Mercedes Gear Selector Issues

Dealing With Gear Selector Issues in Your Mercedes


By Bavarian Performance Specialists December 8, 2019

Your Mercedes-Benz is a high-performance German luxury vehicle, designed to be the best of its kind. That’s why it can be particularly frustrating to experience problems with your transmission. Unfortunately, these vehicles do encounter some issues with gear selection over their lifetime. Thankfully, regular maintenance by a qualified technician can help you to avoid these pesky malfunctions, but in the event that a problem with your gear selector does occur, your car will need to be serviced. In this article, we will discuss common gear selector issues with Mercedes and ways that you can deal with them.

Gear Selector Issues in Mercedes-Benz

There are a number of possible causes of gear selector issues in a Mercedes, ranging from benign to very serious. Depending on the issue, you may only need to change a rubber O-ring, or you may need an entirely new transmission. The transmission system of any vehicle is complex and interconnected with many parts that work in tandem to function properly. This means that if one problem occurs, it can quickly lead to other ones. A simple leak of hydraulic fluid can combine into a very costly repair or replacement, so it’s important to keep a regular maintenance schedule and bring your Benz to a qualified professional whenever you notice your vehicle behaving strangely.

Here are the most common gear selector problems:

Valve Body Failure

Your Benz’s valve body is like an intricate labyrinth of channels through which the hydraulic fluid of the transmissions flows. It directs that fluid along the proper pathway to make the appropriate gear change. The passageways can become clogged or the valve body itself could fracture, although uncommon.

Normal Wear and Tear on Transmission

Over time, the multiple interlocking components of the transmission can become worn down. As these parts get old, they become more fragile and can break, requiring a replacement.

Manufacturing Defects

Although Mercedes is known for its quality craftsmanship, no car and no factory is perfect. It is possible for mistakes to be made at the factory that lead to gear selection problems. A trained technician will be able to spot these deficiencies.

Gear Selector Cable

If the gear selector cable breaks or becomes disconnected, you won’t be able to shift gears. Alternatively, if it catches somehow, it can make shifting very difficult. This issue is uncommon in automatic transmission vehicles.

Low Transmission Fluid

If there is a leak in the transmission or the fluid somehow becomes depleted, there will not be sufficient hydraulic pressure to change gears appropriately.

Signs and Symptoms

There are signs of gear selector issues that you should be able to notice if you pay attention to the way your Mercedes drives. While on the road, pay attention to the way your vehicle shifts. Are the gear changes smooth and silent, or does the transmission make a grinding or knocking noise when shifting to any or all gears? Are there any clicking noises as you drive down the road or when you shift? Another thing you may notice is if the car lunges/jumps when you shift. Any roughness in shifting from one gear to the other is an indication of gear selector issues. You could also find that your vehicle downshifts at random while you are driving in a higher gear, causing your RPM’s to rocket upward. This is called gear slippage, and it’s a sure indication of gear selector issues.

If you drive a manual transmission Benz and you’re wondering about the gear selector cable, then you’ll definitely notice if the transmission doesn’t do anything when you go to change gears. Also, you probably have a problem with your gear selector cable if you have to wiggle the shifter to get the gears to line up.

Bavarian Performance Specialists Fixes Mercedes Gear Selector Issues

The only sure-fire way to avoid transmission problems of any kind and to keep repair costs low is to keep a regular schedule of maintenance on your Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes Gear Selector Issue Fix This will ensure that a qualified mechanic is able to spot any potential issues and head them off at the pass. Otherwise, one malfunction can compound into multiple.

Thankfully, if you do have a gear selector issue, there is a way to have that taken care of easily. Bavarian Performance Specialists is the Conejo Valley’s leading independent provider of German auto repair, servicing Mercedes owners throughout Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Westlake, Malibu, and Newbury Park, CA, since 1983. We have a team of experienced Mercedes specialists and a vast selection of parts in store, so we can properly diagnose and fix your gear selector issues quickly and reliably. To schedule an appointment or to learn about our five-star reviewed shop, call us at (805)-495-3191 today.