Mercedes Automatic Transmission Repairs

Get your Mercedes transmission problems fixed by the experts

Unlike many other car manufacturers, Mercedes only use automatic transmissions they have built themselves. These are generally very reliable, as long as these transmissions are serviced regularly.

With most other car manufacturers we are used to seeing a host of transmission problems at A Automotive, but Mercedes usually only displays a few very specific auto trans issues.

Compared to other European car makers, Mercedes transmission repairs are relatively rare.

The Mercedes A Class is an exception to this rule, however.

Mercedes A Class transmission problems pre-2005

The A Class is the Mercedes model we see most of at A Automotive. These cars develop a range of different transmission problems.

Early A160 models often develop cracking of the forward clutch drum. This fault manifests as the car losing drive or slipping on takeoff. This can make the car go into failsafe mode, staying in one gear to limp home. When this happens, an F message is displayed on the dash board.

Mercedes A Class cars from before 2005 also typically develop failures of the electronic module inside the transmission. The recommended repair for this is to replace the entire valve body, including the electronic module. However, at A Automotive we have developed a method to effect a much more cost-efficient repair: If you bring your A Class Mercedes to us when it has this problem, we can repair the electronic module only, saving you a significant amount of money.

Mercedes A and B Class transmission problems since 2006

From 2006, the A Class moved to a CVT transmission which is also used on the Mercedes B Class.

These transmissions are more reliable than the automatic transmissions used in earlier models.

The most common problems with the A Class and B Class CVT transmissions are valve body issues and belt failure.

Mercedes 7-speed transmission repairs

In mid-2000, Mercedes Benz developed a new 7-speed transmission that has proved reliable.

This auto trans has undergone a number of upgrades in the meantime. This 7-speed Mercedes transmission can develop valve body problems and mechatronic faults.

This is often caused by having incorrect oil in the transmission. Typically, problems with this transmission are displayed via harsh gear shifts, slipping, or shudder caused by the torque converter lockup clutch.

Mercedes 5-speed transmissions

In 1996, Mercedes went to 5-speed transmissions throughout their range. These have proven very reliable.

The major source of problems for these transmissions are ruptures of the oil cooler, allowing water into the transmission. This typically causes torque converter shudder and delaminating of the clutch lining. If the transmission gets water inside it, it is only a matter of time before the transmission has to be rebuilt. This includes replacing all friction plates and overhauling the
torque converter.

The other problem with these transmissions we encounter at A Automotive is failure of the conductor plate assembly inside the transmission. This causes the transmission to stick in one gear, or to go into failsafe mode.

If your 5-speed Mercedes transmission slips when shifting from second to third gear or thumps when shifting from second to first gear, the problem could well be caused by failure of the sprag clutch assembly. To overcome this problem, Mercedes made an upgrade from 16 to 20 elements in the sprag clutch assembly. When we do an overhaul of this transmission at A Automotive, we always upgrade them to the 20-element sprag.