Slight judder at low revs

[1975andyt]

Hi All, after owning over 70 cars since I started driving over 20 years ago I have finally bought my 1st Merc, a 2003 E270 Cdi with just 2 owners, full history and only 55k.

The car drives really well however I have noticed that when I accelerate slowly, slowly enough that the auto box doesn't change down, there is a slight judder for a second or so.

It does it with or without my caravan on tow and only at low revs when accelerating slowly.

Is this anything to worry about or is it just a characteristic?

Cheers,

Andrew.

 

[Stratman]

It sounds ominously like you may have the dreaded Valeo radiator problem.

A faulty batch of radiators could let glycol in the coolant contaminate the transmission fluid via its cooler, located in the bottom of the radiator. This can cause terminal damage to the torque converter and lockup clutch.

 

[1975andyt]

I have just turned, big time. During the hour or so since posting the thread I have searched the forum and established from what I have read that I must have a Valeo related issue, I didn't know anything about the Valeo issue....until this evening!

My only hope is the warranty, I bought the car from a main dealer that sells Alfas and Fiats and got a 12 month warranty, I've only had the car 2 weeks so hopefully the warranty will sort it? I was told that the warranty didn't cover wear and tear ( which I thought was fair enough ) but I can't see how this could be classed as wear and tear.

A few sleepless nights for me but hopefully not a big bill!

 

[Vlad]

I would recommend that you go back to the dealer in the first instance as I suspect that the warranty company will decline your claim so quickly into the 12 month period, as they are most likely to state that the problem must have been there at the point of sale.

 

[evdok]

Sounds like engine mounts need replacing to me.

 

[1975andyt]

Valeo issue not a bad as it might have been?

My 2003 e270cdi was suffering very minor judders at low revs, under warranty the garage has replaced the radiator and drained and replaced the ATF after finding no trace of coolant contamination (apparently)

The juddering has appeared to have stopped, is it possible that by getting the ATF replaced as soon as the juddering started I may have prevented an expensive gearbox rebuild?

Have I been lucky.....fingers crossed?