HI. I recently purchased something close to my dream car, an E63 Estate (it's not a clk-gtr and it's black, otherwise it's my dream car). anyway, recently, it has during long drives got stuck in seventh gear. no matter what i do (switch from comfort to sport to manual, flick the paddles, move the shifter laterally, it will not downshift. it resets if i pull over and turn off the ignition so it's not life threatening; however, if i am expecting to jump with a double or single downshift and it doesn't happen, i can get in a lot of trouble. does anyone know about this??

i've read about tranny's getting stuck in third and park; but, this is nothing like that. please help. thank you!

You need to have it scanned for codes. Most likely it needs a new control unit/electric plate assembly or possibly a valve body.

are the codes on the obd? i am sorry that i am highly unfamiliar with MB systems. it seems that i need a "star" tool. i assume that there is some emulator for a PC that can be implemented and a cable constructed.
are the data for the tranny on another place? is the star completely independent of obd? is there a primer for this? sorry!!

The data is not on the OBDII, yes you will need a dealer to read the transmission codes from the transmission itself or an independent shop who has Star Diagnosis. Call your local dealer and see what they charge for basic diagnosis/estimate , not sure in NY but around here it costs about $125-$150

ok, thanks. do you know of any independent and good mechs in nyc area??

thanks.

Sorry, don't know any in NY.

well, i did go to a dealer. two things: speed monitor or something like that and a shift/electric plate. i had the speed monitor done and it made no difference. they say that i need a special AMG plate that has to come from germany. none in us and it costs something like $1150! is there another solution (like a used one?) BTW, this happens more frequently when the tranny is hot. it doesn't happen when it is cold at all and in winter happens less than summer.

oh, yeah. it does seem to be able to shift up from 6th to seventh but not down. and once, just once, it stayed in second. and twice it went to neutral which is rather frightening.

Turbine speed sensor is out. Happens to every one of the seven speed trannys.

so, great. i talked with the dealer and they tell me to fix that i need a whole new shifter plate with valve bodies, that it's an AMG specific part tied to my VIN. to do the repair and for the parts, it's $1700! is this a robbery? can an independent place do it? i see that a lot of you have your own STAR tools, i assume that independent shops have them, too. is that all you need? please help. $1700 seems an awful lot of money for a sensor.

Thanks!

That is about the going price for this repair at a dealer. Only a dealer or ISP who has a legitimate subscription or leased STAR from MB will be able to program and activate the new part...it is an antitheft part.

thanks. it's good to know. how does this part prevent theft?? does it have a transponder in it? does it mean that i couldn't put in a used transmission if i felt like it? (not that that seems like a particularly good solution...)

again, thanks! btw, know of any good independents in the boston area?
peter

Yes thats a very very good question and i woul like to find out too! :-)
That would be incredible.

And what is with the guys which run STAR clones in Developer mode?
I need to find that out, will use my mothers 7-speed powered W211 as gunia pig

The transmission control unit has to send a start enable signal. There are several other control units that have to provide signals as well for the vehicle to start, run, and drive. They are all part of the DAS(drive authorization system). This is why it is nearly impossible to steal our cars. Unless you drag it on to a rollback.

This is the reason you have to go to the dealership for these components. There are forms that have to be filled out by the owner. Proof of ownership, and personal identification have to be verified before parts can be ordered.

You can swap a used valve body in to your transmission, but not a used conductor plate/control unit.

This is correct..once the trans ECU is married to the car, it will not work in another. If you were to buy a used transmission (722.9) you would have to install a new plate/control unit into it, and have it programmed at the dealer. The programming/coding is done online with MB's server in Germany. A cloned XENTRY will not work for this.