Transmission fluid question?
 

I have a 1991 300E and I used the Topsider to drain about 1 1/2 quart of transmission fluid because it was over the max mark. I bought from thebenzbin.com transmission fluid called "febi bilstein" (8.20/qt). I have never heard of this company. I put in 1 quart (which bought it to proper level). For several days now I notice that it hesitates in shifting to second gear from first. After that it works fine. This seems to only happen when the car has been sitting overnight or for several hours. Should I just have the entire fluid and filter changed or is it just my imigination that this one quart of fluid is causing the hesitation (or maybe there is nothing wrong). I had planned to add one quart of new fluid every time I changed my regular oil and filter. After searching this forum I saw the list of approved Mercedes transmission fluids and this company was not listed. I made sure the tube of topsider was clean and as a precaution I attached a new teflon tubing at the end before putting into the transmission dipstick hole.

Hesitation
 

Hi:

I know that on my 190e, the car will first hesitate when I start it up -- have to go pretty gently until it shifts into 2nd gear. There are several posts regarding this on the web site. The catalytic converter needs time to warm up, and once fully operational, it should shift without problems.

If you have the hesitation once the engine is warmed up, you may have a problem, but if it's just hesitating when you first start out -- not to worry.

Hope this helps.

Take care,
Michael.

Does the container say transmission fluid? Febi Bilstein is sometimes power steering fluid used on the 6 cyl engines that feature the serpentine belt.

Yep, it is transmission fluid. The part number of the bottle is 08971. I wonder if it's worth the price or does it make any difference when I added it. According to Michael post I guess not. Tried to attach a picture of the botthe but it takes too long to load.

The hestitation on the shift is normal. The computer in the car delays the first shift when the car is cold for emissions.