Sealed Trans etc. on 98 E320 - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

blackmercedes · #16 05-24-2003, 10:27 AM

When I bought my C230 the dealer insisted that the tranny fill was for life.

Shortly after, I met with the Zone Service Rep and he explained that if I were keeping the car (as opposed to getting a new one within just a few years) then I should change the fluid and filter every 90,000-100,000 kilometers. I had it done at a touch over 90K. (That's 55-62K-miles for you Metric Impaired)

I have it done at the dealer, as they don't charge any more labour for the job than anyone else and they have the scan tool for setting the fluid level while the fluid temp is 80C. It also means I don't have to buy the dipstick.

Since the job is done only at such a high mileage interval, I don't mind paying the additional charge for the dealer to do it, as opposed to DIY. On a per-mile basis, it's cheap...

mr. Goodwrench · #17 05-24-2003, 10:32 AM

The 722.6 transmission on my '99 S600 was replaced sometime before I bought it last May. The car had 97,000 mi. on it when I bought it. On another forum a representative fromZF (the people who made the trans.) said that these transmissions were coming in for rebuilds after 60,000 mi. He stated that the fluid should be changed at 40,000 mi. Are the good folks at Mercedes going to do the right thing if your transmission fails out of warranty? They will NEVER acknowledge any design flaws(3.5 Turbodiesel engines), bad service interval advice, flawed components(140 evaporators), etc.

blackmercedes · #18 05-24-2003, 10:48 AM

ZF did not make the 722.6 transmission. Mercedes' automatics are made exclusively in-house. BMW uses ZF, and I feel that ZF units are lower quality than MB units. ZF designs included lots of units where the front pump did not run at idle, causing heat build up in traffic and premature failure. BMW did not cover those repairs.

However, you are right in that Mercedes will not cover out of warranty repairs that are related to long service intervals. If your 722.6 tranny fails past the warranty period, you're SOL regardless of the schedule of maintenance you follow.

Mercedes has specidfied "fill for life" meaning the life of your average lease...