Shukla

My S550 2007 model has transmission problem. I bought the car new in 2006. The car has been services regularly and has only 31600 miles after 9 years. While driving last week, the car got stuck in first gear. I wrote to MB about the problem. They say the problem is mine as it is out of warranty. It seems that 2007 models S550 have an inherent problem of the transmission. MB should replace these transmissions at their cost. We buy these vehicles because of the quality they promise. Maybe a class action suit can be made? Do I have the support. Maybe we shall not win, but the problem shall be highlighted. It is ridiculous to have transmission problems in 30k miles.... Please share your thoughts

MJ50

moved to W221 forum...

MrRat

I mentioned it on the other thread but, did you bring your car to the dealer you just used for your 'A' service to diagnose the issue?
I agree that it shouldn't require a transmission repair at 30k but things do break on a nine year old car sometimes. If you don't have a warranty, you are responsible for the repair.
Sometimes the dealership will extend goodwill on some repairs. The path to that is not an angry demand but a friendly discussion with the SA, maybe the customer service rep as well.
These cars are safe, drive and perform really well, and have nice furniture. They do require repair more often than a mainstream high volume sedan like a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry.

Shukla

Not Angry at all. I have owned MB since 1989 and have been happy with them. They are great vehicles. The issue is quality of parts. I can understand that whenever a new technology comes, there are bugs which need to be fixed. I think that MB corporate should take this up.

MrRat

I agree that the characterization of angry may be unfair. However the expectation the the manufacturer should indefinitely be responsible for the repair your car is unrealistic.
I paid to have a timing belt service done on a 2005 VW Phaeton, it was about $2,000. If it happened to have 30,000 miles I would still have had to to do it. A $1200 repair on a nine or ten year old $100,000 car should not come as a surprise. Parts deteriorate with age and sometimes cause a failure. I have essentially the same car. I have no expectation that Mercedes is responsible for any parts failure well out of warranty. I don't mind pursuing a goodwill repair on an issue that might have been covered by a TSB/DTB. I have no expectation that they will cover something but would appreciate it.
I would think if you continue to reset and drive the car when it's getting stuck in first gear, you will be replacing the transmission rather than just the conductor plate.
Bring the car in for diagnosis, talk to the service advisor, call customer service. Writing a paper letter to corporate is not likely the path to a goodwill repair.

MrRat

I also think when you say quality, you mean reliability. Here's an illustrative example, Rolex, Patek Phillipe, make high quality watches, but you are more likely to service it than a Casio watch. The cost to service a good watch regularly exceeds the total cost of a cheap one.

alx

The stuck in gear is a systemic 7g tranny issue across the whole Mercedes lineup. The valve bodies develop speed sensor issues which throw the tranny in limp mode. A class action law suit might be actually fairly easy as the issue is well documented and in very large numbers.

tifosiv122

If you are serious about starting a class action, reach out to me. Note my license plate...

MrRat

Nice car collection. On the the other hand, there are some TSB/DTB s on known issues with a range of vehicle ids that were built with potential transmission issues, known defects. So it's also not that unreasonable to wish to be reimbursed for late appearing manifestations of those known defects.

MrRat

I used to own a 135I convertible. BMW had trouble with the high pressure fuel pump and the twin turbo's wastegates. They extended the warranty on all cars with this engine to 10 years 120,000 miles for the fuel pump, and the turbos (8 years 80k) as well. It would be in Mercedes ' best interests to assume some responsibility here.
I would guess that the conductor plate is likely being sold at a discount to the cost to produce, which is likely why they also restricted the availability. Perhaps they could goodwill repairs for those transmissions in the known defective range.
The other issue with the defective bearings in the transmission is the more troubling issue. In this case there is no fix available short of a rebuild. Here is where there has been some goodwill applied in some cases, but it would be more useful to define some criteria on the period of extended coverage that may be offered. Alternatively the rebuilt transmission part could be offered at a steep discount or free for transmissions in the defective range.

alx

the defective bearings are in small numbers. i have seen very few cases.

conductor plate? almost every 7g tranny is guaranteed to fail one or more of the hall effect speed sensors (the turbine one is the most common) in the conduit plate. once it fails you have two options- DIY removal of conductor plate and sending to a vendor for repair ($300 for repair and $150 for new fluid/gasket/filter/bolts) or dealer replacement which requires scn coding - about $1800.

MBNUT1

Impressed with your detailed level of knowledge. Great to have guys like you on the board.