JeffWilson

My wife is having a strange problem in her 98 ML320. When she shifts from reverse into drive the car surges and she hears a loud noise. She finlly got it diagnosed by MB and they say it is a bad "air mass sensor" and a problem with the shift motor. This car is only 4 years old and has about 60,000 miles on it, so I am having trouble accepting a $1,600 repair on the transmission. Is anyone aware of this as a known problem with the ML's so that we can maybe push MB to pay for it? Thanks very much for your assistance!

Jeff Wilson
Emglewood, NJ

Darkmann

That's rather unfortunate. Yes, there has been some discussion on these trannies failing right after the warranty expires but, that's just been a discussion. Techs tell me (at least in my area) that tranny problems are rare. Now, MB did put out a plastic retrofit piece for the 98 ML's - did it only if vehicle came in for tranny service. You may want to take yours in and explain what the problem is. Generally, MB will pick up the expense, it really depends on the dealer/rep. Explain (nicely and calmly) the problem and insist that a tranny failure at this stage is utterly unacceptable for a vehicle of the ML's caliber. You may be a candidate for the "hidden" warranty.

mipawh

just had the same problem happen to my truck with 80k on it. dealer replaced ECU for the transmission, said they were getting error codes. went and picked up the truck, next morning when I put it into gear - BANG same problem. (my problem was going from park to reverse or drive on cold startup, but it sounds similiar to your issue) took it back and they replaced the shift motor????? for free due to the $1100 dollar missed diagnosis. got two new parts and still felt screwed.

Kar don

mipawh, i see you are in MA... Which dealer did you go to? I am having rough shifting and the dealers around boston suck.

mipawh

AlBoston,

I've gone to Flagship Motorcars, which I would NEVER go to again. For $435 bucks I got an oil change and 3 new windshield wipers (Level "A" service - total BS, they did nothing). So I got into a fight with the manager and I told him I would never come back and he said "I think that's a good idea". Real customer service there. I really wasn't trying to be unreasonable either (honest!)

Anyway I'm currently going to Herb Chambers MB in Boston. They've been *OK* so far, not great, but fair enough (although they did lose my car for about an hour one day). Definitely not cheap and you have to stay on them to keep them honest. I'd jump ship if I heard of any better MB dealerships though.

As you may have seen I'm experiencing some driveshaft problems which I've decided to tackle myself. Any idea if an ML with no rear driveshaft should drive in FWD????

Thanks, Mike