[Guest (MBNZ)]

I've noticed that when maintaining a constant speed in 'Drive', if I attempt to manually downshift to 4th gear, it won't always engage. But if I'm in 4th gear and I attempt downshift to a lower gear (regardless of speed), it will always engage.<br>
<br>
Has anyone else experienced this? Is something wrong with my trans? I thought I'd ask here before taking it to the dealer. Frankly, if I left it in 'D' all the time, it's a seemless transmission...I just like to play with it every once in awhile. TIA for any replies

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

I would assume that if you are rolling at a constant speed in 'D' and you attempted to downshift into 4th and the transmission did not respond, then the transmission was already in 4th at the time you tried to downshift, hence no downshift. Just my off-the-top-of-my-head diagnosis, hope this helps.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Re: Re: Manually Shifting E55

I don't think the above is the case. If you are driving at a constant speed in D the car will be in 5th gear unless you are crawling along. If the car is in 4th already, you still would see 4 in the display when you downshift, not D. <br> What happens when you downshift to 4th? You should see 4 displayed. There can be a problem with the adjustment on the shifter. It can bounce back to the right and upshift after you downshift. Look at the car and driver review (E55 vs M5 vs XJR. I think that was the March '00 issue. They had a car with this problem that MB fixed with a shifter adjustment.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Re: Re: Manually Shifting E55

I don't think the above is the case. If you are driving at a constant speed in D the car will be in 5th gear unless you are crawling along. If the car is in 4th already, you still would see 4 in the display when you downshift, not D. <br> What happens when you downshift to 4th? You should see 4 displayed. There can be a problem with the adjustment on the shifter. It can bounce back to the right and upshift after you downshift. Look at the car and driver review (E55 vs M5 vs XJR. I think that was the March '00 issue. They had a car with this problem that MB fixed with a shifter adjustment. If this is the case you should see the display go to 4th and then back to D.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

I agree with Rich, test it out, could be a simple adjustment.

If you slam the touchshift to the left and it bounces back to the right, you need an adjustment, easy job at any dealer.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

I guess the issue had been discussed before (by Drew, I think), it's called 'Shift & hold'. When you want to downshift, don't just tap the shifter, you should tap and continue holding the shifter to the left, the transmission will go one gear lower than whichever your current gear is in. It's hard to tell which gear you are in when the display only shows 'D', so in the beginning I was just keeping on taping the shifter until I got a downshift, which always was too late! By adopting this technique, you can ensure proper downshifting every time and enjoy the powerful acceleration of your E55. Likewise, if you want to go back to 'Auto' mode, just tap and hold the shifter to the right, the display will go back to 'D' right away, and just let your right foot do the gear shifting. <br> Hope this helps.<br>

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Did you figure it out Bill?

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Re: Manually Shifting E55 (Epilogue)

I contacted my dealer (one of the best around btw, EuroMotorCars in Bethesda, MD) and the Service Tech suggested that I take it to 80mph and then downshift to 4th because, like JWade said, it was probably already in 4th. The problem with this theory is that I have an ML-430 and whenever I downshift, the transmission responds instantaneously. Rich is right. Regardless if you are in Drive or not and downshift (even if it is on 4th) it should read-out on the display. With only 1,700 miles on the car, the dealer also assured me that this wasn't the problem since transmissions do not need to be broken in. <br> <br> So yesterday, I did as the dealer suggested and the same thing happened. Essentially, when I 'bumped' the shifter while in D in an attempt to downshift, it would 'bounce' back to D. But I thought about what David said and sort of adapted my technique. Now I get positive downshifts every time.<br> <br> This is how I now downshift: I move the shifter to the left and hold it for a split second, vice quickly 'bumping' it over. I think the 12-cylinder transmissions they put in these beasts are just different enough from other MBs to give them their own unique character.<br> <br> So I'm going to cancel my service appt for Thur. Now for my next dilemma...how do I get a throatier growl from the exhuast? ;-) Thanks for taking the time to respond guys.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Re: Re: Manually Shifting E55 (Epilogue)

A good way to test if there's a problem with the spring mechanism is to bump it over to the left when you have stopped your car with your foot on the brakes. <br> <br> In this scenario, the car would definitely not be in 4th gear.<br> <br> If you push the gear shift to the left quickly, it should go from D to 4. If there is a problem with the spring, it will over react and bounce back to D when you let go. <br> <br> From my experience on a 2000 E55 with this problem, I find that if I keep my hand on the lever after doing the downshift, it will not bounce back too much to upshift but if I just hit the lever quickly and let go, sometimes it'll do a D-4-D dance.<br> <br> On another 2001 E55, I don't have any problem at all.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Re: Re: Re: Manually Shifting E55 (Epilogue)

According to the manual, if you move the lever all the way to the left AND hold it there, the display will indicate what gear the vehicle is in at that time, without downshifting. I've done that several times.<br> <br> FWIW, I have a 2001. I also went out today and used my 'new' technique and the vehicle shifts perfectly.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Yes, I like to shift the way you described too..

but a quick tap of the lever to the left should not bounce back enough to cancel the downshift.<br>

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Doesn't seem right

Here is the quote from the C&D article 'Unfortunately, the Touch Shift mechanism was out of adjustment on this example. When you slapped the stick for a downshift, it would bounce back to the other side and perform an upshift to negate your desire'. I can't get mine to bounce back.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Agree, mine never bounces back.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

I noticed that my 55 doesn't SEEM to downshift from D to 4 sometimes, but I found out recently that it actually is in 4 by hitting the gas pedal after downshifting to 4. When I hit the gas, I didn't feel it downshift, but i could downshift and feel the downshift to 3. My point: Even though you were at a steady speed in D, you may have been riding in 4th. this could be because of the computer technology in the E55 which is supposed to adjust tranny shifting to how the car is being driven - if you are shifting alot it may just leave it in 4th, etc..

 

[sam9175]

I would assume that if you are rolling at a constant speed in 'D' and you attempted to downshift into 4th and the transmission did not respond, then the transmission was already in 4th at the time you tried to downshift, hence no downshift. Just my off-the-top-of-my-head diagnosis, hope this helps.

I have also same problem with my e320 1996, overdrive switch(D4) is also not working but there is no problem in upshifting when downshifting from 90-30 km, and then when i m pressing accelerator again it gives a jerk, i hav changed gear oil + gasket + filter again after 15000 km, PAN is very cleaned,(no metal particles)
and had also changed my Mass air sensor before 15000km,
CHANGED MAF+A/T OIL+GASKET+FILTER AT 90,000 KM
CHANGED AGAIN A/T OIL+GASKET+FILTER AFTER THIS PROBLEM AT 1,10,000 KM
CURRENT KILOMETERS ARE 1,10,560 KM
I DID'NT CONFERN WITH ANY MECHANIC YET.
PLZ HELP ME REGARDING THIS PROBLEM, IS MY TRANSMISSION GOING WEAKER,(pan is clean) OR SOME OTHER PROBLEM, ITS HAS 5 SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

 

[sam9175]

I noticed that my 55 doesn't SEEM to downshift from D to 4 sometimes, but I found out recently that it actually is in 4 by hitting the gas pedal after downshifting to 4. When I hit the gas, I didn't feel it downshift, but i could downshift and feel the downshift to 3. My point: Even though you were at a steady speed in D, you may have been riding in 4th. this could be because of the computer technology in the E55 which is supposed to adjust tranny shifting to how the car is being driven - if you are shifting alot it may just leave it in 4th, etc..

I have also same problem with my e320 1996, overdrive switch(D4) is also not working but there is no problem in upshifting when downshifting from 90-30 km, and then when i m pressing accelerator again it gives a jerk, i hav changed gear oil + gasket + filter again after 15000 km, PAN is very cleaned,(no metal particles)
and had also changed my Mass air sensor before 15000km,
CHANGED MAF+A/T OIL+GASKET+FILTER AT 90,000 KM
CHANGED AGAIN A/T OIL+GASKET+FILTER AFTER THIS PROBLEM AT 1,10,000 KM
CURRENT KILOMETERS ARE 1,10,560 KM
I DID'NT CONFERN WITH ANY MECHANIC YET.
PLZ HELP ME REGARDING THIS PROBLEM, IS MY TRANSMISSION GOING WEAKER,(pan is clean) OR SOME OTHER PROBLEM, ITS HAS 5 SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION