[mickey.1430]

For my tranny, the fault codes suggested that the valve body was bad. This item is a hydraulic circuit responsible for shifting gears. The tranny pan was dropped, seal, valve body, tranny controller board, other small items, and ATF were replaced. There is a standard 12 month warranty on replaced parts. Of course, the replaced parts are also under the main warranty so the 12 month part is not that restrictive.

You may wish to look at posts by gillybenz on mercedesshop.com. He is a tech and has supplied some comments on tranny fluid changes. Also, check with your shop forman on the 'real' change interval. I have no doubt that under the tested conditions, the tranny fill will last a long time but in this country, we tend to have a much bigger operating envelope than in EU an encounter 'things that go bump in the night': ie. the fluid does not wear out but becomes contaminated and results in a jammed body (there are some 12 ball valves of which half are plastic and are easily jammed. Later MYs had protective covers installed to prevent fine grit from entering the body but it remains to be seen how well these work.). I don't know the failure rate for the trannies but I suspect it is not high unless it happens to you: then it is unacceptable.