AWOL

My car has 115k on it. Ive owned it for 3 years now and never had any issues. Making some decent cash these days I decided along with the oil change, I would do a transmission fluid change because Ive never had it done or know if it was ever done.

So the dealer charges me $417 for both the oil and tranny service. Two weeks later, Im coming home from work just fine, catch a light, stop, try to go and she stutters and limps and wont move. I slowly coast to the side of the road and shes toast.

Towed it back to the dealer the next day and now they say I need a new transmission for $5300. Im heated. What could they have fouled up? Can I call mbusa on them? I havent spoken to them directly, they left a voicemail and I havent been able to call back.

What can i do in terms of liability on them. Always dealer maintained and I basically paid them to break my transmission.

Need suggestions on either getting them to fix or replace the transmission. Or should I source a shop to rebuild if they refuse.

Any ideas would be appreciated, Im not too pleased at the moment.

AKnight55

Wow.. The dealers work should have some sort of warranty on it.. I dont think its a coincidence that they just serviced the trans and now its shot.

eko1

Sorry to hear this.

Hard to prove anything two weeks later. I doubt they will cover it in anyway.

How did they determine it needs a new transmission. What is the failure?

I do not flush transmissions. Just drop the pan and do an filter change and replace the drained fluid. Flushes can knock things loose and remove the old "varnish".

novae500

Well you have a case for them to cover, since they were the last one to touch your tranny when they did the flush. Hope it works out for you. If it wasnt broke when you had it prior to flush and now after, its something they did.

AWOL

Thats my thought, Ive been swamped with work. Hopefully I can make a trip in soon, but going in with some knowledge is a good thing.

They warranty parts and labor for a year. Is the fluid change at 100k recommended by MB? I thought I read that somewhere but now google is letting me down

AKnight55

Pretty sure fluid change should be done every 50k miles or so

spike4755

fluid level alone will cause freaky problems-------check to see if they filled it to the proper level----tranny shot ot not the fluid level should be correct, unless it burnt it up which you could tell if it were burned oil by the smell

WHTEVO

My indy also said they do NOT do flushes on these cars. They will only do what the other guy said, drop the pan, change the filter, and put the pan back on with gasket. Hope you get it resolved in your favor. Definitely check the fluid level. The car won't be able to move if the fluid is extremely low. Good luck.

Aaron

MBH motorsports

This is not all that uncommon to be honest. I've heard many of stories of people toasting their trans shortly after a fluid change. The metal particles in the fluid might have been the only thing holding it together. So when the trans fluid was changed, out went the metal particles. Resulting in new/faster wear on the clutch packs. I also toasted a 722 trans. (did that at Famoso a few years back) You could send to a few places that can make you a really strong trans as long as nothing is bent.

Not to mention its an underrated and awesome mod. Maybe contact RenHaus in FLA. They can maybe help you. Or Paramount performance & Southern Hotrods.

At the price of a new dealer trans, you could do an exchange for a built trans. I have no proof other than my butt dyno, but when I got my trans with beefed up SL65 clutch packs I swear it was much faster. To bad I totaled the car about 2 weeks later.

BBBSS

Car has 115k they are gonna tell you yo get lost unfortunately.

I agree its time for an aftermarket rebuild. Get the car to a cheaper shop to pull the trans and ship it to a shop known flr building these particular transmissions. It will be cheaper and you will have a MUCH better trans in the end.

masonh66

the problem with these transmissions is the cotton(or whatever material it is)filter traps everything.i forget the size particle it traps but it is like microns.the filters need to be changed every 39,000 milers per MB and probably actually every 30,000miles to be safe.it's not really a problem as long as they get serviced very regularly.

115k is definitely way too long,you really can't blame the dealer if this is your first trans service.$417 sounds right for the dealer service which is filter,gasket,bolts and fluid(4qts)and labor.

i would call Southern Hotrod and send them the tranny,they will rebuild it way cheaper than $5,000+ and it will be bullet proof when you get it back.they build them to hold something like 1000hp/1000ft-lb.the car will shift better and the transmission will last forever as long as you change the fluid every 39,000 miles.

masonh66

on the other hand,if you have records of having the tranny serviced every 39,000 miles then you probably do have a legit case,but from reading your post i just assumed you weren't regular on the tranny services.

i have an E63 and i fear for my tranny all the time.it isn't near as tuff as the E55 tranny,but if you don't change that cotton filter no MB tranny is worth a crap.

next time you get a chance,look at the material inside the filter on these trannys.it looks like millions of silk or cotton fibers woven together.they do their job,almost too well.

Glyn M Ruck

These transmissions require to have fluid & filter changed EVERY 39K miles or 60K Km's.

That aside - changing fluid will always be better than leaving old fluid in the transmission.

loungn14

as previously mentioned I have also seen this with low fluid, as it puts the trans in limp mode.

But, I have heard what MBH was saying as well. Sucks brother...

93RX7LSX

Check your service receipt to find out what was actually done to the vehicle. If the transmission filter was not actually replaced you have a great case, contact a lawyer & the BAR (bureau of automotive repair) ASAP.

pearlpower

the only truth in this entire thread.

Yep. BAR is decent in California-not much else is. Give them a holler. Scan and post up the receipt/work order please , covering personal info of course.

RedBullJnky

Very sorry to hear this! I too had my tranny flushed not to long before mine went out. We pulled the tranny today, so I'll keep every one posted on what went wrong. Good luck to you!

Yacht Master

Well known fact, dealer "flush" cause problems.
Only change ATF and strainer @ 50k mi.

AWOL

xpl0sive

you have a 10,000,000 mile warranty from ChrysTler? covered by Jesus himself? that must have cost a pretty penny :p

Glyn M Ruck

Old wives tale!

AMG E Power

Ok this thread has me a little scared ! I'm going to get an oil change at the steeler and planned on doing the transmission as well being I'm at 39000 miles and has not been done.
Are there any precautions I need to take or suggest when I go ?

BenJ

I was told by several amg techs that the transmissions were sealed for life.

AMG_RL

I replaced my 18k miles ago, no problems whatsoever. I plan on replacing it again with oem fluids on I hit another 40k on the fluid.

lfe136

I changed mine ever 40k on my e63 and gl450. no issues yet.