auto scare

[johnvid]

Hi All

I could be worrying about nothing but a strange thing happened te other day when towing a caravan WA to YO (140 mile). My 02 c220 cdi estate felt like it jumped out of drive without the gear stick moving. I had to stop , put it in to park and then back in to drive to get the car moving again. I then noticed the car reving up between gear changes and just not feeling right. later that day i had no issues with the gears and all seemed well with the return journey home other than a resinating sound wich that sounded like the gear box when I moved forwards or backwards at slow speeds (parking on drive). I could be thinking the worst and trying to blame the gear box but i feel these issues happened because maybe the box was hot after a big drive because i dont notice any of these issues after normal day to day trips lasting no more than 30 mins etc. Any advice would be welcomed as I only had the car a week and woundered if i had any come back with the dealer who sold me the car.

Many thanks, Noob John

 

[BlackC55]

Check the gearbox oil level first as it is quite likely that it is low with those symptoms.

has the fluid been changed ever?

 

[markjay]

...Any advice would be welcomed as I only had the car a week and woundered if i had any come back with the dealer who sold me the car.

As you had the car for only a week, your first port of call must be the dealer who sold it to you. As Black55 said, get them to check the ATF level, and also verify when it was last changed - MB say the ATF needs changing every 40k miles.

 

[johnvid]

thanks for the reply. I couldn't comment whether it has been checked, is it worth replacing the atf? is there a filter? could I check the levels?

thanks John

 

[markjay]

You can't easily check the ATF level yourself, as MB do not provide a dipstick... apparently MB do not consider checking the ATF level something an owner can /should do.

There's a temper-proof cover in the engine bay which you can remove, but you will need to buy a dipstick.

Best let the dealer do this - hopefully he will have the MB dipstick, or will take it to a specialist.

The ATF and filter worth replacing, definitely, but depending on mileage of course.

 

[johnvid]

cool, obviously an independant dealer sold me the car, however it has a 3 month waranty. It has 78k on the clock. I will contact the dealer tomorrow and exagurate the issues. Thanks for the advice, I will update when i have somthing to update.

 

[markjay]

For reference...

The ATF level check tube will be under the engine cover roughly in this area:

And will look like this (once the cover is removed):

As said, this is only the tube and cap, but there's no dipstick in there.

 

[markjay]

cool, obviously an independant dealer sold me the car, however it has a 3 month waranty. It has 78k on the clock. I will contact the dealer tomorrow and exagurate the issues. Thanks for the advice, I will update when i have somthing to update.

At 78k, the car should now have it's second ATF and filter change....

 

[chrissoar1]

Hi, you can get a dip stick off flea bay, Approx £10 inc postage, arrived very quickly. Dont force the dip stick cover, if you havent got the a dip stick cap remover tool, slide something thin down the inner slot in the cap, something like a cable tie is good enough. I tried to get a dip stick from the dealers but siad there wasnt one available to public although I had part number.

Good luck and hope its nothing serious.

 

[chrissoar1]

I was presuming dip stick cover was as in my w211, slightly different to one pictured, dont know if the method of removing without damaging cap is the same as mine

 

[hotrodjon]

I bought one of the 'dip stick tools' as advertised on ebay and it arrived today. I used to check the fluid and it was clean and at the correct level but do intend to change the fluid and filter soon to be on the safe side as my car has just crept over 87,000 miles and I have no record of a fluid change.