Only about 371 cars affected.

new Sept 2021 recall. Overflow pipe, transmission filter - MBWorld.org Forums

 

I need to schedule this too, If I read correctly its just a transmission oil/filter replacement + overflow pipe? Dealer usually charges $700 for this

 

That's very reasonable straight from the Dealer. Was this a special promo? I hope they have it in my Province.

 

Thanks, Im starting to feel it in the shifts as well. Time to get this done!@

 

Are all of these services outside normal A and B service? I was prepared to do Transmission, but didn't consider other fluids for Transfer Case and Front/Rear Diffs. Was not hoping for another huge bill , but I guess they got to be done. Do you know @ what kms/miles those are supposed to be done at?

 

MB dealer here in Toronto will charge $550 + tax for the transmission fluid + filter change. I would prefer to get it done at the dealer as you only have to do it every 4 years plus it comes with warranty for the work.

 

How do you warranty a fluid change?

 

I think the warranty is the standard 1yr/12k miles warranty on parts and labor that most dealerships typically provide.

Warranty could cover if the transmission cover is leaking after the job, or if the car shifts rough and they need to diagnose it, etc.

I'd say $550 is a good price for a MB dealership. I paid $900 for my BMW's transmission service, not at a BMW dealer but a good Indy shop. Granted, they also did front and rear diffs and the transfer case fluids.

 

Unfortunately the dealer service will be half *** transmission drain only, which takes an hour and only replaces half of the fluid. Half of the fluid sits in the torque converter.
Diffs should be flushed probably every other trans service (80k miles).
There is no separate TC fluid, it's part of the transmission, although you can drain it as well (another quart).

 

Mercedes doesn't have interval for diffs but 90k miles is when I did mine and fluid didn't look great - so I'd say every 80k miles or even every trans service. It takes like 30min and 2 quarts of fluids. Front diff holds only 0.6L of fluid.
Transfer case shares fluid with transmission so no separate service for that on GLK. (ML and GL have stand alone TC units and proper front diff.)

 

I'm coming due for this service. According to the EPC I have a torque converter drain plug with a gasket (looks like a copper washer). The gasket is not available separately. Does anyone know if the gasket can be removed from the plug, and, if so, what size it is? I can order the plug with seal, but hate to spend $4 to replace a 50 cent washer.

TIA

 

If for some reason it failed , you would forever regret the results.

 

I can't say I've ever heard of a catastrophic failure traced to a copper washer.

 

I believe when you buy new torque converter plug it comes with the washer.

See it in this kit (that's what I bought a few years ago) although I would just go with Febi fluid instead of expensive MB fluid. Makes sure you verify if you need red (early models) or blue trans fluid. EDIT: 2014 should have blue fluid.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-.../2222772000kt/

I would recommend ball-end hex key as the access to torque converter drain is not great.

 

I did a little more digging, and I think the reason the seal is sold with the plug is that the plug has thread lock on it. Of course, this would argue that any kit should include the plug. (Mercedes part number 0019901117) Anyhow, I'm going to order the plug this time, and maybe next time I'll just get a washer and use my own thread lock... if I and the car last that long...

 

I received the parts today. The copper washer doesn't just fall off the bolt. The thread locker is pretty thick, and I think if it weren't there you could swap the washer easily enough. I think the only reason they don't offer it separately, though, is because of the thread locker.

 

Have a 2015 GLK250, and curious if anyone else had one hell of a time draining the torque converter?

On top of MB changing the fastener setup on the crankshaft from 1 bolt to some 4 bolt setup to make turning it a PITA, the torque converter itself wouldn’t drain. Only through experiments on did we find that a wick, such as a small metal wire, would get the TQ to drain.

Had neither of these experiences on my FIL 2011 C series.

 

I figured I would post my experience today doing the transmission service on my 2013 250GLK with some 220K miles.

I decided to do the job myself after some research. Got the transmission service kit from FCP Euro for $182 which included 10 liters of the (green) ATF, a new overflow tube, a crush washer for the main drain plug and a Mercedes-branded transmission filter.
For the refill tool, I bought a VEVOR universal fluif fill tool that came with the correct Mercedes adapter, as well as many other adapters, so I can use this kit for other cars as well if I need to. The VEVOR refill tool/pump was only about $60 delivered, other kits seem to go for as much as $200-$500.

Skipping all the routine things that went well, as with the previous poster I struggled with draining the torque converter - which does hold about 4 liters of ATF while the pan itself holds about 5 - so you really want to drain and refill the torque converter or you are leaving almost half of the fluid in. I also found that it was difficult to rotate the crankshaft. You need to use an external E-torx socket, not very large either (did not register the exact size) and space at the front of the engine is really limited, so it took me several tries of combinations of ratchets and extensions, until I was finally able to actually rotate the crank. Had to use a mirror and flashlight to spot the drain bolt appearing. When I did and removed the drain plug, only a few drops came out, to my surprise. I left it out, drain pan underneath, while I proceeded to remove the main transmission pan, clean it out etc etc. After about an hour, suddenly some sort of blockage in the torque converter drain hole must have cleared, because just like that the fluid started to actually pour out, filling the drain pan with 4 liters within 1-3 minutes. I think, like the previous poster commented, had I taken some sort of wire or something into the drain hole, it probably would have started draining a lot sooner, there seems to be some sludge or whatever that collects right at the drain plug (probably it collects there due to centrifugal force as there will be a slight depression looking from the inside of the converter, being the drain hole plugged up with the drain plug).

The other thing that was different from some of the videos / how-to's I looked at, was that when I let the transmission get up to temperature after filling it with the 10 liters of new ATF (I drained 9 liters, and the instructions say to overfill, let the fluid get up to 45 degrees celsius with car running on jackstands / lift, shifting through the D, N and R gears letting the fluid circulate where it should, then drain out the excess until it slows down to an interrupted slow flow), I was monitoring the temperature of the fluid with my semi-professional Topdon Phoenix Lite b-directional scan tool and, while doing so (it warms up really slowly) I was double-checking with my infrared temperature gun. Some said that you can use that just as well as a scan tool, however the gun was consistently reading 6-7 degrees celcius lower than the scan tool. Since everyone says draining the excess fluid at exactly 45 degrees is critical, I would encourage anyone doing this job to for sure use a scan tool and not a temperature gun so as to not risk being off by that much. The other critical thing is that the car has to be absolutely level, front to back and left to right. A top tip I found was to use a magnetic level stuck to the bottom of the transmission pan, so that's what I did and it worked well.

The test drive went well, I had no problems with the transmission prior to the service, other than a sometimes slightly noticeable downshift from 5 to 4, which seems to have now disappeared, or at least become much less noticeable. Good feeling to have done this job for about $250 even counting the full cost of the refill tool (which I can use many more times).

 

Great write-up, and good advice. The access to the torque converter drain plug varies by year, and on mine I'd decided was just not really an option.

Yes, the torque converter shares the transmission's fluid, and can be drained separately (pretty easy, with an obvious drain plug at the rear of the transmission's tail housing).

FYI, if your GLK is a 2010 (or earlier if not US) model, you will need to buy the MB 236.14 spec (red) fluid, and the recommended fluid change is ever 40,000 miles. You'll need the white or black drain plug stand pipe.

If your GLK is a 2012 or newer model, you will use the MB 236.15 (blue) spec fluid, and your fluid change interval is every 70,000 miles. You'll need the green drain plug stand pipe.

If your GLK is a 2011, you need to determine if your car / transmission has the A89 option or not. If your car was produced AFTER 6/21/2010, it should have the A89 option, and will use the blue fluid. The "newer" transmissions have the same deep "ovular" dimples in the transmission pan that you see in my video. The older ones (red fluid transmissions) have shallower "dimples".

FWIW, I did determine (largely by accident) that it is possible to tip the standpipe to the side (to drain the transmission fluid), and then restore it to its original position (for filling), using a hooked tool. That would make it possible to do a "minor" drain-and-fill without dropping the pan, though of course you'll only be changing about half the fluid that way. To make the job even quicker and easier you can just measure the amount of fluid drained, and put that much back in without resorting to fully warming the transmission, though you'd still have to have the engine running and shift through the gears to keep the fluid level at or below the standpipe level. Still, if you can do a quick and easy drain-and-fill, you'd be able to do a lot more of them which is a great long-term way to keep your 722.9 transmission happy for many, many miles and years.

I did a video on the full (drop the pan, change the filter, though didn't drain the TC) process...