Well, I had recently bought my car about a week ago. I knew that 2004's had the 1st gear issue, but I risked it, I wanted the car bad..

Long story short, my first gear popped out of 1st gear today, and of course, scared the **** out of me!!

I'm going to take it to my local chrysler dealer and see what they can do.
Other than that I'm loving the car!!

 

Mine does that too if you kind of casually plop it into first. What you learn to do is just put the car in first gear a little more forcefully and it never happens.

 

Actually it doesn't matter how forcibly you push it into gear, I can hold it in gear as hard as I want and it still pops out.
if it occasionally pops out 1st gear, like once or twice a week, it will eventually get worse. mine would pop out once a month, now it pops out constantly to where it's not usable. so it will get worse.

My dealer just called me and said the parts and tools just arrived to complete the job on the 1st gear tsb.
I'm not gonna get it done because none of the dealers in my area have been trained properly on this transmission, so I'm still looking for a properly trained tech before I take it in.
2nd gear is good enough for me to get around on. but it does suck!

Also the dealers will not replace the trans unless there is at least 75% damage to it, I figure they would save money installing a new trans from DC instead of paying a mechanic to fiddle with the original unit.

 

well, i took it to the dealer today, they told me they couldn't replicate the issue and he couldn't fix anything without any problems. any suggestions?
I wanted to get the fixed ASAP.

 

Yeah they said the same thing to me, but on my second trip back, I told them it happens about 1 out of 20 times I shift into 1st gear. Also I mentioned that I almost got into an accident in front of their dealership as I was about to pull in because it popped out of gear, a honda civic just about nicked me thinking I was pulling into the driveway, when to his surprise I stopped in the road while he was tailgating me.

It made up that last part only to put some fear into them, as to how serious the situation is.

 

Are you from Los Angeles? If so, which dealership did you go? I'd recommend to stay away from La Brea Chrysler and go to Buerge Chrysler instead.

 

I live in the North County Area and took it to my Escondido Chrysler dealer, the guy said he's never heard of anything going bad on the crossfire.

 

Alright, another San Diego Crossfire! I'm in East County, I have been to Carl Burger, but only for $15 oil changes. You might try them, I know another San Diego Crossfire who has dealt with them, not sure if they would be better or worse.

 

There is NO reason for anyone to contend with a first gear issue whether they bought their Crossfire new or used.
If the car is still under warranty, get it fixed.

This is a know issue with DC that some cars built on or before Dec 2004 had a problem with their
transmission. The early fix was to replace the entire transmission and later a TSB was published to
repair the syncros. (I’m glad they replaced my entire transmission rather than try to repair the syncros).

If your dealer is not being receptive to your problem, your are going to have to step up to the plate and
be more aggressive... know what you are talking about, be firm but polite (do not mention an internet
forum as your source, they will only roll their eyes). Have your service manager pull up their TSB file, read
up on it and then have them show it to you. Then pull the safety issue angle of the problem on them. Lastly, ask
them, "why in the world would I, or anyone else in their right mind for that matter, want their transmission
opened up and messed with for no reason if they did not have a problem"?

It took me several trips to the dealer for them to come around, but in the end they changed my entire
transmission. Forget about dealing with the service writer, he does not have the authority to authorize
such a repair... follow the "chain of command". Go directly to the service manager, then the owner. If they do
not respond, demand and have them schedule an appointment with your district service manager. If all that fails,
tell them you will be contacting your local TV news consumer advocate with the serious safety issue you have with
your car. Follow up with your threat if they still refuse.

If you need help getting your dealer or TV people to look into your problem, I would be happy to send you all the
documents I have concerning the problem I had with my car and how it was resolved. I'm sure other owners who
jumped through the same hoops to get their transmissions fixed would be able to help you out too.

It is a HASSLE trying to get a dealership (or anyone else for that matter) to repair something they can not duplicate,
but it can be done…



Good luck and keep us posted....

 

That sounds like my dealer!

I still have the same problem as you going into my 3rd year of ownership. This is after getting a completely new transmission.

It is really a shame you didn't get a 2005 or newer.

 

Sounds like you too need to step up to the plate and get your car fixed once and for all. If their first attempt
didn't resolve the problem, keep after them... do not give up unless the $$$ you spent buying the car means
nothing to you. Many people on this forum have had their transmissions fixed with good results.

Good luck...

 

3 tries and you can lemon law it ... first time it as a strike, give them their other two tries ... i love this car but it i had this issue with my '05, it would of gone back faster than it could actually accelerate.

 

Well, I'll be giving them a call again on monday. This is my first car ever bought from a dealer, does it matter where you buy the car? I feel like they are treating me different because I bought the car elsewhere (CarMax).

 

I have, repeatedly. The last time they said there is nothing wrong with it and they won't even look at it. If it doesn't malfunction on a 2 mile test drive now, they won't fix it or anything else I bring to their attention.

8 months and counting down on my lease... soon this will be someone else's problem.

 

I have quite the opposite experience. I leased my car from the servicing dealer and they do everything to turn their back on me and make excuses. My dad bought his 300C from Carmax out of town and every slightest little thing he complains about they replace, even if the problem can't be duplicated or occurs very infrequently.

My theory is this has to do with the Crossfire itself. Either corporate is not wanting to do warranty work or the dealer has no clue how to fix it. Somehow, someone it's getting paid so they want to wash their hands of it.

 

That is precisely the problem. The Crossfire's internals are unlike anything else sold by Chrysler, and there are so few of them around that it isn't worth the effort to try to learn what to do with them. DCX should let Mercedes techs handle warranty work since they are familiar with the engine and drivetrain through nine years of servicing the first generation SLK's, but that seems to be a problem for DCX's brand engineering image. I also have an E-class AMG, and Mercedes treats it well, but at a considerable price. It could do the same thing with the Crossfire, but apparently they just don't want to have a Chrysler in their shops or on their lots. If DCX told them they had to do it, then they would, but obviously that direction isn't coming down from above, and there isn't much we can do about it at this point -- except to find good dealers and good techs in as many markets as possible and publicize their names so that they get most of our business.

 

i have more problems with 2nd gear than first.

 

My theory is that MBZ is afraid the Crossfire will kill sales on MBZ sports car products, and thus lowering the resale value of the newer SLK 350.
Do the math, Daimler Chrysler was to put out the Crossfire again but with the SLK 350 drivetrain, who would even buy a Benz version?

Just the other day I saw my local MBZ dealer selling off a used late model SLK320 for $12,000. And they say Mercedes hold their value. lol, guess not anymore.