Very interesting! I guess I just won't take any chances and change the transmission fluid anyway. I'm sure the couple of bucks on fluid won't kill me.
Now, does any of you have some guidelines on how to do it?

Thx again for the feedback!

 

Excuse me for adding to a two month old post but I'm new in here and was just going through some of the old threads. Did you ever get a guideline on changing your tranny fluid?
I just purchased a 99 ML320 and decided to have a friend help me change the oil. Don't laugh but he drained the tranny and put 8qrts or oil on top of the oil that was already in there. Big mistake.
After driving it down the street and watching it smoke and sputter I think we finally got things figured out but it's shifting weird when it's cold now.
I'm thinking about just draining all the oil and tranny then starting fresh. My only problem is their is now way to measure how much tranny fluid you have. Again, I'm just trying to save a buck and keep my car on the road for a while. Our local mechanics for imports charge a minimum of $100 an hour.

 

The auto transmissions use a very special and very expensive oil, which as far as I know is only available from dealers. Using the wrong oil is much worse than not changing it at all. I would recommend changing the oil at about 120,000 Miles

 

Unfortunately I have already put in some oil that AutoZone recommended for Mercedez, can I simply drain it and replace it with the stuff from the dealership?

 

Depending on how bad the contamination might be, to do it right, you probably have to change the fluid, drive a few hundred miles and change again. My $.02
Regards,
Jerry