Might actually do a stealership service...What do you think? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JordaanDMC-12 · #1 10-12-2010, 05:26 PM

So when it comes to the transmission on my 91 w124, I'm very hesitant to mess with it, but I really want to do a service to keep the trans as fresh as possible.

I called Mercedes Benz of Austin to see how much a transmission service would be and I was quoted $380.00, a bit put off by this I called Mercedes-Benz of Georgetown and asked about the same service, people seemed much nicer and really cool, they quoted me $320.00 and I'd get a loaner car, which I thought was pretty cool because I could run down to the nearest 711 and get a slurpee

I was hesitant to even change the fluid in fear that changing it would cause overall failure as what happened with my last w124 back in 2008, the transmission was running perfectly fine, changed the fluid and it failed a few days later... BUT what makes me feel a tad more comfortable is the PO had the paperwork for a transmission service a month before we got it, and she's been doing great ever since. Now he paid I think 275.00 for his service at some place back in Palm Springs and I've put almost 20,000 miles on the car since that last service, I want to keep this transmission going for as long as possible. There was a member on here, I think it was Hattie

who said don't chance it and take it to the dealership because they have the proper measurement tools for this or something along those lines. I'm willing to pay, but I'm wondering if it's THAT bad of an idea....

What do y'all think?

Fulcrum525 · #2 10-12-2010, 05:31 PM

After 2 failures by dealership personnel I've stopped taking my car there.

1. Diagnose noise coming from front of engine-Dealer answer "Change the oil"
Real answer-replace harmonic balancer

2. Diagnose ABS light-Dealer answer "Replace sensors"
Real answer- replace OVP relay

At least they managed to balance my tires correctly and fix my trunk lock. Most dealership personnel don't really know how to work on the older cars and more often then not they could care less about doing a quality job.

JordaanDMC-12 · #3 10-12-2010, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

After 2 failures by dealership personnel I've stopped taking my car there.

1. Diagnose noise coming from front of engine-Dealer answer "Change the oil"
Real answer-replace harmonic balancer

2. Diagnose ABS light-Dealer answer "Replace sensors"
Real answer- replace OVP relay

At least they managed to balance my tires correctly and fix my trunk lock. Most dealership personnel don't really know how to work on the older cars and more often then not they could care less about doing a quality job.

That's the scary thing, but this dealership has gotten a few good reviews including service, it's MB of Austin that gets all the bad ones, they were less expensive too and friendly over the phone which is odd coming from dealership personnel! I just can't do this service myself in an apartment complex parking lot... And as I read it might be better to take it because they have the proper tools.

Ara T. · #4 10-12-2010, 05:42 PM

Rip off. That's a little under 4 hours of labor around here which is nuts. Changing the transmission fluid in a Mercedes is no different than any other car really. They suck it out and pump it in, and change the filter. They probably won't even drain the torque converter. Take it to a local MB mechanic and supply your own fluid if you are paranoid... or not if you don't mind spending a lot of money on routine maintenance on an old car. Better yet do it yourself on the street.

A tranny fluid change every 20K miles seems excessive to me.. what does your manual say.

aklim · #5 10-12-2010, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JordaanDMC-12

I was hesitant to even change the fluid in fear that changing it would cause overall failure as what happened with my last w124 back in 2008, the transmission was running perfectly fine, changed the fluid and it failed a few days later.

Probably a myth. I have had my car serviced every 60K for trans fluid with no issues. Still, you wait, it will eventually have issues. There has been NO science that shows that the trans will throw a hissy fit and commit hari-kiri. Quite often, it is a "Hail Mary" job by the owner who has long neglected the trans and it breaks soon after. I had that happen to me. Only thing was that the trans was already showing problems. Off for a clean set of fluids and it broke. It was on the way out already.

aklim · #6 10-12-2010, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ara T.

Rip off. That's a little under 4 hours of labor around here which is nuts. Changing the transmission fluid in a Mercedes is no different than any other car really. They suck it out and pump it in, and change the filter. They probably won't even drain the torque converter. Take it to a local MB mechanic and supply your own fluid if you are paranoid... or not if you don't mind spending a lot of money on routine maintenance on an old car. Better yet do it yourself on the street.

How did you calculate 4 hrs? What is the hourly rate there? What is the fluid worth there?

Not sure they suck it out. Last time I saw, they dropped the pan.

Skid Row Joe · #7 10-12-2010, 05:51 PM

I've serviced the trannys on my last three cars, including the one in my sig.

It's really not that difficult to do.

JordaanDMC-12 · #8 10-12-2010, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

Probably a myth. I have had my car serviced every 60K for trans fluid with no issues. Still, you wait, it will eventually have issues. There has been NO science that shows that the trans will throw a hissy fit and commit hari-kiri. Quite often, it is a "Hail Mary" job by the owner who has long neglected the trans and it breaks soon after. I had that happen to me. Only thing was that the trans was already showing problems. Off for a clean set of fluids and it broke. It was on the way out already.

Yes, I think it may of been bad timing that caused the failure, I think I remember hearing my mechanic say the fluid was dirty, it probably failed from neglected services. I want to treat this trans right though and service at proper intervals, I heard if well maintained you could get around 250,000 miles out of it, I'm at 147,000 so that would be beyond awesome! I just want to get this service out of the way and I just want it done right with the proper fluid, so I thought the stealership!

loepke72 · #9 10-12-2010, 05:55 PM

The old wives' tale about not doing a transmission fluid service because it will cause a failure is just that, an old wives' tale. If you perform a transmission fluid service and somehow a problem happens, that transmission was headed for the rebuild bench already. At least at the dealer you are going to get the correct fluid used, and not some no-name stuff out of the bulk drum or worse, some kind of jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none "universal" transmission fluid.

I see once again the unwarranted bashing of professional technicians on this board. I say to you: Do you do your job correctly 100% of the time? I'm not going to make excuses for improper diagnosis here, but it seems to me that there are more than just a few people here that take every opportunity to single out auto techs, especially those that work at dealers as some sort of uncaring person interested in mediocrity. Yes, some of those people are found with a wrench in their hand, but they really are the minority.

As far as older cars at the dealer are concerned, there are good reasons for the techs to shy away from them. First, older cars tend to have things break easily, and then the shop gets blamed for it and ends up eating the cost more often than not. Second, as is often said, there is a shortage of knowledge regarding these vehicles. Parts are often not stocked and have to be ordered, service manuals may not be available, special tools and diagnostic equipment unavailable or not working, etc. Third, the shop gets blamed for each and every subsequent problem the customer has with the car. "You just fixed the oil leak, now the radio doesn't work" is not all that much of an exaggeration. Then they either have to flat out tell the customer they're wrong, or they try to make them feel good with more free repair work.

aklim · #10 10-12-2010, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

I've serviced the trannys on my last three cars, including the one in my sig.

It's really not that difficult to do.

How did you get the fill level right? You'd have to buy a test stick or whatever they call it. Also, how did you set the level right without using SDS to get the temps just where they want it to be? Without both of those, what do you have besides a SWAG when doing the levels? I could do all of that but I don't see a way to get ensure the level is right.

aklim · #11 10-12-2010, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JordaanDMC-12

Yes, I think it may of been bad timing that caused the failure, I think I remember hearing my mechanic say the fluid was dirty, it probably failed from neglected services. I want to treat this trans right though and service at proper intervals, I heard if well maintained you could get around 250,000 miles out of it, I'm at 147,000 so that would be beyond awesome! I just want to get this service out of the way and I just want it done right with the proper fluid, so I thought the stealership!

My 722.6 is doing about 297K right now. Serviced every 60K with a fresh filter, cleaned pan and fresh MB fluid.

aklim · #12 10-12-2010, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loepke72

The old wives' tale about not doing a transmission fluid service because it will cause a failure is just that, an old wives' tale. If you perform a transmission fluid service and somehow a problem happens, that transmission was headed for the rebuild bench already. At least at the dealer you are going to get the correct fluid used, and not some no-name stuff out of the bulk drum or worse, some kind of jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none "universal" transmission fluid.

I see once again the unwarranted bashing of professional technicians on this board. I say to you: Do you do your job correctly 100% of the time? I'm not going to make excuses for improper diagnosis here, but it seems to me that there are more than just a few people here that take every opportunity to single out auto techs, especially those that work at dealers as some sort of uncaring person interested in mediocrity. Yes, some of those people are found with a wrench in their hand, but they really are the minority.

As far as older cars at the dealer are concerned, there are good reasons for the techs to shy away from them. First, older cars tend to have things break easily, and then the shop gets blamed for it and ends up eating the cost more often than not. Second, as is often said, there is a shortage of knowledge regarding these vehicles. Parts are often not stocked and have to be ordered, service manuals may not be available, special tools and diagnostic equipment unavailable or not working, etc. Third, the shop gets blamed for each and every subsequent problem the customer has with the car. "You just fixed the oil leak, now the radio doesn't work" is not all that much of an exaggeration. Then they either have to flat out tell the customer they're wrong, or they try to make them feel good with more free repair work.

You sure it is trans fluid they use not some red colored fluid?

Dealerships are big, independents are small. Americans have always had a tendency to side with the little guy. I had somebody do a fan clutch WITHOUT the proper tools and it dented a lot of radiator fins. I had someone misdiagnose too. Also sloppy work. All of those were independents. What about dealerships? I had my share of problems there too. Fortunately, many, if not most problems are solved by me watching them whether they are dealership or not. I've also had independents try to rape me financially without the KY so what is the difference?

Dealerships tend to shy away from them more because they are not so hard up for the business. Independents tend to take on whatever job comes in so they will do it. Whether they have the proper training and tools to do the job is a different story. Quite often, not and they will still muddle thru the job AT YOUR EXPENSE.

Fulcrum525 · #13 10-12-2010, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

You sure it is trans fluid they use not some red colored fluid?

Dealerships are big, independents are small. Americans have always had a tendency to side with the little guy. I had somebody do a fan clutch WITHOUT the proper tools and it dented a lot of radiator fins. I had someone misdiagnose too. Also sloppy work. All of those were independents. What about dealerships? I had my share of problems there too. Fortunately, many, if not most problems are solved by me watching them whether they are dealership or not. I've also had independents try to rape me financially without the KY so what is the difference?

Dealerships tend to shy away from them more because they are not so hard up for the business. Independents tend to take on whatever job comes in so they will do it. Whether they have the proper training and tools to do the job is a different story. Quite often, not and they will still muddle thru the job AT YOUR EXPENSE.

Enjoy

http://owners.mercedes-benz-usa.com/forum/topics/key-to-ml320transmissionfluid

#14 10-12-2010, 06:09 PM

I prefer to use a good indy (mine isn't any less expensive then the dealer), but I would probably use a dealer if there wasn't a good benz specialist in my area. I let the shop do my tranny service because I have no interest in crawling under the car without a lift.

JordaanDMC-12 · #15 10-12-2010, 06:12 PM

This would be the only service I would have carried out by the dealer, this car is going to be driven...a lot.

I think I may just take the chance and take it to the dealer, I see it worth it if all works out and she gets an OEM filter and fluid with fluid levels being measured by the proper tools. I'll probably call them a couple more times or heck might just stop by tomorrow on my free time off in the morning and get a feel for the place.. I also just can't change it in my apartment parking lot, there is just no space and too much traffic during the day and I don't have the proper tools.