feeshta

Hello everyone. So, it's not a major problem, but my gearbox has been acting slightly strange the last couple days. It started misbehaving in the middle of a drive yesterday, out of the blue, and has continued to do so today. Basically, what it is doing is trying to hold onto gear lockup even at very slow speeds. So when I am puttering around town at 30 kph, releasing the gas results in an engine braking deceleration, as you would expect in a car with a manual transmission. Another issue is that the gearbox seems to take longer than normal to actually engage drive when you shift from reverse, leaving the gearbox in neutral for what I would guess is a little over one full second. Not much time in the grand scheme of things, but it can feel like ages when you are maneuvering in a tight parking lot.

My car is an 06 E55 Kombi, with just under 120,000 kilometers on the clock. No mention of a trans fluid replacement in any of the maintenance records that came with the vehicle, but it is missing the first 3 years or so of records.

Anyone have any ideas what might be the culprit and or possible resolution?

Fantomas

Sounds like the conductor plate might be starting to fail. I'd recommend replacing that, new fluid, the TCC solenoid and transmission connector while you're in there.

feeshta

Funny how nearly every review of these cars mentions something to the effect that this transmission is "bulletproof" and it fails on me in less than 2 months. Then all of a sudden you find tons of videos on this very failure as soon as you know what precise terms to search for. LOL Thanks for the info though.

Is this the TCC solenoid?

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...mer-2402701700

The name doesn't really seem to match up with the acronym.

Fantomas

Thats the one.

I agree, while they are "reliable" and "bulletproof" you still need to spend more to maintain them than a typical car.

feeshta

Parts ordered. Hopefully they will be in by Friday and I can do the job this weekend. The job doesn't look too bad, and I was planning some other routine maintenance items anyway, including belt replacements and spark plugs, so the timing isn't too hateful. Thankfully the weather is okay at the moment, so I can drive the Cayman in the mean time.

Have a big ski trip planned for end of the month to Chamonix, France, and will need the E55 for that one. Cayman doesn't have enough luggage space for that kind of trip.

Fantomas

While doing the belt you might want to spin each pulley by hand to check for play/noise, bearings tend to go out in the pulleys as well.

SICAMG

They are great transmissions and can take a huge amount of abuse. A small thing like a conductor plate that is only electrical shouldn't be held against it LOL !!
Easy fix as well ….and cheap.

feeshta

Yeah, it's just my luck that it would cause problems immediately. Seems like they should have come up with a new version that didn't have issues though, for the sake of making the repair permanent.

feeshta

Well, something went wrong when I did the job. Car will not shift past 3rd gear now, and feels well down on power.

Fantomas

Probably stuck in limp mode, first place would be to scan the codes but you can also start by double checking every single electrical connection.

feeshta

It turns out that the transmission was under filled, which caused to worst of my problems after I replaced the parts. Instructions I found on using the aftermarket dipstick said it should read 10-20 mm cold, 60-70mm at running temp. When I first filled it, the measurement was 10 mm. I then started the car, and ran the transmission through the gears, and it suddenly measured 75 mms, and stayed there both cold and hot. Took it to the dealership, and they said it was 2 liters under-filled, but they couldn't find anything wrong after filling it up. Only charged me 400 euros to fill it. LOL! Also, the service guy was a huge ********, giving me all kinds of **** for working on it myself. He kept going on and on about how it's a very special AMG transmission, and I could have blown the who thing up just by loosening the screws on the drain pan. Seriously dude? This is the same transmission as they had in the Chrysler 300.

The car does drive much better now, and the problem of hanging between reverse and drive for a long time seems to be fixed, but it is still acting strangely. It refuses to coast, or freewheel as some people call it. It behaves like a manual transmission with the clutch engaged most of the time, only occasionally partially unlocking. It's rather annoying, and it makes me wonder about it's reliability long term. Anyone have any other suggestions?

GinDistiller

I'd be curious too, mine has felt like a manual and seems to lock/partially lock/unlock at random times. It's most annoying when I give it 30% throttle at 30mph and it's in 4th gear, it won't downshift and just bogs the car down because I feel the TC is locked up when it should be allowing some slip.

I've done the same repairs you have-conductor plate, TCC solenoid, plug, and I also installed the sleeve kit in the valve body.

I would imagine if the torque converter had an issue it would be a slipping, not locked up. Also, due to the random nature and the fact I've tried several TCUs, I don't think it's software related.

May be a silly question, but do the valve body and transmission mating surfaces need to be 100% dry when reinstalling the valve body after a job like this? My mind goes to the possibility of tightening it with some ATF present and maybe it's not completely sealed, leading to unstable pressure?

I'm out of ideas next to trying another valve body.

Did you do any other maintenance or repairs before this happened to you?

feeshta

I had not done anything to the car at all since purchase a few months ago, aside from fill the power steering fluid to the proper level. That would lead me to believe it is most likely not related to anything related to the mating of the valve body to the transmission. My own thoughts have been turning trowards the electronic control of the system.

I case I forgot to mention it in the original post, mine started doing this smack in the middle of about a 2 hour drive. Something happened, but I can't place exactly what.

chingwodapigu

I've been having the same issue on my '05 e55 w/132k. Low speeds (10-15 mph) in either C or S modes, and the transmission refuses to downshift and feels like someone driving a manual in too high of a gear. I'm able to downshift manually with the button/paddle or the shifter, but unless I stomp on the accelerator, it hangs onto the higher gear. I also have the same issue where it doesn't coast/freewheel.

GinDistiller

Curious as to an outcome if/when you find one. I had the issue of never owning my E55 in 'good running order' before I bought it as the previous owner was a lady who had no idea the IC pump was completely dead and never drove it hard, so once I started having valve body problems I've been convinced there is something amiss with the car and what you describe is definitely something my E55 does as well. But not ALL the time... Had a definite problem with the bypass valve and now that it's fixed, the gear transitions are as they should be, but I do agree it seems to be in too high of a gear.

It's like once it shifts into 4th at say 30-35mph, it just happily leaves it there unless you stab the throttle and brutally take off...

I have the updated TCC solenoid as well.

One thing I haven't tried, and don't know if I can, is the TCC readaptation procedure that involves starting the car from cold and driving a constant speed/grade with stops every 10 deg (or something like that) to adapt things until the car is fully warm. I have no idea near Seattle where I could start my car dead cold and do this uninterrupted

Let me know if you come to any conclusions! I had a brief hope when I coded an acceleration sensor and thought maybe it was reading the car's load wrong or something and keeping it in a higher gear than it should, but a new sensor and no change unfortunately.