Gear box controller

[botdoc]

I took my car to the dealer with a 'loss of power' problem on hard acceleration and it was subjected to the usual 'star diagnostics'. I was told that the gear-box controller was duff and it needed replacing (£389 + VAT) and awaited the parts. When it arrived it was plugged in in place of my old controller and taken for a test drive with no discernable improvement. Then it was noticed that my air-intake hose was collapsing and concertinering on flipping the throttle. Taking the pipe off the front attachment (which had broken allowing it to collapse down), the car behaved like new and I drove away with a lighter wallet.
Since then, the car had dropped into 'limp home mode' (2nd gear) only once but it was more than enough!.

The dealer had fortunately left me the old controller which I changed back to and it drives as if I had just left the garage the first time. The part number on my old controller is A 030 545 20 32, whereas that on the new one is
A 030 545 23 32. Would this matter?

Also, my ABS / ESP light keeps coming on intermittently, usually after the engine has got hot in standing traffic, and it requires tunring the engine off and restarting to eliminate the message. I have noticed that my cruise-control disappears during times when the ABS / ESP lfailure lights are on. Is this just liekly to be the mysterious 'brake switch' or something more expensive.

Would I be unreasonable if I asked the dealer to take back the new gear-box controller on the grounds that: 1) changing it didn't seem to fix the problem (replacing an air intake hose did instead) and 2) the gearbox has locked into limp-home mode once after having had it changed which it never did before?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[GSMGuy]

Erm, so you actually paid for a part that did not rectify the fault - ie the controller?? Sorry, but if the dealer diagnosed the prob and ordered parts based on that, subsequently incorrect diagnosis - I for one would not be paying either for the diagnosis or the subsequently incorrectly ordered parts...


Mike

 

[prprandall51]

Would I be unreasonable if I asked the dealer to take back the new gear-box controller on the grounds that: 1) changing it didn't seem to fix the problem (replacing an air intake hose did instead) and 2) the gearbox has locked into limp-home mode once after having had it changed which it never did before?

Thanks for any advice.

Check on the Honest John website (www.honestjohn.co.uk) - I don't think that the garage is obliged to refund the part. However, I would imagine that if you handle this politely they will act honourably and refund your costs.

Seems strange that they would fit a part with a different number unless the part had been upgraded...?

Was it an authorised dealer or an independent?

 

[botdoc]

Independent specialist MB garage.

I agree that paying for the part may seem a little odd, but you have to bear in mind that I have no electrical or mechanical training or knowledge. As such I have to defer to those with appropriate experience - there is no point in asking for an opinion and treatment with a view to ignoring the advice. I was told that the Star diagnostics had pointed to a gearbox controller problem and was therefore not in a position to dispute this. It was only after the controller was fitted that the air-duct problem was noticed and after detaching that the car worked well. Subsequently the car dropped into limp-home mode and it hasn't done that again since switching back to my old controller.

Speaking of which, the part number on the new controller was apparently ordered based on my chassis number (I took it into the garage this morning) so I must presume that it is correct and has perhaps been upgraded. In any event, I hope to prevail upon the garage to refund (and take back the 'new' controller) as it clearly has had no part to play in returning the car to its proper power output (still waiting for the owner to call me - he's a really nice bloke who has always been really helpful in the past). On a slightly more disappointing note, it appears my starter-motor has now gone pear-shaped, only internittently 'catching' the engine to turn it over, although when it 'misses' it still whirrs away at high speed. I raised the possibility that this was all down to a ??dog-ring (or so I had been told) but this was discounted by one of the mechanics who listened to it turn over (or not, as the case was this morning). As such I am now looking at about £300 +VAT (inc. labour) for a new starter motor, which I hope to be able to offset against a refund on the gearbox thing and I still haven't even got the ABS / ESP light thing sorted. Worse still, apparently there are no starter motors to be had at the moment - I am told MB have sold over 2000 in the last 12 months which does suggest to me that there may be something wrong with them!

Is it just me? - this is a 2001 W210 E320 CDi with only 78000 on it and it has become the least reliable car I've ever had (and I've even owned a Renault in the past!)

 

[prprandall51]

I don't want to fly in the face of your garage's advice, but if a starter motor is whirring away merrilly, even if it is failing to engage and turn the engine, I would be a bit surprised if it needed replacing. It sounds like the motor itself is fine - maybe just the pre-engagement mechanism is sticking??

Hopefully, someone with more knowledge will visit this thread and enlighten us....

 

[Birdman]

Does ABS/ESP warning tend to come on in traffic because that's when you're most likely to be on the brakes?

I've heard tell that this can be caused by failing or non-genuine MB brake light bulbs as well as by a faulty brake switch. Might be worth looking at the bulb possibility first. The switch is £10 they say, but I was charged Euro100 to diagnose and fix that while touring in France.

At least I got a good meal since the French MB mechanics took a 2-hour lunch break and so did I.

 

[botdoc]

I too was litle surpised that the stater motor was considered duff when it seemed to run so well. I had presumed that it was all down to the link between the starter motor cog and the engine flywheel but then what do I know? The garage say they won't be able to tell until they winkle the starter motor out and have a look.

I'll check the bulbs whilst waiting for the garage to change the brake switch.