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will not go into reverse when warm (needed software update)

1014 Views 8 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  paulbob, 
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Hello everyone, hope you all are having a good day.

I have a 2009 fortwo passion with 87k miles on it, I bought it recently from an old lady, it was a one owner car and dealer maintained.
The car is perfect, however it has this intermittent issue with selecting reverse when its warmed up (after a 20 minutes drive say). I cleaned and lubed the actuator and selector motor and the car shifts fine through the gears with no issues.
I have to stress that when its cold, it selects drive and reverse with no issues what so ever.
I would appreciate any suggestions you may have.

Thank you :)
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O
Turned out it needed a software update, after one month of getting the update; I'm happy to report that it's working well. However I'm getting a noticable whine in fifth gear. So I guess this gearbox is doomed either way. Guess I'll drive it until it breaks completely.
If anyone else has a whine in fifth do please let me know.
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P
Did you check the gearbox oil level? On some of the transmissions I've worked on, 5th gear is the first to make noise because it has a smaller diameter and doesn't pick up oil in the case as easily. After a few years of seepage the level could be low and you wouldn't know it because there wouldn't be a puddle under the car. It doesn't always run out all at one time!

Paul
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paulbob said:
Did you check the gearbox oil level? On some of the transmissions I've worked on, 5th gear is the first to make noise because it has a smaller diameter and doesn't pick up oil in the case as easily. After a few years of seepage the level could be low and you wouldn't know it because there wouldn't be a puddle under the car. It doesn't always run out all at one time!

Paul
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Yup, and I changed the oil with redline 75w90 gl4 fluid.
The noise did not change for the past 3000 miles so I'm guessing it's something I just have to live with. If I have the radio on I don't hear it, so it's not loud but you can notice it.
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Uh oh! Well, let's hope that these transmissions are like turbochargers. Some of them are noisy and others are not!

Love those Redline fluids. They smell otherworldly. Probably ester oil base or something.

Paul
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paulbob said:
Uh oh! Well, let's hope that these transmissions are like turbochargers. Some of them are noisy and others are not!

Love those Redline fluids. They smell otherworldly. Probably ester oil base or something.

Paul
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Hahaha they smell different indeed. I was lucky to find a couple of low miles used transmissions local to me in michigan. So I'm not too worried. It's just that for an ocd engineer like me who likes things perfect. Any sort of whine makes me go nuts.
But let's hope I won't need to sacrifice one of my already busy weekends to change a transmission anytime soon ?
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Smokinjoe73
Reading this and wondering how to check trans fluid to change it?


Also whats the best repair manual and is there a downloadable repair manual(s) on here?


I have an 08 fortwo
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Smokinjoe73 said:
Reading this and wondering how to check trans fluid to change it?


Also whats the best repair manual and is there a downloadable repair manual(s) on here?


I have an 08 fortwo
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I don't know how to check it, but to Change get it you unscrew the upper fill hole, then the lower fill hole, drain the fluid then close the drain hole.
Then pour in the correct fluid until it start coming out of the fill hole, at that moment just close the fill hole.
Make sure the Operation is done on level surface.
There are videos on YouTube that show this process in detail.
I use alldata but I can't recommend it, lots of info is missing.
Maybe emanuals has a better offer but I didn't try it.
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This isn't downloadable but it's Mercedes factory documentation:

https://workshop-manuals.com/smart/...mponent_information/specifications/page_1350/
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