I have a new to me 2000 ml320 that has had the conductor plate replaced and the person I bought it from said needs to be taken to the dealer to be reprogrammed. I've been reading and rereading forum entries on the matter.
To the best of my summary I think it means the dealer will charge me 150 to reset the codes. That is the same thing I could do if I buy a 150 odbII coder.
Can anyone tell me if the dealer reprogram will be any more thorough than just clearing the codes and putting the trans in relearn mode?

No, just buy the tool. Make sure it's compatible with your 163

__________________
CENSORED due to not family friendly words

Thanks for the reply, The MBII is supposed to do this for the 320.

i980 has exactly the same capabilities as the MB2. You get the MB2 if you also have a sprinter, smart or a car with SBC brakes.if you want to do coding, actuation testing or work with the 38 pin plug on a 210 or earlier car, get the foxwell nt520.

__________________
CENSORED due to not family friendly words

Replacing the conductor plate on a 2000 MB doesn't require "programming". You don't even have to clear fault codes. If there aren't any current codes the transmission should operate normally, stored codes won't cause any problems.............

Thanks for all the good info, shifting again.