I have recently been advised by my Dealership that the 'burring noise' and 'stuttered acceleration' I've experienced with my 2002 CLK 240 which has only done 47k miles, is down to 'Glycol contamination of the gearbox'. HUH ?

Without getting too technical, I'm told that as the gearbox oil is being cooled, through the bottom of the radiator, it appears that dueto the design of the radiator'Glycol' can seep into the oil which basically buggers up the radiator, torque convertor and gearbox.

Whilst thetech's at the deralership are beingvery honest and helpful, no one hasactually put there hands up and admitted that this is a design fault which I as the customer should not have to pay for.

I'm waiting for MB's Customer CareDept. to call back and wondered ifanyone else experienced this problem and how was it resloved ?

 

i would think that mb would do some thing with just 47000 miles even though the time has run out. kept trying with customer service

 

Hi, I have exactly the same problem but didnt know what it was - hence why i searched out this forum. I bought a 2nd handCLK 240 Avantgarde 2002 with 80k miles just last week, Id been looking for one for a while with the AMG kit that this one had -although the mileage was a little high I didnt mind as my last car was a C240 with 96k & drove like new. I didnt notice anything on the test drive but after having the car a week I noticed that 1stly it seemed to "stutter" or "drag" when accelerating & then I noticed a strange sound like a faint fog horn kind of noise that can clearly be heard right through the car. When I take my foot off the gas the noise stops. I took the car to an independant garage today that is run by a friend of mine & took him out in the car - he actually has a clk (old shape) & knows alot about Mercs but was completely baffled by the noise. The dealer I bought the car from is an independant & says he will sort any major problems that occur but I think this is a job for an MB dealer. My worry now is that im a lttle strapped for cash after buying the car & dont want to have to pay MB to invesigate the problem - are they likely to charge me to investigate or not? This sounds like exactly the same problem you are having & the car is the same engine & year too so let me know if you find anything else out. What did MB say the car needed to sort the problem out? Hope to hear from you or anyone else soon. Cheers John.

 

John

These were the exact symptons I was getting and I to found this forum whilst trying to find some answers and to see if anyone else has experienced this.

It was an independent who initially diagnosed the problem, these guys are ex main dealer techs and he didn't even have to drive the car, he knew instantly what the problem was once describedand carried out a 'Glycol test' to confirm it, which apparently should bea standard thing that he reckons should be done at every service.

Cost wise I'vebeen quoted 4k to put this right with a goodwill offer by the dealer of losing the labour charge and a 35% discount on the remainder. By the way the labour charge is approx. 1K !!!

MB are 'investigating'whether they can do anythingmore, watch this space.

 

Hi, that isnt what I want to hear after only having the car for a week! The dealer I bought the car from gave me a 6 month mechanical waranty which says it covers the auto transmission, torque converter cooling systems. However, the maximum claim is £2000. Im thinking of going to my local MB dealer on Monday to ask them what they think because I think this is something that should not have occured in the 1st place - did MB charge you to investigate? Are you planning on getting yours fixed? Im wondering if just a new torque convertor would fix the problem? Did anyone say if the problem will get worse over time?

Ill keep you posted also....

 

Totally agree with your comment that it should not have happened in the first place, as far as I'm concerned this is a major design fault. MB apparently are well aware of thisissue asmy Dealership have even stated that it has been a more commonoccurrence on the E Class.

They didn't charge me to investigate, probably because I'm a long standing customer and if they didI'd play upabout it.

I've authorised the repairs as I was advised it would only get worse and thatit would not be worth doing bits, it's the whole lot I'm afraidand basicallyI want my baby back, but hopingthey will see sense and cover all the costs.

Probablynot what you needed to hear.

 

I spoke to Mercedes today & they will charge me £95 to investigate (per hour) but say they dont usually need more than 1 hour.

I phoned the dealer that i got the car off (7 days ago) & explained the situation - he was really helpful & has agreed to pay to diagnose the problem at another Mercedes dealer & in addition they are giving me a car on Monday while they have mine. They reckon I wont have to pay anything as they gave me a 6 month mechanical warranty when i bought the car that covers the transmission, torque convertor & cooling system up to £3000 (per claim). So i feel alot better now knowing that they are at least concerned that they sold me a car with a problem & that they seem to want to help.

So im taking the car back on Monday morning & hopefully they will get it sorted for me pretty quick... Ill keep you posted - how long did MB say it would take to fix your car?

John

 

No definate answer on the fix period yet, but I'm expecting it back on Tuesday (24th), well done with yours though, a good result, was worth the effort finding this sight then.

I'll keep you posted on my outcome, but can you do me a favour in the meantime, ask your MB dealership if they were aware of this known fault.

Cheers

 

No prob, will do. Hope you get yours back soon - keep me posted.

 

John

Justgot off the phone with MB's Custopmer 'Don't' Care Dept. who have offered a measly £630 of the £4000 bill for the repairs.

Absolutley amazed that they won't even acknowledge the fault, apparently they've never heard of this before !!!

Long letter writing time, I think.

Anyway how did you get on with your repairsand wasyour dealer aware of this problem ?