The Vehicle: 1999 C43 82k silver w/ black and grey interior
The story: i bought the car from a used car dealer in North Carolina nad the car looked real clean and drove awsome (little tire wear on the outside edges) but other than that everthing looked great. I drove it home 800 miles and had no issues at all. After 2 days i went out for an hour long drive and all of a sudded at 65 mph the car went into neutral. Not the shifter that stayed in D. As i reved the engine the car slowed down; i moved the ****er around and i think when i put in N and then back to D it started driving fine again. I thought maybe it was somthing with the esp so i tried to shut it off. When i hit the esp button nothing would happen (no warning lights on the dash would illuminate) I also noticed that the cruise control was not working. When i got home i turned the key off and then to the run position. I compared the dash with my wifes 2000 c230 and found that the esp/abs and check engine lights would not light up. It appears that the bulbs burned out or somone removed them. My guess is because it was a leased car somone removed them. I called the dealer that i bought the car from and they told me to take it to a shop and get an estimate or bring the car back and they will fix it. I put an ob2 on it and got the following codes
po161 o2 sensor
po156 o2 sensor
p0500 vehicle speed sensor
p0130 o2 sensor
p0700 trans module

i then reset the codes (major NO NO) and all came back but the tranny one. I am afraid that when they give me an estimate on the repair they will find nothing wrong with the tranny. I looked at getting an extended warranty from Auto service warranty inc. I spoke to them on the phone. Has anyone ever had any experiance with aftermarket warranties? I am just worried the tranny will have a major failure in a couple of months.

the code p0500 is for vehicle speed sensor A. Is that usually an abs sensor or the whole abs unit?

thanks
dj

I would take the car to the dealer you bought it from and have them fix it.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

the dealer was not a MB dealer, just a used car dealer. They are also 7 hrs away. In town we have a MD specialist who is real good.

Sounds like the TCM, or the linkage itself. When mine strated shifting erratically, MB replaced the electronics - TCM, conductor plate, fluid and filter, before figuring out a loose screw where the linkage met the trans was the cause. The position of the shifter, within a millimeter or 2, is absolutely crucial to driveability. Someone more knowledgeable can tell you if the codes point to a definite cause. This was my experience.

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former: 83 300D, 97 C230, 93 400E

current: 08 C300 Luxury , 92 500SL

Take it to the local guy and develop a relationship. Tell him the situation and ask him if you can watch and learn alittle about the car. Slow time of the year so he may be ok with it. Sounds like more than one trouble and he should be able to get right to them.

Anyone know which tranny this is???

Carefull with that tranny, my son has one, he stopped suddenly in a Target parking lot when someone backed out at him. The tranny downshifted and broke something inside, stalled the engine and froze it. He called me after he managed to start it to describe the noise -no fun and $4000 later he was lucky the pieces didn't break the housing.

Hi Dj The codes seem to indicate a problem with the shift module and the speed sensor which is in the conductor plate.I would first look under the veh by the frt bellhousing and see if there is a fluid leak at the electrical connector going into the trans,you may just be low on fluid and need a new connector( very common).Iam new in Apex,just moved from LongIsland,if you need to have the codes read,or the trans adaptations checked,let me know.Joeym

By the way, the new guy should see the lite missing. In Cal, small claims courts are behind the customer -too much. A dealer is expected to know that the lite should test on with the key on. It would be easy to suspect the bulb was removed on purpose to fool the customer. Get the new guy's advice. If its a lot of repairs, it might be worth it to call the dealer and fax the repair list. Since he offered to fix it, you'd have to explain to the judge why you didn't take him up on it. Maybe the dealer will pay for parts.

Well i stopped by the local benz mechanic (they were real nice) they had the car on the machine as i walked in. The codes showed that the right rear wheel sensor for abs was bad, o2 sensors were bad and the brake pedal switch was bad.
This is the part that kinda sucks; since i cleared the codes they did not get any tranny codes. So as the scan tool says it has no problems. The bill dosent seem like it will be to bad. I am just worried about the tranny.

dj

So they got the codes for the other 3 after you cleared them? Either way, neither one of those things is going to cause the tranny issue. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

If it were mine, I'd save the money until it breaks. The trans issue will come back. You've probably got a bad conductor plate. That's the FIRST and CHEAPEST place to start, and since you have to drain about 3liters of fluid when changing it, you should do the full fluild and filter change then as well (OEM MB fluid only!!!)

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former: 83 300D, 97 C230, 93 400E

current: 08 C300 Luxury , 92 500SL

i will probably replace the dash light myself, do i use the 2w or the 1.5w?

Hi Dj On the back of the cluster it should say if its a 2 or a 1.5 ,also I noticed all your codes were po# if you want more info you need to have a tester go into the different modules and read the codes.Joeym

The repair shop called me and told me that i need to come in. (you know its not good when that happens) along with the above they found the following wrong with the car.
1) TCM is the reason why it would pop into nuetral
2)at some time they used the front A arms to tie the car down and the bushings are blown out. The A arms may be tweaked a bit
3) ball joints
4) tie rod ends
5) steering stabilizer
6) rear stabilizer one of the links has been broken off
7)spare tire 15 inch will not fit front wheels
8) front rotors gone
9) front pads
10) rear pads
11)right front wheel is not round (repaired at some point)

the dealer said he will take it back. i am driving it back and then catching a flight home tomorrow. Worst thing about the whole deal was it was such a fun car to drive

djtalon, arrange for a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) before you buy a pre-owned MB, or any car for that matter, so you know upfront the condition of the car. A clean car hasn't necessarily been maintained properly.

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Fred Hoelzle