Drove home last nigh 40 miles from the office. Stopped in at the parts store to get some wax for the car this weekend that is long over due thanks to Hurricane IKE. I was at the store 5 mins and came out, started the car and it would not shift into reverse.
Stuck the pen in and it unlocked the shifter and drove home whatever gear “limp home mode” is. The D was not shown on the cluster.
Got home and got on here and I think found the problem. The TCM right? I did not spill any thing down the shifter but as my wife said we have only owned the car 3 months. God I love this car.
Had to move the car today so my wife could get out and it hesitated when I turned the key, but started. Put the pen in and moved the shifter and it clunked into Reverse. She pulled out and I put it in drive to pull back in and it literally slammed into Drive. Is it still the TCM or transmission solenoid? What do you guys think?
Car:
CLK 320 2000 with 94,000 miles
Symptoms:
Hesitation on turning the key
No display of gear on cluster
Shifter stuck in park, had to insert pen to shift car into gear
Transmission shifts hard into gear
Limp home mode only
Is the check engine light on? I've been fighting transmission problems since I got my car. I've never had issues with the shifter not shifting out of park without overriding. I've also not had trouble with the ignition key.
But I've been in limp home mode (2nd gear) often. While the transmission was being "fixed" it would slam into gear like you describe.
I have replaced the TCM and all of the solenoids. Mine no longer gets stuck in second -- but does get stuck in third. No warning, no pattern. I have the conductor plate (turbine speed sensor) in the garage and will be replacing that as soon as convertible weather is done. I can live with third gear occasionally.
My point is -- I probably could have avoided a lot of headaches and spent a hell of a lot less money if I'd had the codes read in the beginning instead of just guessing and buying parts based on others' symptoms and solutions. And not just read by Auto Zone. You need to have them read by a mechanic that has a machine that will talk to the car's transmission system -- not just the the OBDII system. I'm not sure if you can get them read if the CEL is not on, but it's worth a shot if you ask me. I despise going to the dealer, but it seems the only way unless you have a good indy shop around.
Good luck and let us know how it goes. I'm compiling a list of transmission symptoms/codes/solutions and your situation certainly qualifies.
Vehicle: The fleet: 2001 CLK430 Cabriolet, 1997 Jaguar XJ6L
Posts: 332
Quote:
Originally Posted by axncatsma
Is the check engine light on? I've been fighting transmission problems since I got my car. I've never had issues with the shifter not shifting out of park without overriding. I've also not had trouble with the ignition key.
But I've been in limp home mode (2nd gear) often. While the transmission was being "fixed" it would slam into gear like you describe.
I have replaced the TCM and all of the solenoids. Mine no longer gets stuck in second -- but does get stuck in third. No warning, no pattern. I have the conductor plate (turbine speed sensor) in the garage and will be replacing that as soon as convertible weather is done. I can live with third gear occasionally.
My point is -- I probably could have avoided a lot of headaches and spent a hell of a lot less money if I'd had the codes read in the beginning instead of just guessing and buying parts based on others' symptoms and solutions. And not just read by Auto Zone. You need to have them read by a mechanic that has a machine that will talk to the car's transmission system -- not just the the OBDII system. I'm not sure if you can get them read if the CEL is not on, but it's worth a shot if you ask me. I despise going to the dealer, but it seems the only way unless you have a good indy shop around.
Good luck and let us know how it goes. I'm compiling a list of transmission symptoms/codes/solutions and your situation certainly qualifies.
Oh come on, most dealers are not that bad. At least they fix it right the first time (usually.) The money you spent throwing parts at it most likely came out to more than just paying them to fix it.
When I bring my CLK in the service advisor made it a point that the master tech who works on the SLRs was working on my car. Not sure if he was just blowing smoke up my ass, but I sure felt reassured.
Drove home last nigh 40 miles from the office. Stopped in at the parts store to get some wax for the car this weekend that is long over due thanks to Hurricane IKE. I was at the store 5 mins and came out, started the car and it would not shift into reverse.
Stuck the pen in and it unlocked the shifter and drove home whatever gear “limp home mode” is. The D was not shown on the cluster.
Got home and got on here and I think found the problem. The TCM right? I did not spill any thing down the shifter but as my wife said we have only owned the car 3 months. God I love this car.
Had to move the car today so my wife could get out and it hesitated when I turned the key, but started. Put the pen in and moved the shifter and it clunked into Reverse. She pulled out and I put it in drive to pull back in and it literally slammed into Drive. Is it still the TCM or transmission solenoid? What do you guys think?
Car:
CLK 320 2000 with 94,000 miles
Symptoms:
Hesitation on turning the key
No display of gear on cluster
Shifter stuck in park, had to insert pen to shift car into gear
Transmission shifts hard into gear
Limp home mode only
Please help
Hi, BJ. First thing I would do is jack up the car and check the connector on the transmission; reference this DIY in the W210 forum (same transmission, same leaky connector, same fix, same part, as Mr. Miagi would say, "same/same"). http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210...connector.html When that thing leaks it forces fluid up the harness and into the TCM, shorting it.
If that is wet, get a new connector (cheap even at the dealer) and a liter of fluid ($16 or so at the dealer) as well as a dipstick tool, new locking pin for the fill cap and a can of electrical cleaner and then replace the connector and clean the harness. Then open the console per this thread in this forum: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w208...e-removal.html and yank the TCM, using the rest of the contact cleaner to blast the daylights out of it and clean the other end of the harness. Let it dry thoroughly and then reinstall. Do the battery disconnect/brake pedal/reset procedure and start the car, do the other resets while it warms up, check and adjust the fluid level and then see how it drives. If it's still acting up take it to a dealer or star-diagnosis-equipped indy and have the trans codes reset (which will also tell them if the TCM has not recovered).
Now if the connector is fine, you unplug it and it's dry and clean and perfect, then I'd still pull the TCM and clean it. It's possible something was spilled less recently and has managed to make it's way in there.
All in all it sure sounds like the TCM, so that's where I'd focus my efforts, but you do need to check that connector first or it's just a finger in the dike and you also need to replenish fluid if it's been leaking.
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
__________________ If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice. Meister Eckhart
When you learn from your own mistakes, that's experience.
When you learn from the mistakes of others, that's wisdom.
When you fail to learn from any mistakes, that's government.
Many thanks for the tips I will certainly follow the procedure laid out by Greg. I feel I am in good hands with you guys here at Benzworld. I will update all on my progress. I really don’t mind taking it into the shop if need be but if it is something simple, easy and cheap to fix then I would like to take a swing at it first.
There is a reason the owners of MBZ dealerships drive the best, they know how to charge!!!
Right then fun lovers, got the module assembly as well as the shifter assembly out of the car. I will save the details of my debacle of epic proportion for my very own step by step DIY complete with how may time my lovely wife asked if I new what I was doing (14 and still counting)
What parts do I need to clean with the contact cleaner that I spent 4 hours trying to find and every counter jockey in every Auto parts store in Houston I went to had to looked at me like I had two heads and the guys in Best Buy swear I was retarded!!! Thank God for Pep Boys. I was beginning to think I was retarded and was about to roll my CLK out into the street and set it on fire and call FEMA and ask if it was covered under Hurricane IKE disaster relief.
I am just about at the end of my chain and I hope to have just enough so I still may be able to hang myself at the end of this project.
If you would be so kind as to point, or highlight, give a brief description, or circle with a fire engine red crayon the Transmission control module I need to clean with my brand new 18 ounce can of electronics cleaner I spent the better part of the day trying to find when I should have been putting together a emergency contingency plan for a major oil company drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico but at least I can not be accused of having my priorities mixed up.
Okay, bad joke. I should have suggested you get the contact cleaner at a hardware store or even Radio Shack; I'm surprised Pep Boys had it. (Walmart might have had it as well.)
At any rate, how was your connector? Was it all dry? If not you need to use some of your hard-won cleaner on that connector and the harness and the other end of the connector inside the console.
But in your picture, the working part of the module is the PC board inside the plastic, so just blast -- thoroughly -- any and all of it you can access. Both sides, use the holes for access, etc. Then let it dry -- thoroughly -- before reinstalling. When you get it back in, don't bother reassembling everything, just get it snugged in there and connected up, then reconnect the battery and start it up and see if you've solved the issue. If not plug in a code reader and see if you have the trans codes; if so those have to be cleared by a shop.
Good luck and keep us posted as to your priorities.
Hawkeye is good I am currently using him as a jack stand under the passenger front.
I had a feeling that would be the case, probably really did not need to even take it out of the car right? But I have to be honest it felt like Christmas when I got that baby out.
Did you know that there is a plastic support bar that runs across the consol that the face plate sits on top? That was 3 days of anguish brought on by some engineer that decided to show everyone just how smart he was. I got to say that the whole shift assembly did fit very nicely under it, nice and snug.
As for the connector I really set out with good intentions on that but I just saw the clip holding the shifter and undid it and got all excited and well I don’t know how the connector is. The under side is pretty dry but there is some kind of oil seeping from the front of the bell housing. It’s not much but it is a little damp, with that I have know idea where the connector is. Well that is not true but it’s on the passenger side front corner of the pan under the heat shield yes?
I will be stopping by MBZ on the way home to pick one up.
All in all I have leaned quite a bit from this little project. I did find the o2 sensors for future reference and I totally agree with your comment about the o2 sensors that guy was trying to buy on eBay. Dude buy them from the dealer and put them in your self then you don’t need to worry about it.
Greg I do want to thank you for your help, I do plan on doing a detailed DIY so others can benefit from this and I hope it helps to answer a bunch of future questions others may have. I do enjoy the ride and hope to get her back on the road in the next day or so.
Oh am I going to need a drip pan when I take the connector out? Trany oil is not going to spill all over me is it?
Linear Mode
