NHTSA Complaint #10381936 — 2005 MERCEDES BENZ C230

DRIVING IN TO WORK ON THE HIGHWAY I WAS DOING ABOUT 70 MPH AND SUDDENLY I FELT HARD JOLT AND THE CAR BEGAN TO SLIP AND SWERVE. THERE HAD BEEN SNOW STORM THE NIGHT BEFORE AND THE ROADS WERE WET. I MANAGE TO CONTROL THE CAR AND PULL OVER TO THE EMERGENCY LANE. THE TRANSMISSION HAD SHIFTED DOWN FOR SOME REASON, CAUSING THE WHEELS TO SLIP. SHIFTED THE CAR TO P AND BACK TO D BUT THE CAR HAD NO POWER. SHIFTED A FEW MORE TIMES AND FINALLY I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE INTO WORK BUT THE TRANSMISSION CONTINUED SHIFTING UP AND DOWN UNEXPECTEDLY. SLIPPED AND SWERVED A FEW MORE TIMES. UPON RESEARCHING THIS PROBLEM ONLINE FOUND THAT THIS IS A REPEATING ISSUE ACROSS MULTIPLE MERCEDES BENZ MODELS. I AM ALSO LEARNING THAT THIS PROBLEM MAY COST UPWARDS OF $2,000 TO REPAIR. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. I CALLED MB CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY DO NOT ADMIT TO ANY PROBLEM WITH THEIR TRANSMISSIONS DESPITE THE MULTIPLE INSTANCES POSTED OVER THE NET. I AM ALSO NOW SEEING THAT THE STABILITY CONTROL PROGRAM IS NOT WORKING NOR IS THE MANUAL SHIFT FEATURE THAT THIS CAR CAME WITH THAT ALLOWS ME TO MANUALLY SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION UP OR DOWN. I PUT THE CAR IN D AND CANNOT SHIFT UP OR DOWN NOR DO I SEE A SPECIFIC GEAR SELECTED ON THE DASH BOARD. THIS LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS EITHER A COMPUTER OR ELECTRONIC PROBLEM. I FIRST NOTICED AN ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO AT 60,000 MILES WHEN I STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT AND COULD NOT GET GOING AGAIN ONCE THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN. THE CAR WAS IN D BUT LEFT AS IF IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. THE ENGINE RPM'S RAMPED UP BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. HAD TO SHIFT TO P AND BACK TO D TO GET GOING AGAIN. I DID NOT SEE THIS PROBLEM AGAIN AFTER THAT WHICH IS THE REASON I DID NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT UP UNTIL NOW THAT I ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT.