About a week ago someone slammed into the back of my wife's beloved 1985 190e 2.3. Automatic. Some panels and the bumper were bent pretty good and the damage was restricted to the area below the trunk lid. The car was driveable but 2 days later the transmission over a period of about an hour started "slipping" ( her description) and then failed to engage at all. Had the car towed to the body shop where there appears to be no visible damage on the tranny. This puts whether to do the body repairs into a whole new light. The trans has been regularly serviced throughout its life,. The car has 130,000 miles on the odometer. Any thoughts on what may have happened to the trans as a result of the rear impact? I don't want to blame the accident but the timing is a little curious. I don't really know where to start looking but trying to put together any data that might help. Thanks for taking the time to read and or respond.
Bruce

If it shoved the subframe forward it could have shoved the differential/driveshaft into the rear of the trans a bit, possibly damaging something or damaging some seals. Was it leaking any fluid after the impact?

If it was hit hard enough to crumple panels it is probably not worth repairing the car. The safety factor has been compromised.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 102k - mine - (OC-104,600)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 26k - wifes (OC-25k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 57k (OC - 63k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 73k - dad's (OC-75k)
'01 SL500 - 92k(km) - dad's (OC-94,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 122k - Brothers (OC-125k)

To share a possibly similar accident story. My daughter drives an '07 Acura RDX. She got rear-ended twice in a single accident as she was the first car in the line & successive cars rear-ended each other. It happened exactly a year ago this month so it's still fresh in my mind.

Her car seemingly appeared okay other than a banged up bumper. She drove to her apartment after the accident....no problems. Later in the day drove to campus for a class, went over a speed bump and the driveshaft fell out of the cradle onto the road & the transfer case spilled all it's fluid. Imagine if she had parked the car for the rest of the day & then headed out on the interstate what could have happened.

I know yours is the tranny, but oh yeah it was definitely the accident and the other drivers insurance company owes you a repair job. Fortunately, I didn't have to argue too much with the adjuster, he could see the cause and effect. Good luck.

That's quite a leap without even looking at the car.

The car will need to be looked at to determine what is happening. Did the tail pipe get crushed? What does she consider a slipping trans to be? ( High engine RPM relative to road speed , no power, engine won't rev ? )

Check the shifter bushings as they may have been falling apart already.

The rear subframe would have to be pushed very far forward to out run the slip joint and crush the trans. ( as in rear wheels rubbing front of wheel wells. )