W210 Won't shift out of first gear...
 

Hey gang,

I have a 1997 E320 that refuses to shift out of first gear (max speed 30mph). Reverse works great and the transmission (722.6) was serviced with new filter and fluid by MB last year. Is this what they refer to as "Limp home mode?" The engine starts and runs perfectly but theCE light is on. My next step is to break out the scanner and see what codes appear. I have a feling the transmission issue may relate to the CE light.

Thanks a ton for any help.

Best Regards,
Brian

Whent he 722.6 goes into limp home, it lights the CEL. If you restart the car, does it go away and then come back, or is it in limp home all the time?

Conductor plate? I think that was a common cause of limp home on early 722.6 trannies.

Ok...Pulled the DTC codes. Only thing I am getting is *pending* P0730. The car still only drives in first gear. The engine starts and runs flawlessly. I am stumped....

Thanks for the response.

Brian

A "P07xx" code is a generic OBDII code and refers to something in the trans. You need to talk to the transmission controller and as with every controller but ME you can't do it with an OBDII scanner.

A Snap-On scanner will talk to the trans just fine and so will most dedicated scanners. Posible easy codes include speed sensor problems, selector switch problems, etc.

An interesting speed sensor problem I dealt with on a 97 C230 was the vehicle speed was derived from the ABS (didn't have ASR) through the rear ABS sensor in the differential. The trans was rebuilt because it didn't shift and all that was wrong was the differential speed sensor. Sort of like no governor pressure on mechanically controlled transmissions.

As mentioned above the conductor plate was a common problem for many reasons including the transmission speed sensors. You just have to get the codes read.

Guys,

Thanks again for the responses. I really appreciate you takig the time to help me out. I am going to take it in to the shop and have them take it from here. I'll hope for a cheap fix.

Thanks!
Brian

Update
 

Mechanic called and said that there were several codes stored in the transmission module. After clearing the codes the car will shift again but does so erratically (downshifts randomly and hard shifts).

The indi thinks that the ETC (Transmission control module) is to blame.

I am going to try and get the codes that were pulled so that I can post them

Thanks again for all the help!

Brian