Introduction
Taking care of your Mercedes car’s transmission is critical for its health in the long term. However, car owners too often misunderstand the basic maintenance required to ensure your gearbox runs smoothly. In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about keeping your car’s transmission in top shape, including when you need to seek a professional Mercedes automatikgetriebe service.
Is It Necessary To Change Your Transmission Fluid?
The simple answer is that you should. However, the intervals for servicing your car can surpass 100,000 miles before you take it for service.
For this reason, this clear-cut advice has become something of a conundrum for many car owners. If you don’t intend to keep your vehicle for a long time, you may never need to change the transmission fluid.
However, keeping this service in mind is good for any car owner who wants to have their car for the longest time. It’s also necessary if you have bought a second-hand automobile with high mileage.
The cost of replacing your car’s transmission varies from one Mercedes automatikgetriebe reparatur services provider to the next. However, whatever the price, it is necessary to work. It costs far less to replace the transmission fluid than to replace a transmission just because you skimped on the service requirements. If you don’t properly service your car’s transmission, you could be left staring at a bloated repair bill.
How Often Should You Change The Transmission Fluid of Your Mercedes?
The best counsel is to use the service intervals of your manufacturer. That’s because fluid changing intervals vary widely. For some cars, you need to change your transmission after 30,000 miles; for others, it is 100,000 miles. However, some newer models, like those with automatic gearboxes, have sealed-shut transmissions. The fluid in it is designed to last a lifetime of the car.
Remember that the transmission fluid, unlike the engine oil, shouldn’t ever burn off. If the transmission fluid drops, there is a leak somewhere. Check for puddles of red fluid on the ground where you parked the car.
Should Your Transmission Fluid Be Flushed?
Before we get into the details, you need to understand the work of the transmission fluid in the operation of your car. This fluid helps to lubricate and cool the mechanical components of your transmission. Over time, the interior components of the transmission wear down, and the smaller particles even contaminate the fluid. It could lead to more damage.
It, therefore, makes sense to have this fluid gotten rid of. If it is recommended in the service manual, proceed and allow your mechanic to flush the transmission fluid.
However, it should not be something that you do regularly, and the reason is that a gearbox in proper shape would never contain metal shavings that pollute the fluid. In case of that, you may have a more complicated problem to deal with.
There is a big difference between merely draining out the transmission and replacing it with a new one and power-flushing your transmission system.
Power-flushing your transmission fluid will dislodge sludge and all other particles in a car that has run for several miles. In turn, it leads to clogs even after adding clean fluid.
The best thing is to research your vehicle to know precisely when a transmission flush or drain is necessary.
How Do You Tell Whether You Need to Change the Transmission Fluid?
It’s not always easy to check your transmission fluid. You may need a mechanic to examine it by putting your vehicle on a lift. But there is a transmission dipstick in some cars, so you need to first check beneath the hood.
Although it might appear that the fluid levels are okay, it’s not always easy to discern whether the fluid has small metal particles or pollutants in it. When you take your car for routine maintenance, ask the mechanic to check your car’s transmission fluid.
It’s often trickier to separate transmission breakdowns from maintenance. When automatic transmission malfunctions, gearshifts are more abrupt and occur at awkward intervals. Such an issue might point to a problem with the gearbox. If you experience such problems, inform your transmission repair mechanic immediately.
Is Changing Your Car’s Transmission Fluid a Simple DIY Job?
Changing transmission fluid can be messy and complicated for a typical car owner. To access the transmission, you must have a lift, jack stands, or ramps. Even if you manage this, you must be extremely patient to access the fill plug. It requires far more dexterity than when changing the engine oil.
Most of the latest models of Mercedes Benz have sealed tight transmissions or require a service computer to diagnose problems. It makes it impossible for the average person to do it themselves.
Is Fluid Necessary for a Manual Transmission, Too?
The truth is that even a manual transmission needs fluid. However, the kind of fluid tends to vary from one car model to the next. Some manuals will use the standard engine oil, while others work best with automatic transmission fluid. Therefore, ensure that the fluid you use is specified for your car. If you use the wrong fluid, it can affect the performance of your car as well as shorten the longevity of your gearbox.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that you need to keep your transmission in the best shape possible. But for many car owners, this is something of a confusion. There are many questions that they have about maintaining their car’s transmission, like how do you tell it is time to change your transmission fluid, should you do it yourself or take it to a mechanic, and whether you should flush it or replace your transmission fluid, among other things.
While the tips above are sure to help, make sure you check your owner’s manual. Also, you can ask your mechanic for advice.
