Hi, I bought my beautiful 1999 clk430 less than 6 months ago. She is the oldest car I've ever owned, but by far, my favorite. Last night, something happened with the transmission. Out of nowhere she went into a low gear, and there she stayed. I am the complete opposite of mechanical/tech savvy I'm in love with this car, But I can safely assume that if I need a new tranny, this love affair is over Can someone please tell me anything about what could be the problem? Is there ANY possibility for a less expensive fix?
#hopingforhope

You haven't stated how many miles are on the vehicle. Many things can happen to a transmission from very simple to very complex. Generally speaking, transmissions are repairable and seldom require complete replacement. You really need to go to an expert and have it looked at. And the people who know these cars best are either the dealers or independent shops which specialize in MB's.

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Resistance is Futile.

Thank you techboy. My car has 148,000, and has been well taken care of. I guess I did assume the worst. I'm a student working part time, I'm just very worried about the cost. I will search for a local mb specialist.

What part of the world do you live in where we can determine what "local" is. Is the check engine light on. It may just be in limp home mode? At a minimum you need to get the codes read.

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Jim

Your tranny is electronically controlled, and some fault caused it to go into "limp home" mode. You will need to get the fault codes read out and go from there.
One fairly common fault is a broken speed sensor, which requires replacement of the conductor plate inside the tranny for a few hundred dollars.

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Prost!

Its possible it could be the shift module on the actual shifter inside the car, Those go bad and will do exactly what you said yours is doing. You will need a mechanic with a scan tool able to test that part. I know SNAP-ON tools sells those special scanners for about 5K so you wont find them in every shop.

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I was expecting to see notifications in my email. My mistake, sorry for the delay. I live in Temple tx, I'm sorry again, I'm a newb. I think I have found a mechanic in Austin. Working on getting it there. Is there any possibility the transmission fluid would cause this? Several ppl have made this suggestion.
Thank you so much for all the input. I hope I can afford to save my sweet Sadie I utterly love this car.

Yes, the check engine light has been on and off. Currently, off.

I'm in Temple tx.