My plumber, who may be the only decent plumber in Oxfordshire, turned up at my house today with a bit of an issue with his car;
Its a Merc E300TD, 1997 and apparantly its got an SW auto gearbox.
The car has gone into "limp home" mode leaving him with only reverse and 2nd gears with much reduced power.
Now clearly there maybe something seriously up with it. Alternatively it might just have got a headache.
Can it be reset ?
All advice gratefully received as I'd like to take him some information home with me.
Ta ever so,
Mark.
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Mark - This happened to me a few months back.
I limped home and noticed a pool of red oil where I normally park.Yes - It was gearbox oil.
Next morning,Mechanic dipped car for oil - Practically Empty.
By now I was looking at thick end of 2k for a rebuild.
Star diagnostics (MB diag tester) revealed a "plate" gone in gearbox. I stood over the mechanic as this was performed and
screen diagnosed some sort of plate ( Impressive )
Mechanic replaced said "plate " , associated seals and refilled
with oil. 4 hrs and £600 later, car is working well again.
Gearbox much smoother and after an aditional 6k miles no probs.
I have heard of 2 gearbox reset methods, but not tried either.
1. Select W then select S.Move gearbox from D to 1 and back to D.
2. Disconnect battery for 30 mins.
My advice - Check for leaks, dip if you have correct stick.
Drive or transport to a MB specialist ASAP.Could be difference between a big bill and a damn huge bill !
Good luck - Mike.
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If Mikek and Mark's plumber are not members of the MB Club, may I post a copy of this thread there, as it is sure to be of interest?
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Yes, please do. Any feedback gratefully accepted.
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No problems with that suggestion here Roger.
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Ten people have read my post on the MB Forum, but no-one has responded yet.
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I would recommend trying to find an independent MB specialist rather than a dealer.
When a brake-band went in my 190 autobox and chewed up some of the innards it took 8 weeks for a dealer to get and fit a MB reconditioned box - at great cost too. The specialist I take my current car to reckons he would fix such a thing in less than a week.
Everything I've read suggests that the dealers have not improved since then.
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I agree with you about dealers, Ratty, but I would look to an autobox specialist in this case. Dealers are probably going to subcontract such work to autobox specialists anyway, so cut out the middle man and go straight to the specialist. Autobox care is a black art, as I know from someone recently retired from running just such a business. I suspect that your MB specialist is unusually well informed if he can solve the more complex autobox problems.
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I think you're right about the autobox specialist.
However, the feeling in this case is that probably a new or recon box is required.
But, we'd like to reset it so that it comes out of limp home mode just to see - dunno how to do that though.
Mark.
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The thing about autobox specialists is, as my friend said, "Customers usually assumed that these things can't be adjusted and repaired", so he had many happy customers who had contacted him expecting a painful four-figure bill for total rebuilds or replacements.
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In the absence of experienced feedback (I thought Aprilia was our resident pundit on MB stuff), I'd suggest disconnecting the battery for 10/20/30 minutes or however long it takes him to drink his tea. That *should* reset the ECU/Powertrain module but if it's a hard fault eg. faulty fluid level sensor or open circuit solenoid etc. you'll get the same error when the startup diagnostics run again.
From what I can remember there are quite a few things that can cause 'limp home' mode and it's not just gearbox problems.
Best bet is to point him in the direction of an MB specialist and accept the fact that your boiler inspection will be a little dearer this year.
Kevin...
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>>however long it takes him to drink his tea.
7 weeks so far.
>>boiler inspection will be a little dearer this year
Boiler inspection ???? Try two new boilers and 32 radiators. That's why he can afford the Merc.
I think Aprilia must be away at the moment, which is a pity. I guess we'll simply disconnect the battery as you suggest, and see what happens when we connect it again.
Pity really, because I'm sure that there is the opportunity to do something smart here.
Thanks for the advice,
Mark.
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>7 weeks so far.
Change your tea, he likes it way too much.
>Boiler inspection ???? Try two new boilers and 32 radiators.
Ouch!
>..disconnect the battery as you suggest, and see what happens
Just make sure that he's got the security code for the radio/CD written down somewhere before you do it.
On second thoughts, why worry? He ordered his E55AMG as soon as you accepted the quote!
Kevin...
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Just got back from working in Germany this week.
This particular autobox can be a bit troublemsome. There are a vast number of things that can throw it into 'limp home' - including certain faults with the *engine* management system. The only real solution is to get the codes read.
By all means do a reset (disconnect battery for 10mins or remove fuse) but if it is a 'real' fault it will drop back into limp home as soon as its driven.
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