I'm new to this forum. I have an E-Class W211 E220 CDi. Just wanted to know how often a gearbox oil change was required. Also what type of oil is required? Thanks.
Vehicle: 2003 E320 - wife's car now; 07 Porsche Boxster S - my car!!
Location: Boston, MA USA
Posts: 637
Changing the auto trans fluid on a W211 is a popular subject on this and other forums. For the W211 family, MB put in a "lifetime" fluid fill in their auto transmissions. Many of us believe that this is not a good idea and the ATF should be changed out much earlier. For example, I had a used oil analysis done on my ATF because I wanted to know if there was coolant contamination in it (another story about MB), the report came back OK for that but also mentioned that the insolubles were at 0.1% and they should have been less than 0.1% -- this is a good enough reason to change out the ATF.
The fluid required (about 14 litres) is an MB fluid only -- do not use another brand. You could also have an analysis done of the fluid to help you make up your mind. Since you drive a E220 CDI, I don't think you live in the US, so I can't recommend a lab to you -- sorry.
I had mine changed at 45k. I may have wasted the money and oil, but peace of mind was the overriding factor.
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Changing the auto trans fluid on a W211 is a popular subject on this and other forums. For the W211 family, MB put in a "lifetime" fluid fill in their auto transmissions. Many of us believe that this is not a good idea and the ATF should be changed out much earlier. For example, I had a used oil analysis done on my ATF because I wanted to know if there was coolant contamination in it (another story about MB), the report came back OK for that but also mentioned that the insolubles were at 0.1% and they should have been less than 0.1% -- this is a good enough reason to change out the ATF.
The fluid required (about 14 litres) is an MB fluid only -- do not use another brand. You could also have an analysis done of the fluid to help you make up your mind. Since you drive a E220 CDI, I don't think you live in the US, so I can't recommend a lab to you -- sorry.
Regards,
Paul...
Could you tell us the mileage on your car at the time you had the transmission fluid checked and changed? I would read that as a latest recommended fluid change mileage, irrespectively what MB service program suggests (of course other users may provide their figures, if supported by oil analysis).
Vehicle: 2003 E320 - wife's car now; 07 Porsche Boxster S - my car!!
Location: Boston, MA USA
Posts: 637
Sorry I left that info out. The car currently has 65K miles and I plan to have the ATF changed before I hit 70K. When I had the lab test done, the ATF had 51674 miles on it.
The "other" MB story I eluded to was that early 03 W211 models that had Valeo radiators installed had some problems with a defective radiator allowing coolant to leak into the ATF lines and eventually causing transmission failure. If your W211 was built after 9/03, you won't have this problem.
Thanks for all the useful input. I live in the UK and I've also heard that you do not need to change the ATF. Although, when I enquired at the local dealership they said that it should be done about every 40k miles (and uses 7-8 litres of oil). Strange !
They also recommended that I use Castrol Dexron III because it's what they use.
My car has done about 103k miles so I guess I can hold for about another 10-15k miles.
My vehicle is a March 2003 model so I suppose I may get the leaky problem from the Valeo radiator then ! Eeeerrk.
Just can't find a decent mechanic when you need one. Dealerships are way too expensive in UK £95 + VAT per hour for labour costs !
Vehicle: 2003 E320 - wife's car now; 07 Porsche Boxster S - my car!!
Location: Boston, MA USA
Posts: 637
Quote:
Originally Posted by B4ABU
Thanks for all the useful input. I live in the UK and I've also heard that you do not need to change the ATF. Although, when I enquired at the local dealership they said that it should be done about every 40k miles (and uses 7-8 litres of oil). Strange !
They also recommended that I use Castrol Dexron III because it's what they use.
My car has done about 103k miles so I guess I can hold for about another 10-15k miles.
My vehicle is a March 2003 model so I suppose I may get the leaky problem from the Valeo radiator then ! Eeeerrk.
Just can't find a decent mechanic when you need one. Dealerships are way too expensive in UK £95 + VAT per hour for labour costs !
Once again many thanks for all your posts.
From what I've read, the leaky radiator problem shows up in the first 30K miles of operation -- since you're already at 103K, you probably won't have the problem.
From what I've read, the leaky radiator problem shows up in the first 30K miles of operation -- since you're already at 103K, you probably won't have the problem.
Regards,
paul...
The local dealer recommends it at every 60,000 miles even though MB says its LTF. They will even pay for the change rather than have an issue with transmission later on.
My oil analysis was far from LTF - I would have chnaged it in the next 10K miles - but had transmission work just done with got me new oil in there.
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