does not warrant a class action lawsuit. The M272/M273 timing gear issues did - that was a clear cut case of a manufacturing defect resulting in much lower than expected service life of a drivetrain component. I don't see anything like that here.
Y'all need to move away from the emotional response of "car lunged and almost hit my daughter" (due to lack pf regular and proper maintenance) to properly maintaining the vehicle.
[QUOTE=Max Blast;7854727]That's utterly normal - lots of cars (not just mercedes) that have chain components in the drive train need these replaced at regular intervals.
110K out of a chain driven transfer case isn't terrible. Chains are wear items - they elongate when worn and then cease to function as designed.
The cure is to replace the chain and use quality lubricants, which are also replaced at regular intervals.
This issue certainly does not warrant a class action lawsuit. The M272/M273 timing gear issues did - that was a clear cut case of a manufacturing defect resulting in much lower than expected service life of a drivetrain component. I don't see anything like that here.
Y'all need to move away from the emotional response of "car lunged and almost hit my daughter" (due to lack pf regular and proper maintenance) to properly maintaining the vehicle.
———————————————————————-
Thank you for your insight.
I appreciate your input. I’ve owned my 1973 BMW 3.0 since 1976. I also had a 1941 Model A, a 1883 VW Camper and a 1995 VW Camper. I’ve sold all of my Antique cars in the last 2-3 years, having driven them for many years. I’ve driven all of my Mercedes over 325,000 miles and have owned 6 of them, selling them once they hit 350,000 doing regular maintenance.
My mechanics father was the head of the Mercedes dealer repair shop for several decades and his son has literally worked with him since he was 15 and they opened their own Mercedes repair shop.
My mechanic is now 40.
Never in his career has he had to replace Transfer cases. Ever.
This year all of a sudden the GL 450s are coming in needing chains or new Transfer cases.
Lots of them. He’s mentioned how odd it is.
i realize you’ve had your own experience with transfer cases, but I’ve been involved with the industry as well, I’m not an overly emotional Mom- that’s an insult to my experience and knowledge of quality vehicles.
I may be a woman, but I promise you I’ve personally been apart of BMW since it first came to America.
My friend started the first dealership in Pennsylvania and my other good friend’s father had the first Ford dealership in New Jersey. I went to every car show and have visited the plants in Europe. I keep my cars for years on end, even decades, maintaining them well.
Asking around more and more people are facing this same Transfer Case problem with GL450s.
The Mercedes dealership wants $7000 for the transfer cases to be replaced, parts and labor.
These older vehicles are not worth that much.
I appreciate your knowledge, but insulting my research and my own knowledge is unkind.
Say you are at a stop light and your GL450 lunges forward hitting pedestrians and/or animals,
that’s not emotional or fear mongering.
It’s a valid concern for drivers.
That's utterly normal - lots of cars (not just mercedes) that have chain components in the drive train need these replaced at regular intervals.
110K out of a chain driven transfer case isn't terrible. Chains are wear items - they elongate when worn and then cease to function as designed.
The cure is to replace the chain and use quality lubricants, which are also replaced at regular intervals.
This issue certainly does not warrant a class action lawsuit. The M272/M273 timing gear issues did - that was a clear cut case of a manufacturing defect resulting in much lower than expected service life of a drivetrain component. I don't see anything like that here.
Y'all need to move away from the emotional response of "car lunged and almost hit my daughter" (due to lack pf regular and proper maintenance) to properly maintaining the vehicle.
———————————————————————-
Say you are at a stop light and your GL450 lunges forward hitting pedestrians and/or animals,
that’s not emotional or fear mongering.
It’s a valid concern for drivers.
Your last statement is completely irrational, as is your entire context. You’re basing your argument on the anecdotal evidence presented by your mechanic?
And yes, I am impugning your ability to properly maintain the vehicle - by your own admission you knowingly drove a car with dangerous discrepancy for three weeks and failed to do anything about it. That makes you a danger to yourself and your fellow traficants.
Assume you did hit someone “because the car lunged”.
Let’s have the lawyers suss that one out in court, shall we?
Don’t waste your time on anything but proper maintenance.
And with that, end thread for me.
If you read my post you would know that I went to Firestone several times in each leg my trip complaining about the noise. They said it was my rotors and to wait until I returned home to fix them. They said it was fine.
ive never had a transfer case fail, though I’ve had many of my cars for decades.
Each Firestone said it was the rotors and I trusted them.
I go every 3 months to my mechanic and have him do anything on my vehicles that they need (why my cars last forever) which I think I stated, but if I omitted my frequency of visiting my mechanic I apologize.
I’m not understanding your hostility, but appreciate your information.
That's utterly normal - lots of cars (not just mercedes) that have chain components in the drive train need these replaced at regular intervals.
110K out of a chain driven transfer case isn't terrible. Chains are wear items - they elongate when worn and then cease to function as designed.
The cure is to replace the chain and use quality lubricants, which are also replaced at regular intervals.
Wait a sec - so you're saying a critical wear item, that could result in the vehicle surging unpredictably from a stop, has no mention in the maintenance intervals. It is for the G but not the GL.
Originally Posted by Max Blast
This issue certainly does not warrant a class action lawsuit.
Are you an attorney declining to take the case? If not, what is the significance of your opinion? Let the concerned citizen figure this out for themselves.
Originally Posted by Max Blast
Y'all need to move away from the emotional response of "car lunged and almost hit my daughter" (due to lack pf regular and proper maintenance) to properly maintaining the vehicle.
What? Who are you to lecture him or her on how to feel about their vehicle surging unpredictably from a stop?
And again with lecturing about the maintenance - that MB does not see fit to advise.
The mechanic's observations hardly qualify as anecdotes. That would be single observations. Again, leave it up to the attorneys to discover whether there is a pattern.
08-14-2019, 08:53 AM
