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The plaintiffs in a Mercedes class action over an alleged transmission defect contend in a new motion that the car company admitted the problem when it fixed vehicles under warranty.
Lead plaintiffs, Terry Hamm and Bryce Meeker, claimed in their class action lawsuit that the 722.9 transmission found in certain Mercedes vehicles is defective.
The California and Kansas residents point out in a motion urging a federal court to rule in their favor that at least 1,000 warranty claims have been made over the alleged defect.
According to the plaintiffs, Mercedes’ warranties say the company will only replace defective parts.
“According to MBUSA’s own warranty terms, these repairs are an acknowledgment of a defect — the warranty obligation not being triggered until and unless such a defect is acknowledged,” contend the plaintiffs in their Mercedes class action lawsuit motion.
In their argument for partial summary judgment, the plaintiffs say that Mercedes would not have had to fix the transmissions if they were not defective.
“Needless to say, the fashioning of a ‘repair kit’ is itself an admission of a defect, for there would be nothing ‘to repair’ unless there were a defective part in the first place,” the Mercedes transmission class action motion states.
The Mercedes transmission defect class action lawsuit was filed in 2016 after the two plaintiffs allegedly suffered problems with their cars soon after purchase.
Hamm of California claims that the check engine light came on and he could not accelerate his 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK 350 after the transmission locked up. He says that the situation presented a safety concern and he spent more than $1,000 to repair the problem.
The other Mercedes class action plaintiff, Bryce Meeker of Kansas, alleges that the transmission in his 2007 Mercedes-Benz C230 failed soon after purchase and he was forced to pay nearly $1,500 to fix it.
“The defect manifests without warning by leaving the vehicle locked in low gear and unable to accelerate into higher gears—a clear safety concern,” allege the plaintiffs in their Mercedes defect class action motion.
According to the Mercedes transmission defect class action lawsuit, the luxury car maker knew or should have known of the defect but failed to warn consumers.
The Mercedes transmission defect class action lawsuit seeks to represent California and Kansas owners and lessees whose vehicles come with the 722.9 transmission.
If the class action plaintiffs are successful in convincing the court that Mercedes admitted to the transmission defect by honoring warranties, then the only issue remaining would be the damages to be awarded to Class Members.
“Both plaintiffs are now entitled to partial summary judgment as to liability because the record shows an absence of dispute as to the material facts underlying each of these plaintiffs’ claims,” contends the plaintiffs’ Mercedes class action motion.
Hamm and Meeker are represented by Michael D. Braun of The Braun Law Group PC, Gary S. Graifman of Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman PC and Roy Arie Katriel of The Katriel Law Firm.
The Mercedes Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Terry Hamm, et al. v. Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, Case No. 5:16-cv-03370, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
UPDATE: On Nov. 2, 2018, Mercedes-Benz owners asked a California federal judge to block the automaker’s efforts to dismiss a defective transmissions class action lawsuit.
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31 thoughts onMercedes Owners in Transmission Class Action Says Company Admitted Defect
November 2022
Just went through the DCT transmission Failure issue and did a lot of research on what/why this happened. My car is a 2014 CLA45 AMG with 80k miles. I got it about 4 months ago and it was several months before I had the first malfunction. After finding out what is involved with this project I found an independent shop with MB knowledge and lots of experience with the 722.9 transmissions. He drained and flushed the Tranny, finding rust/metal pieces inside the tranny oil. After speaking to several Mercedes Benz mechanics, I was informed that the cause was a problem originating from the Erosion/Break of the Conductor Plate that was a known issue by MB. They were fully aware that these conductor plates had pre-existing welding defects, but they banked on the fact that these issues did not normally appear until 60k-80k miles past the drive train warranty. MB also failed to inform those who did replace the conductor plates that due to the erosion and damage to other parts, the conductor plate electronics would become a hard failure and the car needed a new transmission priced around $11k.
This also includes a computer module (Transmission Control Unit TCU) that is mounted on the bottom of the conductor plate (that is part of the plate assembly) and is submerged in the oil. Additionally, there are 8 solenoids 4/4 side and 2 speed sensors embedded in the rear of the conductor plate and are located just below the main cluster gear in the transmission. These 2 speed sensors count the revolution of the splines to monitor the speed to determine the proper gear selection. Their output is sent to the TCU, which also monitors engine RPM, wheel rotation speed as well as a number of other inputs to determine gear selection and shift points.
In discussion with the mechanic that did this transmission work he commented this is a fairly common problem with the 722.9 transmissions.
Once the car was hauled to the MB Repair service shop. I was told there was erosion noted to the entire subframe and that was also most likely related to the break of the conductor plate and failure of transmission. As expected, Due to the miles and year, I was denied by MB for any transmission replacement or repair cost. Since the transmission was replaced, the car has remained unsafe and undrivable.
My 2006 C230 Mercedes stays in low gear. I purchased it new in 2005. I only drove the car on Sundays for the first eight years because my primary vehicle was a truck. Once the car became my primary (mileage was still very low) I noticed without warning that it had lost power. A former mechanic that had worked for Mercedes said I have a transmission problem that Mercedes knows about. Should gave been a recall but Mercedes did not recall.
I am now stuck with a car that drives very slow!. I get dirty looks from people that pass me. The car just doesn’t want to speed up!
My 2014 e350 also had the same issue with a single failure part that was defective and weak coolant into the transmission they wanted $15,000 to fix I fought with Mercedes Customer Assistance Center they did not fix the problem but replace the radiator and the part it would only flush the system. It is now sleeping again and I want to be involved in this lawsuit.
This happened twice to my ML350. The first time I was able to send the conductor plate off to be fixed. Now I’m told that I have to completely replace the transmission and valve body.
At 70,000 miles, my transmission went straight to limp mode and it started from there. The exact same problems as everyone else and MB USA only wanted to sell me a warranty and blamed the age and mileage of the car. 2006 Mercedes c280. My mechanic told me to take it to the junkyard and was serious. He told me about all the defective components Mercedes was sued over and only a select few were taken care of and that’s if you knew about it. I’ve almost been in several accidents because the car decided it didn’t want to shift. I also reported it to the NHTSA. And now the car sits.
I would like to get in the lawsuit also. I have a 07 slk 280 80,000 and I am having the same problems as everyone else. Dealer wants $4000 just to start it rolling but probably needs a new transmission with is $8000
Have the same problem with my 2012 c250. They want over $4000.
I got a 2012 ml350 that has a faulty valve body and is going to cost me 2880 dollars
Hello
Could anyone advise the outcome or current status of the class action against M. Benz in relation to their G7-tronic transmission please?
Thank you and regards
John