Hello All,

I am new to the forum. I have a 1999 C-230 Kompressor with 115,000 miles, which is currently giving me fits with transmission issues.

I am using an indie who has provided reliable and faithful service to me for the last 2 years since my move to Little Rock; and he is far less expensive that the MB dealer here.

My problem began with the car going in to “limp home” mode as I was nearing my house.

Because the usual driver of this vehicle has a propensity for spilling nearly every liquid he gets his hands on, the immediate suspicion was the gear recognition switch. This are was in fact nasty enough that I decided to spring for a whole new shifter assembly.

Very nice, but did not solve the problem. The next part suggested, ordered and replaced was the “electronic plate” that lives in the bottom of the transmission itself.

When this plate was removed from the car, it did in fact have some visible issues. One being that 1 of the little copper fingers was no longer connected to its anchor point, the second being that the housing that makes up the round connector was no longer “intact”.

New part installed; fresh o-rings/gasket/seals, and synthetic fluid – all official MB products – did not solve the problem.

The next item suggested for replacement, is the transmission control module.

Am I on the right track here? Any suggestions? Did we miss a step?

Many thanks. Jim

It gets very expensive very fast if you throw parts at a problem without knowing what the real cause of the fault is. Hindsight being 20/20 it likely would have been a lot cheaper in this case to let the dealer handle it. It's unlikely your indie has the very expensive Mercedes diagnostic equipment to properly assess the problem.

Len

Thanks for your reply - but expense wise, it actually hasn't been too bad. I have been buying the parts from Phil whom I found here on this forum. The parts that have been replaced so far, did in fact need attention, and I am confident that I have saved a ton of money vs. what the dealer has quoted me for the very same ones.

I am, however ready to be done with this issue, which is why I am asking for the experience of others.

If the transmission is in limp mode, there are codes in the system, which error codes did you indie retrieve. Once you find and fix the cause, the codes must be cleared from the TCM or ECU for the transmission to work.

The transmission is still in limp mode because the fault was not identified and repaired or repaired and codes in the system were not cleared.

Thank you - that is information I can use! My indie said no new codes were present after changing that plate thing. I'll get with him in the morning and ensure that he cleared the codes.

For that trans to go into limp there must be either a trans code OR a traction system code..have them read & post them so that we can identify the real problem...trans codes run from 1-96 & intermittent trans codes from 97-192.

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Thanks again for your help with this. The needed repairs had in fact been made - but the car just didnt know it!

As an aside, I would like to caution anyone considering a purchase from Riverside Motors in Little Rock:

When I attempted to have this little 5 minute operation performed, the lady answering the phones in the service dept took great cheer in telling me that nothing is done without an appointment, and that the current wait for one was 8 days out!

I called MB, who in turn called Riverside and viola! no appointment needed.

They did, however, charge me $100.62!

I am currently driving Benz number 6 and when I get ready to buy number 7, I am going to drop by Riverside and remind them of why it won't be from them!

Best to all,

JimInLR