Won't Engage 4th Gear while Oil Pressure Light Intermittently Turns On

[Volchok_124]

As mentioned in the title, I was driving my 92 500E with 135k miles on the highway and I noticed it would not upshift into 4th gear even after I already passed 60 + mph. The rpms were in the 3800 to 4200 rpm figures and suddenly the oil pressure light turned on and then turned off.

The car starts fine, doesn't have any leakage of any sort, all the other gears shift normally no misfires, just changed both the transmission fluid and engine oil recently. I started to take regular roads only now so as to avoid driving on the freeway to not further progress the problem. Does anyone have this issue or know what might be the cause of it. Thanks in advance!

 

[gsxr]

For the oil light, do you mean the square yellow light in the cluster below the fuel/oil/temp gauge, shown below? If so, that is the oil LEVEL warning light. Check the oil level, make sure it's above the MIN mark on the dipstick. Normal is in the middle between min and max. There is no oil pressure warning light, only the gauge, and normal is generally above 1 bar at idle and 3 bar above 1000rpm.

For the upshift issue, did it ever shift into 4th? Is there any play in the gearshift lever (should be zero)? When the ATF/filter was changed, did you also drain the converter, and have you verified the fluid level is normal? With the trans fully hot (20+ mins on the freeway), engine idling on a level surface, ideally it should be at the MAX mark on the dipstick (not in the middle like the engine oil). When did the problem begin, where it wouldn't shift into 4th?

BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

[Volchok_124]

For the oil light, do you mean the square yellow light in the cluster below the fuel/oil/temp gauge, shown below? If so, that is the oil LEVEL warning light. Check the oil level, make sure it's above the MIN mark on the dipstick. Normal is in the middle between min and max. There is no oil pressure warning light, only the gauge, and normal is generally above 1 bar at idle and 3 bar above 1000rpm.

For the upshift issue, did it ever shift into 4th? Is there any play in the gearshift lever (should be zero)? When the ATF/filter was changed, did you also drain the converter, and have you verified the fluid level is normal? With the trans fully hot (20+ mins on the freeway), engine idling on a level surface, ideally it should be at the MAX mark on the dipstick (not in the middle like the engine oil). When did the problem begin, where it wouldn't shift into 4th?

BTW, welcome to the forum!



View attachment 136141

Oh i see yes correct that was the light I was talking about. It went away now and I had the oil changed today. However the 4th gear issue didn't come up today also which is weird it's like an intermittent issue. The ATF fluid was at max level too after I drove the car for 20 plus minutes. There is no leaks from the pan or filter or anything. I think the issue might be from the clutches though. I'll have a transmission shop do the rebuild most likely. Thank you for the prompt response and for the warm welcome! Glad I can finally be a part of this community

 

[gsxr]

Keep an eye on the oil level light. It is not supposed to come on until the level is below the minimum for over 60 seconds, with engine fully hot. If it's flickering on/off in less than 60 seconds, the timing circuit on the gauge may be defective (not common, but I've had it happen). The oil level has to be at or below the MIN mark on the dipstick for this to occur, so keep an eye on your oil level.

If the transmission is otherwise shifting properly and has no more than 1-2 second delay to engage reverse, it shouldn't need a rebuild. Have you owned the car a long time, and this problem with 4th gear just occurred suddenly? If you do need a rebuild for some reason, talk to Mark at Sun Valley in SoCal.

 

[Volchok_124]

Keep an eye on the oil level light. It is not supposed to come on until the level is below the minimum for over 60 seconds, with engine fully hot. If it's flickering on/off in less than 60 seconds, the timing circuit on the gauge may be defective (not common, but I've had it happen). The oil level has to be at or below the MIN mark on the dipstick for this to occur, so keep an eye on your oil level.

If the transmission is otherwise shifting properly and has no more than 1-2 second delay to engage reverse, it shouldn't need a rebuild. Have you owned the car a long time, and this problem with 4th gear just occurred suddenly? If you do need a rebuild for some reason, talk to Mark at Sun Valley in SoCal.

Understood I'll definitely keep an eye on it. I'll definitely give him a call as well thank you ! And yeah I just got the car like maybe 3 months ago in LA. Never had that 4th gear issue before and it just suddenly happened when I was driving on the freeway the other day. My other W124's never had that issue but this is my first 500E so maybe it's different. Have you ever had this problem come up on yours ?

 

[gsxr]

I've never had that specific problem on any 722.3 where it wouldn't upshift into 4th, with all other shift points normal.

BTW, I'm assuming the car is not in limp mode, which would cause it not to upshift to 4th. But in limp mode you would also have an ASR warning light on, and the first couple inches of throttle travel would do nothing.

 

[Volchok_124]

I've never had that specific problem on any 722.3 where it wouldn't upshift into 4th, with all other shift points normal.

BTW, I'm assuming the car is not in limp mode, which would cause it not to upshift to 4th. But in limp mode you would also have an ASR warning light on, and the first couple inches of throttle travel would do nothing.

No its not in limp mode and the ASR light isn't on either. I go to a local transmission shop that specializes in older german cars they will give me a definite answer. I'll keep you updated on what happens though