NHTSA Complaint #10627631 — 2007 MERCEDES BENZ S550

2007 S550, 7-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, 57,000 MILES. STARTED ABOUT 6-8 MONTHS AGO. EXPERIENCING VERY ROUGH JOLTING TYPE SHIFTING, MOST COMMONLY OCCURS AFTER BEING PARKED ON AN INCLINE OR DECLINE. OCCURS WHEN DRIVING UP OR DOWN AN INCLINE. ALSO, OCCURS ON THE FREEWAY OR AFTER USING CRUISE CONTROL. TRANSMISSION SHIFTS FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR AND STAYS THERE UNTIL IT'S RESTARTED. REQUIRES TURNING OFF THE CAR WAITING A FEW SECONDS AND RESTARTING TO RESET THE GEARS. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT NOW STARTING TO COME ON.VERY DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC OR ON THE FREEWAY. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE I CANNOT BELIEVE IT SIMPLY HASN'T BEEN RECALLED. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE...I WILL NOT ALLOW MY WIFE TO EVEN DRIVE THE CAR UNLESS I AM WITH HER.----MANY FORUMS ARE SUGGESTING A VALVE BODY REPLACEMENT. APPEARS TO BE A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH THESE VEHICLE. LOCATED A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT THAT UNFORTUNATELY WAS DISMISSED DUE TO THE COMPLAINT CITING FRAUD. I DON'T BELIEVE MERCEDES SOLD THESE VEHICLES KNOWING THE TRANSMISSION WAS FAULTY. I WOULD JUST EXPECT THEM AFTER RECEIVING NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS TO OFFER THEIR CLIENTS A REPAIR OPTION VIA RECALL. TO DATE I AM NOT AWARE OF ONE. I HAVE OWNED 4 MERCEDES IN MY LIFETIME, 38 YEARS OLD AND HAD A FEW MINOR ISSUE HERE AND THERE BUT NEVER ANYTHING LIKE THIS. SERVICE HAS ALWAYS BEEN GREAT BUT NOW THAT I AM OUT OF WARRANTY I AM LEFT OUT IN THE COLD. NOT GOOD FOR BUSINESS IN MY OPINION AND VERY UNSAFE FOR ANYONE ON THE ROAD WHILE A MERCEDES OWNER IS EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE. *TR