I got my car with 48K and i have a feeling trans service was not done on time. So i did it asap. A little after i noticed that if i let go of the brake and let the car roll on its own it will gitter a little. before it gets up to about 2 or 3mph. i could replicate it with holding the brakes a little just to provide enough resistance for the car not to roll faster than about a mile an hour or simply let go of the brake on a small incline and it would easily do it every time. It didn't do it in the winter, however. Really strange. But i did notice that when trans is cool, shifting to 2nd is a little harsh.
I wonder if its Valve body issue as well.

 

Well, my transmission went south today. It had been dropping into "limp" very rarely about three to four months ago. Now, it's really hitting me. Driving along and I sense a shift. Boom. Limp mode. At a stoplight on major intersection. Boom. "Ooses" away from light. I am really pinched up. Make it home. It's scary. Shutdown and recycle and it works until......? The next time.

I called stealership and they say bring it in or haul it in. The plate in the valve body is shot. Bring a grand and they'll fix it.

They are "busy", so repair will have me down for some time. This is nutso in a car that shouldn't make me wonder, if I will make it home. 2007 S550 4matic. It's 117,123 off the line. S550 Design, with 76,000 miles total.

I thought things were caught and fixed by 117,123. Plus, I thought 4matics were not part of the issue

The net is I am looking at $1200+ usd's for a fix. And, they won't guarantee this fix will cure my problems. This is disgusting. I have been MB since 1989. Next one likely won't be an MB. They don't care, imo. I am po'd

 

I had the "speed sensor" issue as well on my 07', S550 at 120,000km, (FYI, the tranny oil and filter were changed at 60,000km at the stealership). Car would start in 3rd gear at stop light, wouldn't downshift, etc.. I was told that the problem is metal shavings come from the torque converter and mess up the speed sensors. When this happens, you need to replace the conductor plate, valve body, or complete tranny.

Rather than help people with these repairs, what Mercedes did was to stop selling the valve bodies to independant mechanics and to the public (in Toronto anyways, not sure about elsewhere). I called MB USA, MB Canada and several dealerships in my area and all of them basically acted as if my car was the first that ever had this issue , and that I should bring my car (and some vaseline ) to the stealership and pay the $4,000 they were asking. When I asked why I could not purchase the valve body at the parts counter, I was told that it is a non-stock item because it is considered "high-theft" and were only ordered as needed by MB mechanics, WTF is that???

I was lucky enough to find an honest independant mechanic that had a few conductor plates in stock and replaced it for around $1,200. The conductor plate is the part that gets messed up by the metal shavings in the valve body. If your valve body is version 1, you need to replace the whole valve body. If your valve body is version 2 or 3, you can probably just replace the conductor plate. BTW, the stealership will not change the conductor plate alone regardless of version, they will make you change the complete valve body. Once the conductor plate or valve body has been replaced, the car will need to be SCN coded which very few independants can do.

Sorry for the long post but I just needed to vent!!!

Does anyone know if we can prevent this metal shavings issue by sticking a magnet to the bottom of the tranny oil pan?

Oh and if anyone starts the class action suit, count me in, but I think it's a waste of time.

 

Oil pan already has magnets as explained in service bulletin http://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/o...stedDocId=7779

 

"nervous as hell" so i got my s550 out of the shop yesterday for slippage and a bang into 2nd gear. after having the vehicle for two weeks, it does not feel like the trans is 100% from first to second gear. i was advised to drive the vehicle and let the transmission make the necessary adjustments. i am going to trust the dealership but unfortunately i cannot purchase an extended warranty on the vehicle because of age. this is a huge concern because with these vehicles being so complicated anything can happen and i am not totally comfortable with the transmission issues. also, can anyone tell me what causes a squeaking sound on either the chassis, frame or engine compartment. the mechanic tells me that there is no way to lube the components because they are sealed. any ideas that would help. thanks

 

To Bobby: Check the ball joints for the squeaks.

To Konigstiger: Thanks for the info.

 

magcl, thanks for the info. i just received an email from dealership wanting to resolve problems. i will mention the ball joints as a possible problem. how many thousands of dollars will this cost, umm?

 

I am having right ball joint replaced by indy this Tuesday. Estimate is under $200.

2007 4Matic w/ 77,000 miles.

 

I I purchased my car a week ago at a dealership as is. I was driving my car power completely shut down the vehicle was still running. I have some buddies that work at Amco transmission they pulled the pan down found metal shavings they recommend I replaced the transmission but they dati they pulled the pan down found metal shavings they recommend I replaced the transmission but they did not pull the transmission apart.

My car is a 07 S550 rwd 88k miles

 

You'll need to get the car to a qualified Indie tech or MB dealer. Both the transmission and torque converter have to replaced. You can get a reman'd unit from Germany installed for around $6,000. It will have a 2 year unlimited mile warranty. I recommend you sell the car before then.

Most techs will not tackle the internals themselves.

You can also try a salvage piece but of course no guarantee. Not sure who thought there was a class action here. MB isn't responsible for breakdowns of anything after their warranty expires. Used cars are sold "as is" for a reason.

How much did you pay for the 08?

Good luck!

 

I paid $24k its white, tan int with pano roof. It was the car I was looking for with the price range I felt was a good buy but I should of had car inspected

 

Not your fault. I had an s500 CPO car that I bought with 42k miles for $40k in 07. The car had all scheduled tranny services. CPO ended at 100k miles so just shy of that I did an extra tranny service and had all the cars fault codes pulled and cleared. Normal. At 103k miles no go, tranny full of metal, $6k. The car at that point was worth less than $20k. Sucks. The only protection is a warranty of some kind, but nobody will write an S with 90k miles.

 

It might just be me, but a lot of these tranny problems seem to be occurring the 07's. I wonder if the transmissions from that year had flaws or if its due to lack of maintenance

 

May very well be maintenance for MY07-08 722.9 MB required ATF once @ 39,000 miles owners may not be aware that this was revised in 09 to every 40,000/4 years (whichever comes first).

 

Mine had a completely normal tranny service...no burnt fluid, no metal shavings, no fault codes... 5000 miles before a clutch pack imploded and spread shrapnel through everything.

I think the focus on maintenance to stave off failures like this is a little like villagers throwing virgins in volcanos to make it rain.

Obviously do the scheduled maintenance, but a warranty is your best protection.

 

If you can get an analysis done on the composition of the shavings that may reveal your problem. I believe that bushings have a high brass content and can be noticed in the fluid. They do the same thing with engine oil to determine where the wear is occuring

 

Also i wonder if you can transplant a tranny from lets say an 09 into an 07. There are places on ebay that sell them off of totalled cars for spare parts.