S-Class (W140) 1991-1999: 300 SD, S 350TD, 300 SE 2.8, S280, 300 SE 3.2, 300 SEL 3.2, S320, S320L, 400 SE, S420, 400 SEL, S420L, 500 SE, S500, 500 SEL, S500L, 600 SE, S600, 600 SEL, S600L, 500 SEC, 600 SEC

W140 99 S420 Wont Engage Gears

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Old Jan 8, 2016 | 08:10 AM
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GoingBack2Cali's Avatar
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1999 S420
W140 99 S420 Wont Engage Gears

Hey guys I have a 1999 S420 that's been running fine and all of a sudden I drove her today and I heard a slight grinding noise so I parked then came back and now she won't engage any gear at all. Any help with this would be great.
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Old Mar 1, 2016 | 10:02 PM
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s280 w140 chassis and w140 s600sel
My auto is slow to engage and I have gotten used ti it - when I first bought the car I couldn't get a gear (reverse) - I had to put it into reverse twice and wait a second for it to engage. Sweet. It also takes a full two seconds to pick-up forward motion.
I have found going downhill and stopping can sometimes cause th ecar to have no drive in any gear then it eventually is okay. rare now but I know the car's personality - 3500NZD or adjust your driving to it after all you possibly didn't pay that much for it? They're cheap in New Zealand but watch out if you can't fix something yourself. No disrespect intended by the way.
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Old Mar 1, 2016 | 10:05 PM
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s280 w140 chassis and w140 s600sel
Merc dealer said that the S280 transmission gets worn at a low mileage. Don't know about a 4.2 V8. But it has a transmission and they must exhibit the same symptoms.
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Old Mar 2, 2016 | 12:05 AM
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Mercedes-Benz 2007 S550, 2012 S550 4-Matic, 2014 S550 (Traded), 2015 GL450
Originally Posted by GoingBack2Cali
Hey guys I have a 1999 S420 that's been running fine and all of a sudden I drove her today and I heard a slight grinding noise so I parked then came back and now she won't engage any gear at all. Any help with this would be great.
So when you put it in gear (D) it doesn't move? Have you tried manually shifting the gears from 1-2-3-4-D?
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Old Mar 21, 2016 | 04:04 AM
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s280 w140 chassis and w140 s600sel
any luck with yopur transmission - I have a friend in Auckland, NZ (here) that is interested - he has an S400
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