Chris Buffalo

Hello all, this issue has serious safety concerns and is something that needs immediate attention and action taken. Please read on.

I have a 2007 GL 450 that has begun the notorious 7 speed (722.9 NAG2 (7G-Tronic) Transmission) etc. electronics failure. It will get stuck in a random forward gear with no apparent driver/user solution but to power cycle the vehicle. (Shut it down, and restart.) If you shift to neutral, it will stay there and not engage any other gear (forward or reverse) until you shutdown and restart. This almost sounds like a bad personal computer operating system. Imagine being in the middle of a normally safe three-point-turn to find the vehicle won’t move unless you shut it off and restart! It happened to me today.

This is a load of nonsense – this problem is not due to abuse, misuse, neglect, or even reasonable wear and tear. I have found others that have been told “the valve body is warped”, etc – so it follows restarting the car un-warped it? Do these people (the dealers) really know how to service these vehicles? This is clearly an electronics failure.

This is an absolute design/manufacturing flaw of the "conductor plate and valve body assembly", and my research carries that the Benz 7 speed transmission is notorious across many models and platforms, and there are many TSB’s on it; recently (Date: April 8, 2011 Order No.: S-B-27.00/120 Group: 27 SUBJECT: All Models Equipped with 722.9 NAG2 (7G-Tronic) Transmission) and it is a well documented problem internally within MBUSA.

Beyond warranty? Not a CPO vehicle? Okay - but - ….

Try this - If my wife (or yours) gets off the freeway, comes to a stop, and then attempts to proceed normally with the vehicle now stuck in 5th (or whatever it chooses) gear, - there is a reasonable user presumption that the car would accelerate normally and be able to safely join traffic....instead it crawls forward at a few miles an hour into potential harms way with no way to accelerate the vehicle normally, thereby leaving the driver and our children in danger. I speak from personal experience.

This is not just a defect, it is a safety issue, and MBUSA needs their feet held to the fire on this one.

It is unreasonable for any manufacturer to tout "The best or nothing" and "Engineered like no other car in the world" and then expect the consumer to pay $2000+ to fix a known electronics design/manufacture flaw. There are even rumblings that VDO (speed sensor/electronics manufacturer) and MB are at odds over who is actually to blame, so clearly they both see costs are going to mount when the inevitable recall occurs. I plan to notify the NHTSA among others if I don't get some favorable answers immediately.

To make it worse, Part # 220 270 27 06 88 is what I am told I need, costing $838.00. (wow!) If I wanted to buy this part outright and have my indy shop or myself install it, I STILL have to go to the dealer for "programming" that I nor most indy shops can carry out.
So regardless of who is at fault, you are railroaded into going to the dealer, dealing with their dismissive “here’s the bill” attitude and paying their inflated rates regardless. You as a consumer are left with no other recourse. I wonder if there is a legal challenge with that in and of itself. To the OP, it sounds like they even robbed you on the part alone.

In summary, they build a defective transmission that will certainly leave you in harm’s way, and then they (MBUSA) say “too bad, pay US to fix it or you have no other option.” I question not only the ethics but legality of this position MBUSA has taken.

I am collecting names, vehicle types, and e mail addresses for any that are interested in signing on to force MBUSA into a recall based on safety (or lack thereof) alone.

I do not seek anything more than an email address, name, and year/make/model affected. Your information will not be used for any other purpose but adding strength to my argument with MBUSA. Feel free to PM me, or email aplguys@aol.com.

Understand absolutely clearly that I am not attempting to defame, discredit, or slander MBUSA in any fashion, but I will not have safety compromised in a premium vehicle and then be billed for it, nor will I be lead to believe it’s “normal wear and tear, abuse, misuse, or neglect”. This is a flaw that compromises safety, period.

I bought my GL450 because I love my Mercedes Benz E55 AMG so much. I bought another Benz because of the quality previously displayed and that one would reasonably expect. Maybe I should have kept my Dodge Durango Limited. What’s right is right.

If we stick together, maybe good will prevail. There is strength in numbers.

I want to hear from all of you affected!

djsweden

Do you know which cars are affected by this, model year, serial numbers etc?

MBNA109

Chris Buffalo - does this have any connection to your concerns?

https://mbworld.org/forums/mercedes-...ion-issue.html

Chris Buffalo

Wow great work, perhaps this is the root cause of the problem? This is the type of info I'm talking about.

Either way, they should have to fix it, we the consumer didn't design it or build it.

GLKKa2H

After reading thru the thread to which MBNA109 is referring, I added a paper (which apparently has its origin from a MB bulletin) pertaining a mechanical issue with regard to the 722.9, NAG2 transmission. The symptom of the culprit is different from yours, and a mechanical problem as such cannot be “resolved” by a “Shut it down, and restart”.

However, in a certain scenario could a mechanical issue have the appearance of an electrical problem, as the electronics are monitoring sensors and acting in accordance with as programmed if an abnormal situation occurs, e.g. the “limp home” mode.

As the thread referred to was not conclusive with regard to the 722.9 transmission problem(s), (corrosion, fluid, solder joint) you with the electronics failure, I added the paper as it obviously covers a culprit acknowledged by MB being a problem with regard to their trannies. Just to make confusion complete.

MBNA109

More data point is never a bad thing.

Chris Buffalo

Thanks guys!

All I ask is a quick e mail to be added to the complaint list.

aplguys@aol.com

year/make/model/symptoms and an e mail address are all I ask, additional details as you like.

MBRedux

Chris...I am fully sympathetic to your mission. However, if your wish is to force MBUSA into taking corrective action at no cost to the owners, then the best way to do this is to start a Campaign like I once did.

How? By setting up a blog, website, or multiple threads on every USA/Canadian Mercedes Forum site you can find that will direct those who are having these issues to the US-NHTSA Safe-Car Program (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) reporting system.

Here's the link: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/Vehicl...nt/index.xhtml

Explain to those that may have safety issues such as yourself that the manufacturer knew of this defect since 200?, and it may have contributed to countless accidents and/or deaths etc. Then go on to describe exactly what you said here in the OP.

I did the same with VW's DSG and it brought them to their knees within 3 months! Good luck!