stuck in first gear
 

CRAP,
I'm stuck in first and my 1998 c280 won't shift into a higher gear? Does this mean my throwaway transmission needs to be thrown away? or is this an easier/cheaper fix. This started happening a month ago but usually turning off and restarting the car would fix the problem? also it would idle choppy, but now that it's stuck in first it idles fine. Can anyone tell me what the problem sounds like? applejuiceboy
oh by the way this is an automatic

have you checked the fluid level? i have seen low fliud on a 722.6 cause no upshift. do you have the tool to check the level? use mercedes fluid to top off

no dipstick
 

my manual says there is no dipstick, that a mercedes dealer would have the ability to check that. it also says there is a permanent fill of automatic transmission fluid.

no i don't have the tool. thanks for your response, i hope that's the only problem

permanent it is not, but that is a whole other story. if it has a leak then the fluid level will drop. you can buy the tool at the link below for less than mercedes would charge

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/mercedesshop/sophio/wizard.jsp?partner=mercedesshop&clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&cookieid=1SZ00P8ES1TA12CZGQ&year=1998&make=MB&model=C-280-002&category=All&part=AT+Dipstick

check vacuum modulator?
 

bad idle can be caused by a vaccum leak, and not shifting up properly can be caused by a leaky vacuum modulator or at least a leak in the pipe running to it. does it shift up at all? in my (mostly non-benz) experience the trans will still shift to higher ratios but not until the revs are way higher than normal - at full throttle and nearly to redline.

Your model car has a 722.6 transmission, scan ALL Modules for codes, also the early 6th generation transmission suffered from TCM harness fluid contamination, and check the connector plug on the transmission for fluid.

thanks
 

thank you, very helpfull

the unit he refers to is completely electronic, it doesn't have a vacuum modulator installed.

i drove it a little today, tried to almost redline it, and still no shifting

why would you do that?? that isn't going to fix it. check the fluid level then get back to us.

Same problem in an '86 Mercedes 560SEL, maybe
 

It is temperamental... sometimes it shifts normally and then other it just stays in a low gear...won't upshift. If I stop and go thru the gears it sometimes will work and at other times while it seems to be shifting normailly it will downshift suddenly and gear the car down when I am going at a higher speed.. I just tooki it to a transmission specialist and he is stumped.. any help here is appreciated..

Ask your mechanic to replace the so called "Range Recognition Switch", it's in the shifter unit, cost about $100 and an hour or so to replace. Reading the ECU and TCU won't show, unless you connect the StarDiag to it, and manually shifting between difference gear and read back the RangeReg switch.

Until you fix it, while you're driving, if car stuck in first gear, jiggle the shifter the unit a bit (but not to shift it back to nertral and back) will fix the problem

Very common problem on the pre 2000 mercedes