2006 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Pricing and Specs

You could be looking at anything from a maladjusted or broken selector, to a transmission with low fluid level or even a transmission that has pretty much failed internally. All three possibilities can see a car with reverse and no other gears.

A transmission specialist is your first port of call, once you’ve checked the transmission fluid level yourself, of course. The owner’s manual will tell you how to do this.

That’s not a huge mileage for an engine like this, and I wouldn’t expect to see timing chain stretch over that distance. However, it begs the question of how the vehicle has been serviced. Timing chains really should last the life of the car (or, at least, the engine) but if the engine hasn’t been treated to the correct oil changes and general maintenance, the timing chain can be one component that will suffer.

If the car was bought second-hand, it would be worth going through the service history to see if any scheduled servicing was skipped. This could be the root cause of the problem. It’s also important not to confuse a stretch timing chain with a worn chain tensioning system. The tensioner holds the chain tight, taking the slack out of it and allowing for some stretch to be taken up over the years of operation. If it fails or becomes weak, you might start to hear the chain rattling.

There hasn’t been a move by Mercedes-Benz Australia to fix this problem, which is not to say it hasn’t been noted by owners. But, really, a carmaker will only issue a recall for a fault or problem that represents a safety issue, which peeling door cards does not.

Sometimes, a manufacturer will issue what’s called a technical service bulletin which is like a recall but for non-safety related problems. Again, though, a floppy door card is unlikely to elicit that response. If you still have the trim pieces in question, a motor trimmer should be able to reattach them for you in a way that means they won’t come adrift again.