I brought my car in to the dealer because inspection was up....Since I was coming into the end of the extended warranty period, I made sure to bring it in beforehand and have any outstanding issues fixed.

For a while though I had been hearing a whirring, ratchety type noise that would speed up with the engine, but only when I was accelerating. I described the noise in detail and asked them to check it out, figuring it was a belt or pulley or something. They said they could not determine the source, but that my tires were worn and needed to be replaced to pass inspection. Since I exclusively use TireRack and an excellent installer that specializes in imports, I picked up the car, decided on Turanza Serenity Plus tires, and brought the car back when all was said and done. By this point the warranty had just expired.

I was floored when they called me back to tell me that they'd determined the source of the noise was a worn transfer case bearing at the front driveshaft....and that to fix it they would need to replace the whole transmission for $6,000+!!! What?!

Now we're all aware of the issues with the 722.9, so I've been easy on it and was diligent in making sure the fluid service was done at 40k and 80k.....and now this! Obviously this is a worn part and didn't happen overnight, so it was definitely worn the first time I brought it in, *still* under warranty, but conveniently no one mentioned it then.

The first work order does describe the noise the way it was written from the second order, so my service advisor said he was putting a claim in that I shouldn't be liable given the circumstances, but it would take a bit of time to hear back. In the meantime, I've got a ticking time bomb and no way of knowing until the fat lady sings whether I'm going to end up being on the hook for the whole thing. Way to treat your customers like some used car lot salesman Mercedes!

 

Holy crap what a nuisance, hopefully Mercedes-Benz takes good care of you being a premium customer and solve the issue asap !!
A question though, if you say tranny and front driveshaft I assume you have a 4-matic?
May it be that all these tranny issues here on the forum are with 4-matics?

 

According to the maintenance manual, the trans fluid and filter on the 4-matic needs to be replaced at the first 13,000 mile interval, then every 26,000 after. So at 13k, 39k, then 65k etc. So 40k and 80k would only be sufficient for the RWD models.

 

Ha. I, two, am in your carrier bearing boat with my 4matic. The shocker price from the dealer left me dumbfounded...so I did a bit of feverish research on this matter. I learned that these carrier bearings have a known tendency to fail in as little as 50k miles. The real kicker is that they are NOT serviceable as the 722.961 transmissions are NOT serviceable. So, -when- it goes bad the only remedy is a replacement/remanufactured transmission 221-270-88-01 to the tune of $7k. OUCH!!!!! I (should) feel somewhat fortunate at 260k miles that it hasn't reared its ugly head until now.

I did some digging and am able to locate a fully remanufactured/rebuilt transmission through Silver Star Transmissions in Edmond, OK for $3,320 + $500 core delivered to my door...it's nice that they pay the return shipping for the core. It includes a new MB valve body and it dyno-tested, warrantied for 12-months and unlimited miles. The dealership can't come close to the price or warranty. I did a lot of checking before plunking down my three grand and they do have a solid reputation for a top quality product. My Indy shop can swap it into the car for $850 and I'm going to have them do the rear main seal for piece of mind while the tranny is out (for $150).

 

Same exact thing happened on my CPO 220. Perfect service history, took it to an Indie at 98,000 miles to have any fault codes pulled. Nothings had them do an extra tranny service...no excessive shavings, fluid was fine. At 103,000 (3k out of warranty) the tranny went. $6,000 installed for a reman out of Germany, including new torque converter.

I've heard that in some cases MB will do a goodwill repair if something major fails close to the warranty ending. Couldn't hurt to ask.

 

That's interesting. I assumed 39,000 miles and then figured on 78,000. Time to check the VMI.

It's worthwhile pursuing the matter with Mercedes customer service.

 

I would think that they have to honor something being that you had just taken your car there and complained about the sound just prior while you were still was under warranty.

What year is your car?

 

I would fight them tooth and nail on this!

Tell them that you brought the car in with a problem, they mis diagnosed it (tires) which you had repaired elsewhere, then since the problem was still there, you took it back to them (now out of warranty, but as soon as you could)

They properly diagnosed it, and it's the transmission.

This proves that the transmission was the problem all along, and you did the right thing by pointing it out while it was under warranty. I'd tell them that had they diagnosed properly the first time, they would have had to replace it under warranty, and they should do that now

They can't point to the tires and say that was the problem, because it's a separate part. Tell them that you're surprised that an MB dealer can't tell the difference between a tire problem and transmission problem with all of their fancy equipment.

Ask how they confirmed the diagnosis. I'm a simple guy without millions of $ of R&D and fancy tools behind me, but most MB shops have a set of tires/rims sitting around that they can quickly swap on the car and see if that's the problem.

I once had a wheel bearing problem that turned out to be a tire problem. Indy mechanic zipped on a set of tires/wheels and we went for a spin. Noise completely gone. 20 mins after I got there, he smiled, looked at me, and said "still think it's a wheel bearing?" You would think if he can do it, so can an MB dealership....

I'd argue and argue with them till they pay for the transmission. They have a bucket of goodwill $ for exactly this kind of thing. Tell them that you reported it under warranty, they didn't fix it, and you'd like them to now do it properly.

 

So that initial visit's service ticket is critical. The SA would have notated "CS hearing a whirring, ratchety type noise that would speed up with the engine, but only when I was accelerating." or something to that effect. The ticket should close out with a notation that the tech evaluated and determined it was likely noise from worn tires. You should have received a copy when you closed out the ticket. If not, get a copy BEFORE any confrontation. Notes can be edited.

Unfortunately, had they done the tire work during that visit they would have realized it wasn't the tires and started digging into the drive line while the warranty was still in effect.

After the tires got mounted up, I'm presuming the noise continued. How long after the new tires did the tranny fail?

 

Is that the same for 2010+. I thought the first change needed to right around 40k. THis has been mentioned many times on here.

 

7G transmission, round depressions = ATF 134 red, fluid/filter change every 40,000/4 years (whichever comes first)

7G+, oval depressions = ATF 134 blue, fluid/filter change every 70,000/7-years

 

Good info Kontsinger, however I question Mercedes' recommendations for a 70K fluid change interval. It wasn't that long ago (5 speed) that they were pretending that the fluid would be good for the life of the transmission, which often resulted in the life of the transmission ending at around 100K. If I owned a 7G+ I'd still continue to change at 40K just to be safe. Of course, I also change my oil at 5-6K intervals rather than their recommended 10K.

 

What's the fluid change recommendations for the 5G transmissions from the S600 & S65?

 

Don't forget guys, I first posted about this in June 2013 .....I don't think there was any confusion that they thought it was a problem with the tires instead of the faulty bearing, they were either purposely waiting for the warranty to expire (which I'd have no way of knowing) or they just weren't paying attention/weren't competent that day. Also, the trans never failed, it was only in danger of failing once the bearing gave out altogether.

I argued several times with them about it, saying that it should have been covered since I brought attention to it while the warranty was still in effect. They didn't budge, saying they didn't have it diagnosed then. Rather than continue fighting I got the goodwill repair from Mercedes corporate which payed most of the cost. I just find it odd that they won't replace the transfer case separately, whereas independent shops might even rebuild it, with the actual bearing a $40-$50 part. Also, shame on them for ever suggesting you'd only have to change the transmission fluid once for the life of the car.....I did the 39k and again around 80k, but never did I see anywhere that 13k was initially called for, a figure I believe to be in error for this transmission.

I think that this problem and the leaky seals, along with the balance shaft sprocket, were all design flaws that should have been recalls regardless of warranty, instead of the fighting and hoops that Mercedes made everyone jump through to get these premature failures resolved.

 

Good job!

 

ATF 134 red, fluid/filter change every 40,000/4 years

 

Daimler and the CPO company covered it still I had labour and fluid costs.

I have pictures of the faulty part in this post: Attached here too.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w221...roblems-5.html

Apparently S class baring fail is rare, the C/GLK's are much more common.

I was changing the oil last week smiling at my brand new shiny tranny with it's late 2013 date stamp

 

I should say as well - Loads of GLK's and C 4matics with the same problem out of warranty driving around. It's not going to suddenly fail, just gets noisier.
Unlike a 4matic front drive shaft cv joint breaking that will really tick you off in rural France - I check those boots very carefully every six months now.