Two Milestones in the SLS: 30k Miles and irreparable transmission failure

"Battery Tender Unnecessary" (carac) 10/27/2015 at 18:05 • Filed to: None

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Of course the only common major mechanical failure SLSs experience would occur on a long distance road trip.

I was driving home from Wilmington, NC over the weekend when I hit 30k miles followed by a transmission “issue” light an hour later while cruising at around 70 when the car shuddered and dropped out of 7th gear into 6th. I pulled off to attempt to restart the car and see if just cycling the transmission would reset it. It didn’t. The odd gear clutch pack had apparently failed, leaving me 2nd, 4th, 6th, and reverse gears to get me home (6 hours away). To its credit, the SLS got me home on a half-broken (literally) transmission.

Based on posts from other owners on the official AMG forums, I’m one of three others that post there that also have experienced losing either half or all of the gears. I was lucky, if you lose the even gears, you lose reverse as well. The car is still under warranty for 3.5 years and 70k miles, which is a good thing, because a new SLS transmission costs over $20k and they aren’t dealer serviceable, so replacement is the only option when something goes wrong. The same transmission is used in the 488, F12, 650S, MP4-12C, etc. But they break more often and at lower miles thanks to more aggressive software in those cars.

Just waiting on a new transmission to show up. Luckily its fairly easy to replace with it being in the back, between the exhaust.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:09

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I know people say any form of supercar is supposed to be unreliable, but if I just dropped over two hundred grand on a new car and the transmission failed at 30k miles, I would be beyond Hulk-smash levels of rage.

My citroen won't start > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:11

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Totally unrelated to the post, but how do you feel about the AMG GT?

Wobbles the Mind > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:13

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“They break more often.”

Well fantastic to know 30K is robust! I love the SLS, it is one of three cars that I fell in love with when I became an enthusiast. Side note, it seems like transmissions are becoming legitimate wear items now. I don’t mean in the exotic sphere, but in the current $100,000+ sportscar space too. I wouldn’t be surprised if the NSX and Ford GT have a 60K transmission replacement under the routine maintenance schedule. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Ferraris and McLarens already have them written in.

Hey, were you thinking about switching to a different Mercedes in a year or two or going for a McLaren 570S?

LongbowMkII > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:14

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4L80e swap time.

Sam > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:14

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On another note, how is the SVR treating you? Is it going to be your winter beater?

GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:14

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Pretty cool that you still had half a transmission working. My co-workers 600hp ‘04 Mustang Cobra blew it’s transmission last week and was too low for a tow truck. Had to drive it 10 miles in first gear.

TheHondaBro > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:16

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I want your car. I expect it by tonight. Pick up pizza on your way.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:20

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Note to self: Don’t buy one of these cars when the depreciate to “affordable” levels. It is just the cover charge.

Wobbles the Mind > TheHondaBro 10/27/2015 at 18:32

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New life goal, SLS and chill

m2m, apex detective > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 18:33

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Are you replacing the transmission with the same exact item?

Have you considered getting upgrading the transmission, e.g. getting a Renntech upgrade or something along those lines? Being put together for that with a higher output, they’d likely increase the relative lifetime of the DCT. At a good three grand, that might be worth a consideration if you don’t need to keep the car in stock form.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > m2m, apex detective 10/27/2015 at 19:02

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Supposedly they strengthened the internals and made a few design tweaks over the years, we’ll see if it made a difference. But since it’s free and I’ve got 3.5 more years of warranty, I’ll just take the OEM replacement. AMG did right by one other guy that bought a 2011 that had a similar failure right after the warranty expired and replaced his. Seems like they at least have a vested interest keeping SLS’s on the road and out of junkyards for mechanical reasons.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 10/27/2015 at 19:09

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It’s weird. My relatively high mileage would be more like 150k miles in 4 years in a mass production car compared to how much the other guys drive theirs. Based on what I’ve seen, I think it might be inevitable for these DCT transmissions in the Ferraris, McLarens, etc. to just be wear and tear items. The guys that drive theirs a few hundred/thousand miles a year will probably experience the same thing, but WAY after their warranty expires. Seeing it happen to other “high mileage” SLSs kind of mentally prepared me for it happening at some point.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > Sam 10/27/2015 at 19:11

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Yep. I’ve got the Fiesta ST on Blizzaks for dumb fun, light snow antics and the Range Rover for when things get serious or I just need to get somewhere and not worry about getting back. Seems a little bit overkill, but it satisfies the stupid fast, stupid loud itch that I would get in the winter.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 19:14

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Ugh. You can't catch a break, can you?

LongbowMkII > Wobbles the Mind 10/27/2015 at 19:20

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don’t forget automatic focuses. Those seem to be wear items.

Big Bubba Ray > GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo 10/27/2015 at 20:03

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Just curious, how has your friend’s Cobra treated him? A co-worker of mine has an ‘03 and it’s been the most unreliable POS since he bought it in late December. It recently ejected a spark plug and before that, chewed up the flywheel somehow. He has it tuned to right around 500 hp and the same for torque.

JGrabowMSt > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/27/2015 at 20:38

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Well, Im glad to hear its getting fixed. After 30k, trans aside, how has the car been treating you?

GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo > Big Bubba Ray 10/27/2015 at 21:31

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He doesn’t drive it much, but his main complaints have been that the coilovers the PO installed drop the ride height too much and therefore has to run really stiff springs. The other complaint is that the Tremec T56 is too notchy cold or warm, he swears he could shift his old 05 STi 3 times before 1 in the Cobra.

Big Bubba Ray > GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo 10/27/2015 at 22:30

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I believe that. The clutch in my co-worker’s Cobra is the most stiff SOB I’ve ever felt. It’s almost unusable. Surprisingly it’s a cable operated clutch instead of hydraulic which I didn’t know until about two weeks ago!

He also has an ‘82 Capri that he drives when the Cobra is down, which happens to be almost every other week haha

Stef Schrader > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/28/2015 at 01:15

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Egads. So, I’m not the target market, but uhhhhh gimme a manual.

m2m, apex detective > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/28/2015 at 05:24

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Fair enough choice, with the end of warranty so far away still. It feels only a bit odd to see the SLS get the halo car treatment without actually being the most expensive object from the MB stables. It’s still the most desirable, though, so good on you!

nafsucof > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/28/2015 at 10:02

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Wow that’s interesting that all of those cars use the same dct. Who makes it?

CAcoalminer > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/28/2015 at 10:14

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Sad to hear about your experience but I’m confident everything will work out for you.

Small correction to your article though, the F12, 488, and your SLS all use the same Getrag transmission (7DCL750) while the McLarens (650S, 12C, etc.) utilize a Vocis, which is a subsidiary Graziano.

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > Battery Tender Unnecessary 10/28/2015 at 11:27

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I’m glad to know at least one gets driven regularly.

CAcoalminer > nafsucof 10/30/2015 at 00:50

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He’s actually incorrect about them all using the same transmission. The F12, 488, and SLS all use the same Getrag transmission (7DCL750) while the McLarens (650S, 12C, etc.) utilize a Vocis, which is a subsidiary of Graziano.

It's All Unreasonable > Battery Tender Unnecessary 12/03/2015 at 21:44

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20k transmission? That’s a prime candidate for an LS-1/8L90 swap.

Mthew_M > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 12/07/2015 at 15:28

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Don’t worry. Other than ones with rather high mileage, they’ve barely depreciated at all.