Mercedes Transmission Experts - Sun Valley Mercedes Transmissions

When I purchased my G-Wagon, it came with a large cache of documents detailing the service history of the vehicle. Included was a December 2008 invoice for a rebuilt transmission from Sun Valley Mercedes Transmissions. When I started having transmission issues, I looked the shop up on the internet, found the web site and was not very impressed. After exhaustive troubleshooting and help from a local shop I came to the conclusion that the transmission needed work. Before having it rebuilt locally I decided, at the last minute, to reach out to Sun Valley and get their take on the situation. 

Sun Valley Mercedes Transmissions

I'm glad I did.

Sun Valley Mercedes Transmissions is located not far from where my daughter Ally works. All they do is rebuild Mercedes transmissions. After a short call with Marc, I decided it would be best to have the transmission pulled and take it to them on my next trip to visit Ally in LA.

When I arrived I was impressed. First of all, I was surprised to see the shop was next door to the famed Sound City recording studio where Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and Nirvana all recorded. That studio really is the source of the best sounding drum recordings from the 70's, 80's and 90's. After the shock of standing next to the legendary studio passed, I was given a tour of the facility by Marc. 

I was impressed with what I saw. Inside was an efficient, well stocked and organized environment filled with just about any Mercedes-Benz automatic transmission you could imagine. From the first units made in the late 60's to the modern 7-speed computer controlled systems. It was great to find a specialist that ONLY works on Mercedes-Benz transmissions. 

Marc showed me how they disassemble each transmission, check the components, machine and replace as necessary, upgrade when needed, reassemble and test. The shop even has the ability to program the newer 7-speed computer controlled transmission computers. I was beginning to think the transmission would actually be better after the rebuild than when it left the factory!

Mercedes-Benz Transmission Testing Rig

After the work is done, they have two in-house made systems where they mount the transmission for testing. Each features a different Mercedes-Benz engine. One of the rigs had an OM617 Turbo - just like the one in my G-Wagon. BONUS!

While they can sell transmissions with a core replacement, Marc told me he prefers to rebuild your transmission. After the tour, I felt very comfortable leaving my transmission with Marc and his team for repair. He said it would be ready in about 3 days AND IT WAS!

Even though the transmission was 5 years out of warranty, Marc and his team fixed it at a substantial discount. I came away very happy with the experience and confident I was not going to have trouble with this transmission again. 

If you are in Southern California and need transmission work done on your Mercedes-Benz, this is the place. If you live outside the SoCal area, give Marc a call and consider sending him your transmission for a rebuild. They are fast, affordable and from what I can see do excellent work. Don't let the crummy web site fool you, these guys are experts. 

While you are there, take some time to take in Sound City vibe. Soundtrack: Reannan, Free Falling, Smells Like Teen Spirit...