What year of 350? MB made several different models with this number.
My 2014 E250 BT shows the gear every time, so I am with dealer on this.
If switching it off is possible, I would try to play with paddles or gear shifter itself (not in traffic)
The manual mode in those cars is temporary only and the car will go back to auto at its pace.

 

My situation is basically the same as Kajtek1 except mine is 2014 E350 gas vs his E250 Bluetec. Mine also shows the gear all the time and has since new. Never used the paddle shifters so can't comment on how that may change the dash view. Other than that, I agree with Kajtek1's suggestions (year of car and experimenting with paddle shifters to see if anything changes). No additionally help unfortunately!

 

Oh yea sorry guys its '15 gas e350s. Starting to think its always been like this myself. But she swears that it wasnt always the case. lol who knows.

 

My 14 E550 absolutely always shows D1 to D7 when I drive. If I am in M then it shows the gear I am in as well. It's always been like that. In the family we also have a 14 ML350 Bluetec and it behaves exactly the same way.

 

She probably just missed it and didn't notice it before, and notices it now. Happened to me as well when I first got mine. The car I traded in only told me the gear # when I used the paddle shifters, but I didn't really notice how different the display was in the MB until I did notice one day and then just said, "huh!" and moved on

Tip on posting here, if I can add my $0.02: when you post a forum topic, don't put "quick question" with no other info. Based on the post I might put something like "Question on 2015 E350 dash display" or "gear display" in the subject header.

 

Yep, they all do this. My 14 E350 has showed D1 - D7 since new. In manual is shows M1 - M7 using the paddles.

Curious, what is a 350S? What does the "S" stand for?

 

Here is a thought on why knowing the gear number is important when in D...

My 2000 ML320 had a manual shift mode (bat the shifter left and right). When in D, batting left engaged manual mode and shifted to 4 no matter what gear the 5-speed transmission was currently in. I just checked the ML320 operator manual, the instructions are consistent with that.

Pressing the left paddle on my 2014 E350 engages manual mode and downshifts to the gear below the current gear the 7-speed transmission is currently in. When I started driving the E350, this was a big adjustment for me. When in D, I was accustomed to quickly batting multiple times to select a specific gear without knowing what current gear the transmission was in. In my E350, I quickly learned never to downshift multiple gears at a time without first glancing at the instrument cluster to know what gear is currently selected.

Another difference I have noted is that the E350 manual shift is slower (longer delay to select new gear) than the ML320. When first driving the E350, I had to learn to be patient and wait a second after downshifting.

 

that's interesting re: the differences in the ML320 vs the E350. I had what I assume was the same 5 speed transmission with the same gear selector in my E320 and E430, MYs 2002 and 2000, respectively, but same chassis (W210). I can't recall the differences in shifting times, but why would the paddle shifters on the E350 shift slowly compared to a car ~14 years older? Is that by design for some reason?

My E-class did not default to 4th gear when I shifted into manual mode, that much I do remember.

 

Ry Guy's "crazy" mother is nothing of the sort and should be lauded for her observation talents. The E350 can and does spontaneously shift from just "D" to "D1, D2, D3,etc." as mine did in downtown Philly. Haven't yet piddled with the paddles to get it back to just the "D", but will do that and then report back. Just had to immediately support "crazy" mom.