Fantasm

So my SL has been in the shop for the past week due to tranny issues, and it looks like they will be replacing the entire MCT transmission with a new one from Germany. They are still waiting on final confirmation from Germany, but my SA says that is more than likely what will be happening.

About 1 month ago I originally brought it in because the downshifts from 4-3, and 3-2 were very rough and BANGED into place when the car was being driven in Comfort or regular Sport mode. They replaced the transmission clutch valve/computer or something and it was better than ever with shifts for a few weeks (better than new i think even).

Then I started having the 4-3 downshift problem again and I brought it back in last Monday. So apparently its really bad, and I need a new MCT trans. and I'm "the first to have this problem so no one really knows what to do or whats wrong".

Oh well, loving my C300 loaner

sprins

Thank god/buddah/allah/easterbunny for warranty!

a_Y

oh noessssssssss

hope mine wont be like that....

irieblue

How many miles on your car? Also when it was new, is the MCT gearbox in comfort mode smooth? Since the MCT gearbox doesn't have a torque converter I've been wondering if it is smooth enough to make it into the S class..

Fantasm

between 7000 and 8000 miles, don't know for sure.
comfort mode is indeed very smooth when its working correctly!

spnslc

My first SL63 was lemoned for this issue back in Sept. It was four months old and had 3700 miles on it. It hesitated and banged in every gear/mode and then stalled all the time. The stalling couldn't be fixed. Back then, there were no replacement MCTs available (MB wouldn't pull one off the new-car production line), so they had to lemon my car.

For your car, I am sure they tried the new software update that was released in Jan, and/or wet clutch adaptations (software adjustments), and/or a valve body replacement.

My new SL63 is flawless (got it in Nov) and the MCT is very smooth. It is an awesome car to drive and I especially enjoy the MCT. The same MCTs are going into the new E63s due out this summer. With this high-tech, new-tech, there is bound to be glitches in some of the cars. I would never own an MB out of warranty.

Fantasm

Thats right spnslc, they replaced the valve body and then I also heard that they updated to the new software last time, but the problem came back. The car is hmmm... 6 or so months old now.
Also, my race start always seemed to bog down the few times I used it, and it would've been faster to just gun it from the stop then try and use race start.

Fantasm

special tech flying this week for this

transferred

Maybe now people can cut BMW M a break when they had problems pioneering this tech years ago...

-Rob

Marcus Frost

Nah... SMG still sucks

And FWIW, SMG is really not a pioneering tech... but DSG on the other hand. Now that is innovative.

-m

BMWRACER

Funny you guys mentioned the transmission problem. Yesterday i just started the car and put in in reverse and it started sputtering and then stalled.
I shut it down for about 3 minutes and started it again and same thing happenned,
So now, instead of putting it in reverse,i put it in drive and lo an behold,the revs jump up and down, alot of hesitation and again it stalls.
This time i turned it off for about 10 minutes and started in in park,moved the gear lever to neutral,gave it some gas up to 1200 rpm and shifted it to drive.
A big clunk noise as it went into gear but i managed to get the car to move forward and get in home.
The thing is, it stalled at every light as soons as the revs went below 1000rpm and it didn't like going into first gear and was very abrupt when it did.
Today, i started the car and put it in reverse and it would not engage.It was like being in neutral. I managed to get it going in drive just to move it on the driveway and called a flatbed.
I am hoping it is a software issue but from what i have read in your posts this could very be that the transmission is shot.
That being the case, it is going to be a long winded fix sadly.

Any thoughts?

Xeron

I'm also having the 4 to 3 shifting problem. MY SF told me they have a clutch pack to fix it . Considering that they can't fix a rattle ( which MBUSA) says is normal. I'm highly reluctant to let them touch my tranny. I can;t get my race start to function correctly at all either.

spnslc

Mine did this exactly. I can relate to your comments about clunking into gear, but then difficulties engaging it to get it into drive to get it to move forward. Every stoplight was a worry whether the tranny would engage. It stalled all the time in parking lots and stoplights. Sometimes it would bolt forward erratically when I did get it into gear. They never could fix my car, but that was six months ago when there were no spare parts for the SL63 tranny and they've come out with this software fix. My new SL63 has 3000 miles on it and has been flawless. Keep us posted on your progress.

Fantasm

Who do you guys think I should approach about having one of my MBZ Financial payments waived because of all this? My car will have been unusable for about a month once all this is over and done with.

The gentleman who came down from MBUSA apparently gave them the go-ahead to do a tear down on the transmission and try to find the problem, and he does confirm there is a problem.
Its been 3 weeks now that the car in total has been at the shop, and will be 4 weeks by the time they are hopefully done next week.
The payment on the SL63 is very high, so I do feel it is worth it to pursue a waived month.

Xeron

I need to bring mine in for the same problem. Which dealership is doing your work and who is your advisor. . I may drive mine down as I really don't trust the techs where I live.

PM me

thanks

George

Fantasm

Sent you a PM

BMWRACER

Well i picked up the car from the dealer yesterday. They said it was fixed and they reprogrammed the comouter.
It drove fine for 1 hour then it started to act up again.
I am taking it back on Monday.

Litho

Call my attorney- Sergei Lemberg, Esq. 877-775-3666, he had my 2005 SL55 lemon lawed because my ABC suspension would always drop after a few hours. The key issues are-

1) was the car in for repairs 4 or more times for the same issue
2) was the car in the shop for over 30 days for the same issue
3) was the car purchased or leased new
4) is the car under one year old

My car was finally lemon lawed in month 32 of my lease for a full refund of all lease payments, sales tax, reg. fees + attorney fees. Tell him that Mike from LithoGraphics in NY gave you his number.

Xeron

each state has different laws regarding this process

Babilonian

I'm kinda disturbed from what i'm reading. Why are you having such problems with cars that are over $100k and are suppose to be from the best car maker too?

I've never heard anyone seeking legal help cuz they're driving a Japanese car...not even a corola!!

Fantasm

Then you haven't heard of a lot of things Babilonian. Case in point, Nissan GTR.

Hans Delbruck

It's sad to hear this.... more than one year after the new M3's launch, BMW is still working out the bugs with M-DCT. Too bad MB hasn't been able to get this new tech right either.... Hope they get things sorted out soon for you guys.

Fantasm

Man, I was pretty indifferent to this problem until I just remembered that the MAIN reason I got the SL63 was because of the MCT.
I'm pretty pissed about this now and the other things Mercedes made the SL63 lack. They better cover at least the 1 month of downtime I've had with this car.

#1. Why the hell doesn't the SL63 have traffic patterns/navigation on it when its the same NAV system as the rest of the new cars?

I'm going to make a ruckus about this and have them try to get traffic nav working on my SL.

france2112

Hi. I PM'd you about your opinion of the SL63. I am considering getting rid of my 2005 CL65 for an SL and I can't decide if I want an SL63 or SL65. If I get the SL63 I will get one with the AMG performance package. I see you had an SL55 in the past and I would really appreciate your review of the SL63. I'm worried I'll miss the torque of my 65. What say you please. Thanks in advance.

Larry

Fantasm

Well, my #2. was going to be the bad decision in making an engine without FI, because I absolutely hate not being able to add REAL power to the car.
It really needs to have more power honestly. The top end of the car is weak IMO.

The only reason I picked the SL63 over an FI car, was because of the MCT.
If the MCT doesn't interest you, then pick something else IMO...