Automatic transmission failure
 

I have a mb E class 220 cdi 1999 mod. 458000 km. The car is in very good condition!! My automatic transmission will not shift gear when the engine is cold. When engine reach normal working temp everything is OK. When i start the car it will only run i 1 st gear up to 4-5 minutes, then it shifts to 2 and 3. Must drive further 4 to 5 km for it to shift into 4 and 5 gear. By that time the engine is all warmed up. I have found out that when i start the engine and it`s cold i can bring up the rpm (when parked) to 3000-4000 rpm for a brief time (just hitting the pedal 2 or 3 times to the bottom) it shifts at once, but when i then stops for t.ex. a red light i am back to "normal". The transmission oil hasn`t been changed since 30000 km, but the garage says is`t Ok since it`s should change every 60000 km. Does anybody have any clue what i should do??

Kindly
Mr. Hansen
Norway

Have you checked that the transmission oil has not been frozen when starting the car. It has to be the fluid/filter combo or bad valve action due to physical circulation problem.

Thanks for your answer! No i have not checked if the oil has been frozen. I thought that oil did no freeze until way below -40`C. Anyway, we do not experience such temp here were the car i stationed. Max -25`C. But i think i will change the oil anyway.

I understand about the freezing point declared between -37 and -43 degree C, but the pour point and the viscosity curve? And is it 100% synthetic without polymeric additives? All these factors affect the oil function dramatically, though I expect that if they meet EU standards for artic environments all these factors would fall within guidelines. Nevertheless, we live crazy times.

I was not trying to express the obvious, but the most frequent factor of transmission failure, often overlooked in expectancy that everything be as it should.

My sl500 was/is doing the same. Mechanic said at first it was the shift valve. He cleaned it, said that was not the problem, that I needed a new transmission. So I let him do that. It STILL does it!

C220 CDI using gear one only
 

My Mercedes-Benz, automatic transmission,C220 CDI 2002 model is not changing gear. It is just using the first gear and cannot change the next one. What would be the problem? I took it to a garage and I was told to change the gearbox oil but still same problem.Please help

ok ok wat u nee d to when its not changing check the disply on the cluster if gear change workin on tiptronic,,if you can see the gear changing 1234d if thats inop then it may be selector really it needs a star diag...

NAZ, thats for your quick response. Please reply again so that I understand your answer correctly.