Hi,

I recently had the displeasure of having my '97 E320 towed to my MB dealership after being unable to proceed in any forward/reverse gear a couple of Saturdays ago.

The following Monday, the service department quoted me $8k to replace the transmission and torque converter ($7k in parts).

I read somewhere that the replacement of the "permanent fill" ATF and filter, while not a scheduled service item, should be done at approx. 60k. On this board, I saw mention of a service bulletin regarding '97 and later (722.6) E320 transmissions.

My questions are:

1. I wasn't immediately aware of this fluid/filter replacement. Is the service dept. *supposed* to do this without me asking?

2. Can the transmission type (i.e. 722.6) be determined by knowing the car's chassis number?

Thanks for any feedback you can provide...

Roger