97 c class DONT need replace transmission fluid?

[qqbennyqq]

hi i just went to this pretty professional place that deals with mercedes and bmws to do my major service, and the guy told me that 97 and up mercedes have the W/S switch dont need a transmission fluid change, they said it is real expensive and it has no garantees, they call it lifetime synthetic transmission. anyone know about this?

[jaysonvaldez]

when I bought my 00 kompressor I asked about that too. I asked what type of trasmission fluid do I use? The salesman told me it doesn't ever have to be changed... I was surprise. I never asked why... I just figured it was a Mercedes Benz so, it had many benefits...

[josh k]

Complete BS. While it technically is lifetime fluid, if you don't change it, the lifetime of your tranny will be much shorter.

The fluid isn't cheap and you have to get a tamper proof dipstick cover, but if you want your tranny to last you should have the fluid changed every 100k miles at an absolute minimum

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by josh k
Complete BS. While it technically is lifetime fluid, if you don't change it, the lifetime of your tranny will be much shorter.

The fluid isn't cheap and you have to get a tamper proof dipstick cover, but if you want your tranny to last you should have the fluid changed every 100k miles at an absolute minimum I second that. Change the fluid. It doesnt last forever as they say. Mine came out dark brown as opposed to the nice dark purple red color I got from the dealer.Change the filter as well. 6000.00 Tranny(c43)! To hell with that.Chng the fluid. Every 40-60,000 miles. TRUST ME! You can ask any tranny shop about that.

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by coolcarlskic43
I second that. Change the fluid. It doesnt last forever as they say. Mine came out dark brown as opposed to the nice dark purple red color I got from the dealer.Change the filter as well. 6000.00 Tranny(c43)! To hell with that.Chng the fluid. Every 40-60,000 miles. TRUST ME! You can ask any tranny shop about that. READ THIS!http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=728741&posts=15&fid=3

[Andrew C280]

100% BULL, yah its life time if you call a transmissions life time 100,000 Km mine went, at 108000 km thats garbage.

Fluid costs about 150 dollars and i will be replaceing mine ever 40000 km

yah alot of stuff is mantaince free but look at the crap cars there building now nothing like there early models stuff that was build in the 70's and 80's is made way better and they never had no mantance transmission fluid, if you learn one thing about dealing with mercedes benz you cant trust anything they say.

[qqbennyqq]

o damn my car is a 97 and has 151k miles :bandit: i asked teh guy so many times like "are u sure" he said positive, hes been doin work on mercedes for over 20 years and he says taht if i still want to change it its 250 dollars because its 69 for the kit and 15 per quart, but he says if theres any problems after he cahnges hes not liable for it, he suggest i just leave it

[josh k]

Did you ask him if he was liable for the repair costs when your transmission fails because it wasn't serviced? :rolleyes:

[qqbennyqq]

no i did not because i didnt want to piss him off or else he would fuck up my car

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by qqbennyqq
o damn my car is a 97 and has 151k miles :bandit: i asked teh guy so many times like "are u sure" he said positive, hes been doin work on mercedes for over 20 years and he says taht if i still want to change it its 250 dollars because its 69 for the kit and 15 per quart, but he says if theres any problems after he cahnges hes not liable for it, he suggest i just leave it Believe me its worth it but 250.00 to change fluid and filter, That mechanics gotta be outta his mind.That price would discourage anyone. With fluid from MB and filter and service from my friend at Pro Lube, I paid less than 100.00 (parts and labor).It took him no time at all to chng the fluid,filter and gasket. The parts and oil he got from the MB dealer. He does alot of MB's

[coolcarlskic43]

He could be scared because of the mileage you have on the car ,figuring it was nver chgd and it could fail right away after chging it which would not even be his fault.

[Andrew C280]

My perspective is 250 for some fluid or any where from 3000 to 5000 for a new transmission I speak from experience haveing my transmission go all ready, i think it wise to get the fluid replace

[josh k]

Originally posted by qqbennyqq
no i did not because i didnt want to piss him off or else he would fuck up my car

Are you kidding me? And you still go to this mechanic? Are you dumb? I would NEVER entrust my car to anyone who I though might fuck it up.

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by Andrew C280
My perspective is 250 for some fluid or any where from 3000 to 5000 for a new transmission I speak from experience haveing my transmission go all ready, i think it wise to get the fluid replace I agree, But 250.00 is too much too pay.Chk elsewhere .I paid less than half that.Leave that mechanic alone.The jerkoff mechanic just wants too scare him off. I'd chk elsewhere!But do get it Changed. filter as well.

[nokia8860]

I think the thing you should be more worried about is that stoopid first year 5 speed tranny design.

Trust me it can go kaboom on you regardless of fluid change or not.

My 5k less feeling wallet can attest to MB retarded design on this tranny.

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by nokia8860
I think the thing you should be more worried about is that stoopid first year 5 speed tranny design.

Trust me it can go kaboom on you regardless of fluid change or not.

My 5k less feeling wallet can attest to MB retarded design on this tranny. Well! Just wish me luck because so far so good. ;) .i just leave it in drive and enjoy it. No Shifting..Wish me luck! 79,OOO MILES Its all good!

[nokia8860]

coolcarlskic43: You need not worry about this flaw in transmission on your 98 C43 as it uses a different design.

This is regarding the original posters vehicle.

Also the tranny can go out anytime regardless of miles. Mines went at 74k.

[qqbennyqq]

i c, well what are the signs of transmission goin KABooM , is there like anything u can feel?

[kami230]

i don't kow if mine is goig down but somedays it acts funny:
i think this is normal but in the morning it stays in 1st gear and revs up to 2-3RPM,
it also seems like it doesn't know what to do when it goes down hill... but besides it just need a tranny fliud change

[LV202]

The lifetime fluid is BS. Change the fluid or expect it to go south.

There are plenty of MB techs that say it's BS too. Do a search online.

[Denlasoul]

Originally posted by coolcarlskic43
Well! Just wish me luck because so far so good. ;) .i just leave it in drive and enjoy it. No Shifting..Wish me luck! 79,OOO MILES Its all good!

I hear ya! I got about 78K on my C43.

[SLAMMED_C]

I would recommend regular changing of your trans fluid no matter if its synthetic or not.. just good insurance.. and remember to replace the filter and gasket at each service. and of course the little tab lock on the dipstick cover.
always make sure (if changing yourself) to inspect fluid colour, smell, and inspect the trans pan for metal.. not necessarily the fine meatl powder as thats normal. but clean out the pan with varsol and dry off.

[coolcarlskic43]

May sound excessive but I will be chnging mine every 10,000 miles for the simlpe hell of it.

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by coolcarlskic43
May sound excessive but I will be chnging mine every 10,000 miles for the simlpe hell of it. Just like in my race car which I do a lil more often.

[SLAMMED_C]

I dont think that it needs to be done that often...

[coolcarlskic43]

Wont hurt + its easy to change!

[SLAMMED_C]

Wont hurt + its easy to change!
even still.. a waste of money to do it that often. thats way too often.. say every 40,000 miles.. whats that about 64,000km?? seems like a good interval.
if you do every 10,000miles.. thats like doing a trans fluid change every flex service!! thats way too often.

[LV202]

Well let's see who's transmission goes the longest......:D

[Will_w202]

I used to buy into the fear-mongering and scare tactics over at TDIClub. After dropping somewhere between 5-8k in mods and god knows how much in preventive maintetence, my injector pump went at 68k. That's a $4000 Bosch diesel injector pump. So much for soot-defeating mods, fuel additives, etc. I also did a 60k tranny change on a "lifetime" trans, and found more metal than I would have liked. Then again, I beat the shit out of the car at every chance and drove it past what 95% of VW owners would have.

My 97 5-speed auto has 65k on it, and I will not change the fluid. I baby this car, and I really don't see the 4cyl being especially hard on the trans. It's under Starmark until 100k, or 22 more months.

Bottom line is, you pay to play. I learned the hard way. I don't care how much maintenence you do, NO amount of fluid and filter changes canmake up for 10s of thousands of miles of abusive driving.

[coolcarlskic43]

Well not changing it at all and abusing it is definitely a lose - lose situation. Not changing it and driving normally is not bad but it certainly isnt that great either. Abuse it and change it! And Drive normal and chge it! Better than not at all or waiting 65k or 100k miles.

[LV202]

Originally posted by Will_w202
Bottom line is, you pay to play. I learned the hard way. I don't care how much maintenence you do, NO amount of fluid and filter changes canmake up for 10s of thousands of miles of abusive driving.

OK, so just because one car goes south, that you took care of, you now apply that too all cars? A Benz at that? And a Benz that you admit driving hard?!?

If you are going to drive hard, then don't you think you should attribute THAT to the problem? Instead of ignoring the importance of maintenance.

You might as well change it like the other poster said. At least you'll have better odds !

[Will_w202]

I think you misunderstood. I abused a VW Golf TDI by modding it and driving the hell out of it. I don't drive my Benz like that.