I have a 2018 S63 with 53K miles on it, and wanted to get a tranny flush. I was quoted $1800 for a tranny flush at the dealer. A full service independent transmission shop said he'd do it for $400. Would you guys take your cars to a transmission shop for a tranny flush?

Background: The shop is VERY highly rated and the owner is personal friends with a client of mine who has a tire and wheel shop across the street so they've sent customers to each other for years. He said he buys the OEM fluid from MB in bulk and can get the pan for much cheaper than they would sell it to me for. He had a GLS with a 9G on the lift when I was there today, and says he's done the 9G tranny many times. Weird thing is that if he had quoted $800, I probably would have felt more comfortable. What would you guys do? AND, if I go through with it, I'll post the results so people can tell me how big of an idiot I am for doing this if something goes wrong.

 

I wonder if he has the correct tools to get the level right. That’s what takes the most time is my understanding. He may just be draining it and putting back in what he took out. 1800 sounds kinda high for a dealer. I had mine done a year ago or so at the mb dealer for 1350 dollars. The other thing is make sure the torque fconveryer is drained and the right fluid used. I’d be nervous. But then again I’m even nervous to get a flush and fill radiator service for fear they overheat the car and wreck the engine.

 

I dont have the 9-speed so not sure exactly what is needed or if the pan has to be replaced. Looks like the filters are part of the pan?

I looked and the 9-speed uses the 236.17 atf fluid. A 5l jug of it is $105.82 from checking online at my local MB parts dept and FCP has it for around the same price. Figure 10l for a fluid change thats $200 just for fluid. Then FCP sells the entire kit for for $388 on sale.

So I would question the $400 job, what is exactly included? The $1,800 at the MB dealer sounds about right or even cheap, my local MB dealer is a rip off and shady. They recommended all types of work, one thing was $300 to replace the air filters and I kid you not I had just replaced them not even a month prior. Another thing was $2,000 for a rear brake line which I replaced myself for $100 in parts and a flaring tool.

Why do a flush? I have done a decent amount of research on the 5 and 7 speed transmissions and seems the only time a flush is mentioned, at least in MB manuals is when its contaminated and and you have to really flush out the lines.

My W204 has over 160,000 miles. I serviced the transmission last fall. Replaced the fluid, filter, new pan due to rust and everything was fine. I cut the old filter open just to have a look, no abnormal contamination observed, no metal or glitter.

When you do have it done ask for the old filter and some of the old fluid just to see what it looks like. I dont trust anyone else working on my car or anything for that matter. I did have to give in and took it to my local MB dealer for an exhaust manifold replacement and I had them save all the old parts, just told them to throw them in a box and put it in my trunk. I was mostly curious to see how the old manifold looked inside if it was covered in carbon or clean.

I had new tires installed at a tire shop last year and they broke two center caps and glued them back on without even telling me. A year or two before that one of my tire pressure sensors was dead so I bought a new one and had a small tire shop down the street swap it out and only charged me $20 which I thought was great until the following weekend I went to replace worn sway bar links and I could not get three of the wheel bolts off, they were on so tight I had to use a 2 foot pipe over my breaker bar to get them loose. This is why I dont trust shops. After that experience I had another senor die so I swapped the sensor out myself using a floor jack to push the tire off the rim.

 

I agree with Tim’s question, but why do you need to do a flush? Maybe semantics, but did you mean a transmission service or just a drain and fill with a new filter?

The “book time” to do a tranny service for the 9G is 1.5 hours. $400 seems too low to me. As Tim said, parts alone can run about that much, especially if the shop is using Genuine MB parts. I might go OE, but would certainly not go OEM on things like the filter. The service kit from FCPEuro uses all Genuine parts.

Here’s a good site that you might find helpful:

https://en.mercedesassistance.com/me...ist-9-g-tronic

 

I would only recommend an MB specialty shop and they MUST use the correct fluid. MB as you know is very specific on the fluids to use and there are some procedures they must do before the trans reaches a specified temperature post change. I believe my indy charged me $900 for the fluid and filter change. The dealer was asking $1200.

 

And it appears the 9G is more complicated to do than the 7G or 7G+. While I have done both the 7G and 7G+ in the past, I’m getting too old to be crawling around under the car to do a tranny service. My dealer lets me provide the parts and pay them for the labor only.

 

First, I would talk to the owner and openly share all my concerns. Second, I will assume that he will make you comfortable and then you can be the initial subject to let us know how it goes so we will know if this is another option for us! I imagine lots of uninformed people take their mb to a transmission shop without a thought or worry, and we do not know the outcome.

 

I’m not sure I would rely on that to make my decision. A lot of people take their cars to JiffyLube, but would you?

I do agree that more questions need to be asked and answered.

If the “book time” to service the 9G is up to 1.5 hours and parts are around $400, I would feel more comfortable if the shop quoted $670 to $700 (depending on a labor rate of $200/hr).

 

I have an independent German shop that I go to for simple stuff, they did one for me about a year ago now. Labor was around $400 I think, and I bought a transmission flush kit from FCP Euro (link below). My total was about $800 for everything at the end of the day.

Runs great, definitely recommend getting it done! But only if you really trust the shop you’re using, as it’s not something you want to mess up.

Good luck!

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...i-moly-22034kt

 

I called him early last week and had a preliminary conversation. When he quoted me $400, my reaction was probably a little rude; implying that he didn't know what he was doing. That's whey I wanted to go meet him in person and ask a bunch of questions about how he coujld do it for so cheap. He already has all the tools and diagnostic equipment. He said he doesn't need to use the ultrasonic level check thingy because he does the temperature and drip procedure, there are tons of YT vids explaining and showing that procedure.

The cheapest quote I got from an independent was around $1K. Maybe that's just a Seattle thing, but I got 3 other quotes. I'm doing it as preventative maintenance, plus it seems like clutch engagement is a little slower when the car is cold first thing in the AM.

My car has the 9G tranny with the MCT wet clutch so it's never anywhere as smooth at other cars. I just want it running in top notch condition.

 

^I would totally ask the shop what their procedure is and if they've done MB's before, or specifically, these kind of transmissions (MCT). I'd be curious to know what fluid they would use as well. The MCT has a specific color and may be different depending on generation (red vs. blue). $400 seems a bit on the low side, in my opinion.

 

I think my previous post answers your questions about prior experience and method. As far as fluid for the MCT, it's the same. There's no red or blue choices for transmission fluid, it uses the same as other cars with the 9G transmission.
He told me that if he got in there and realized the cost were to exceed $400, he would call me prior to performing the procedure. And I totally agree about price, it made me question his knowledge. Right or wrong, I could have had a more gracious intitial response.

 

That still doesn’t explain the low price when fluid and parts are close to $400 alone. Just make sure he doesn’t teach shop class at some local high school.

 

I say walk away from this one. It’s not worth saving a few hundred dollars and end up spending thousands on a new tranny. There ain’t no “got in there and realized” anything. You’ve either done this before or you haven’t. You are simply requesting a drain and fill with a new filter.

 

I've seen 30+ videos on Youtube showing the 9G procedure, and like you said, it's a simple drain and fill. I actually got angry when I saw the first few videos on YT showing the procedure; I felt like the dealer's quote was a ripoff. The only time consuming portion of the job is getting tranny temp up to 35-45 degrees celcius before draining out excess fluid. Even the valve purge procedure is straightforward if you have the right scanner. I was ready to push the button and buy an Autel Maxipro on Black Friday, but I found this guy a couple days earlier. He said he uses OEM products, including the fluid; which he says he gets in bulk. And I said the exact same thing to him that you just said about parts cost. I anticipate he'll be around $550 when it's all said and done and I'm fine with that. The fact that he had a GLS with a 9G up on the lift at that time, another Benz in the customer pickup area even though probaly not a 9G, has great reviews, and came recommended from a client, are the reasons I'm willing to take a chance. But I totally appreciate your thoughts.

 

From reading thru the instructions the 9G seems a bit more involved than the 7-speeds. Different adapter and two options for setting the level.

And if its the 725.017 it looks like fill capacity is 11 Liters.

 

Then I would say go for it. You’ve done your due diligence and are not walking into this blindly. If all goes well, then you hit the jackpot. Worth having a good and reliable independent that doesn’t make you drive off with only one arm and one leg left.

 

That was my impression, as well. Maybe there is an alternative way that just isn’t covered in the WIS. Those instructions don’t say anything about reaching a certain temperature and letting overflow out until it drips. Maybe that is covered in one of the linked documents.

 

yes its listed in the other procedures.

Heres just a snippet of setting the level using fluid temp:

 

Thanks for posting this!! I assume you ave access to WIS. Great resource!

 

I assume it is a licensed shop. Most businesses want to avoid bad reviews and problem customers. You have not scared him away. Tell him you want it done perfectly and will pay for the extra effort. I would take my E450 there, but might hesitate with an S63. See if there is a review from someone with a mb. You can always sit and watch.

 

First of alI...HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!! Hope this is the beat year ever for all of you!

I wanted to follow up with what has transpired since my intitial post. I went into this with high hopes but only 50% confident that everything would go as smoothly as the guy promised. Long-story short, all is well...but.
I set an appointment to take my car in on a Tuesday for the tranny flush and fill. When I got there, the guy said he didn't have any of the parts in stock at that time and to come back the following Tuesday. When I went back the following Tuesday he said he couldn;t get the filter and to buy the filter and setup a new appoinment after ai go the filter. Well, on thge way to the shop that morning, I sent my wife a Google map with the location. But for some reason, I sent the wrong address; I sent her the address for another "transmission" shop that also does general service, but not Specific to German or Euro cars. I looked at their reviews and they had 15+ solid years in business with excellent reviews. So I decided to stop by and see if they could dot he tranny flush and fill.

I stopped by and made an appointment for 2 days later. Here's wher it got interesting, again. When I went in to drop off my car, the guy said he also couldn't get the filter, and to come back in a couple days. But he guaranteed that he could get the filter and it would be the same cost as the initial quote. I took it back a couple days later and he got the job done. My cost was $730, plus five trips to the 2 different repair shops. Car is running great, maybe slightly better than ever. He told me that the transmission fluid level was around 2 1/2 quarts low, based on the service manual and what he put back in. The only difference I can feel is the like car's torque converter (MCT so no torque converter) engages quicker/sooner when cold at lower RPMs. No other differences. I would definitely go back! The $730 was much better than the dealr quote of $1899, and the 1K plus from other Euro/German shops.

 

Been looking at doing mine, I had it done once before under the pre-paid maintenance, which I now realize was an unbelievably good deal (paid like $2000) as they did all fluids, 3 oil changes, spark plugs and wiper blades. I am only worried about doing it because of the aftermarket warranty that I bought made me prove I did oil changes before they would pay for a new AC Compressor and motor mounts and the S550e has a lot going on in the tranny with the hybrid system build in there! The kit is $277 from FCP Euro alone.

 

Nice! You were able to get it done for a reasonable price and put to rest the myth that this is something only the dealer or experienced indy shop can do. A fortunate help from misclicking gets the assist, but you probably would have been good at the first shop too despite his lack of enthusiasm. Thanks for the followup.

 

Sorry for the typos in my previous post. As you can tell from it, I'm prone to "misclicking"...LOL. I promise you guys I know how to spell and use proper punctuation. I should have checked my post for typos prior to posting it. You'd think a guy partied hard on New Year's Eve or something
We talk a lot about finding a good "indy" shop for our cars with no warranty or aftermarket warranties, and I think that's a good thing. But I didn't want to pay close to dealer labor rates for a fancy showroom when it isn't neccesary. And after viewing tons of YT videos, it became obvious that a tranny flush and fill really isn't a daunting task. They put the same 9G tranny in Nissan's. So C'mon now, how special is it really??? It came down to buying the kit from FCP Euro for $500 and the adapter for $50 from Amazon, plus spending 3-5 hours of my time figuring out how to do it properly and sweating through every minute of the process, or spend less than a couple hunderd dollars more and have it done right. The choice was a no brainer. If for some reaosn I start having problems, I'll regret that choice, but I'm happy for now. And I hope this helps others save money.