W204 C63 Gear box issue?

[T44nka]

Hi all

I’m experiencing issues with my gear changes in the lower gears. When I’m driving around town the car is slightly over revving and delaying its gear change. After third gear and on longer roads it seems to be shifting fine. It has full MB service history and I recently had the transmission oil change/service. I’ve taken it to MB and at first they said there was no issue, then several months later I felt it was getting a bit worse so I took it back and they’ve told me it’s an internal issue with the gearbox. I’ve purchased a second hand gearbox and taken it to a gearbox specialist who went out on a test drive and advised me it might not make a difference swapping the gearbox as it could be a pressure fault or something else. Could someone please point me in the right direction, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[geoffus]

Didn’t a member have a similar issue a while back ?
I think resetting the adaptions with Star cured the problem.

 

[alexanderfoti]

Is the car facelift or pre facelift?

 

[Petrol Pete]

Hello and welcome . You went out and bought a used transmission ? Sounds a bit drastic seeing as you make no mention of the conductor plate , TCU plug or valve body being investigated.

How many miles on the car ? which transmission does it have ? If I were you I would hang fire with changing the whole transmission until you get more advice.

Fortunately you have come to the right place and in post #3 your thread has already attracted the attention of someone who knows what he's talking about.

More will follow. Stay on here .

 

[T44nka]

thank you for the replies. @alexanderfoti I believe it to be a face lift model, I will attach a photo if that helps. @Petrol Pete yes I know it’s a bit drastic, but I was told that this was be the quickest and hassle free solution. But when I got to the garage of choice he advised me to investigate further as the transmission doesn’t seem to bad on the car. It’s currently at 62k miles, it’s a 7 speed automatic transmission.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

thank you for the replies. @alexanderfoti I believe it to be a face lift model, I will attach a photo if that helps. @Petrol Pete yes I know it’s a bit drastic, but I was told that this was be the quickest and hassle free solution. But when I got to the garage of choice he advised me to investigate further as the transmission doesn’t seem to bad on the car. It’s currently at 62k miles, it’s a 7 speed automatic transmission.

Mean looking motor

I hope it’s sorted with the minimum of fuss

 

[alexanderfoti]

Your fault descriptions sounds like an MCT unit fault. It takes the place of a normal torque converter. If you replace the gearbox on its own, it's not going to resolve this issue. A new MCT unit, adaptions and oil service will likely resolve!

 

[philnewmerc]

Considering the costs involved here: sometimes it is far cheaper to take it to the main dealer for diagnosis via a technician using dmfull Star (probably 200 quid). Then you can take that knowledge to an independent mb specialist if you prefer. The scatter gun approach of buying used gearboxes etc will cost far far more and might not even fix it.

 

[alexanderfoti]

Considering the costs involved here: sometimes it is far cheaper to take it to the main dealer for diagnosis via a technician using dmfull Star (probably 200 quid). Then you can take that knowledge to an independent mb specialist if you prefer. The scatter gun approach of buying used gearboxes etc will cost far far more and might not even fix it.

Main dealer are often the ones using the "change everything" approach. Their diagnostics often is limited to what the computer tells them to change. Independents will often have more experience with older models as well

 

[philnewmerc]

Main dealer are often the ones using the "change everything" approach. Their diagnostics often is limited to what the computer tells them to change. Independents will often have more experience with older models as well

Agree for older analogue cars. I'd use the main dealer for diagnosis of more modern complex electrical issues because having 'the computer ' tell you the issue is better/cheaper than the substitution method

 

[alexanderfoti]

Agree for older analogue cars. I'd use the main dealer for diagnosis of more modern complex electrical issues because having 'the computer ' tell you the issue is better/cheaper than the substitution method

Understood. Any good indy will have the same computer as main deaerl. We often have people coming to use with main dealer quotes for thousands to change something the computer says is broken, when it won't fix the issue.

 

[T44nka]

Thank you for all the feedback. I’ve already taken it to main dealer… twice! First time they said the computer isn’t picking up any codes and the test drive was fine. Second time (1 year later) they said there is an internal transmission issue and the transmission needs to be stripped and investigated, but they didn’t tell me of any fault codes, must of just established this from the test drive. I asked if it would be better to just replace the whole unit and they said yes.

 

[philnewmerc]

Are you absolutely sure there is a problem? The only one you've listed is that you think it holds on to the lower gears slightly when driving around town. That doesn't sound drastic to me. They are programmed to do this from cold especially at slow average speeds in order to warm up the cats... Are you sure it's not just that?

 

[modee9]

Hi all

I’m experiencing issues with my gear changes in the lower gears. When I’m driving around town the car is slightly over revving and delaying its gear change. After third gear and on longer roads it seems to be shifting fine. It has full MB service history and I recently had the transmission oil change/service. I’ve taken it to MB and at first they said there was no issue, then several months later I felt it was getting a bit worse so I took it back and they’ve told me it’s an internal issue with the gearbox. I’ve purchased a second hand gearbox and taken it to a gearbox specialist who went out on a test drive and advised me it might not make a difference swapping the gearbox as it could be a pressure fault or something else. Could someone please point me in the right direction, any help is greatly appreciated.

im having same issue

 

[T44nka]

@alexanderfoti thank you for the advice, I have booked the car in to sort out the mct unit and adaptations. @philnewmerc there is definitely an issue, I’ve had the car for 2 years now and it there’s a noticeable difference. Can anyone recommend someone who is a specialist in dealing with Mercedes/amg’s as I would much rather take it to them, I don’t mind travelling.

 

[Tonygw]

MB automotive Loughborough But they are very busy, their master mechanic has an car similar to yours. Very very knowledgeable guys

MB Automotive - Mercedes-Benz Specialist Loughborough

MB Automotive is an independent Mercedes-Benz specialist based in Loughborough.

www.mbautomotive.co.uk

 

[BlackC55]

+ for the DCT being faulty. We have replaced loads for this issue.

 

[alexanderfoti]

@alexanderfoti thank you for the advice, I have booked the car in to sort out the mct unit and adaptations. @philnewmerc there is definitely an issue, I’ve had the car for 2 years now and it there’s a noticeable difference. Can anyone recommend someone who is a specialist in dealing with Mercedes/amg’s as I would much rather take it to them, I don’t mind travelling.

We are down south, a bit of a trek!

 

[E55BOF]

Could I ask, is the pre-facelift M157 CLS 63 transmission susceptible to this problem, and what's a ballpark figure to fix it? Mine's on 57K miles...

 

[Kerabo]

Hi all

I’m experiencing issues with my gear changes in the lower gears. When I’m driving around town the car is slightly over revving and delaying its gear change. After third gear and on longer roads it seems to be shifting fine. It has full MB service history and I recently had the transmission oil change/service. I’ve taken it to MB and at first they said there was no issue, then several months later I felt it was getting a bit worse so I took it back and they’ve told me it’s an internal issue with the gearbox. I’ve purchased a second hand gearbox and taken it to a gearbox specialist who went out on a test drive and advised me it might not make a difference swapping the gearbox as it could be a pressure fault or something else. Could someone please point me in the right direction, any help is greatly appreciated.

I noticed when I changed my gearbox oil and the kit that there are a few different grades of oil.
what would happen if this oil was slightly thinner?
could it cause this.