NeverSettle

I'm posting this, honestly, because I want to see if what the AMG guy at the dealership is telling me is correct.

So, Ive only had my car a few weeks, and a Lot of driving i have been doing has been A to B driving (fun driving, but basic driving).

So, I keep the setting on Comfort most of the time.

Now, when im In comfort mode, and i need to down shift to pass someone or just goof off, i hit the paddle, and off I go.. but then the car is Stuck in Manual shift mode. it wont "reclaim" auto shifting - or so I thought.
When I called the Dealer, they said Once you use a shifter in Comfort Mode, the car Will auto shift for you, but only at Red Line.

so, basically, Im in third, and down shift for any reason, and now i have to Stop the car to restart to have it reclaim control, or shift the rest of the trip, or Rev the hell out of hte engine and basically drive at really high RPM's...

Is this As Designed? I know on my Infiniti that when I use the paddle shifters Out of manual mode, the car waits for additional shift input for around 7 or 8 seconds, and if I don't shift again, it reclaims control and shifts automatically again...

I will test today what happens if I switch to S mode to down shift, then switch Back to C mode... and that may be my solution - but I just see this as a huge design flaw...

khmergod

That is a minor flaw. Just change your setting back to C after. It's a hassle, but it's got to be done. You could just kick it down and it'll downshift for you. It'll feel like a lag then it "boosts you". That way you can leave it in C, however, it'll aggressively shift at a higher rpm for a while until you start cruising again.

SaphGreyC63

No you are correct in this, here's how it work.

C - Comfort Mode
-Starts in 2nd gear.
-Very quick to upshift to next gear.
-Maximizes comfort with easy shifts and gas mileage

S - Sport Mode
-Starts in 1st Gear
-Shifts more abruptly than C
-Mix of Sport and Comfort
-I NEVER USE THIS (but that's just me)

S+ - Sport Plus Mode
-Starts in 1st Gear
-Holds revs much longer before upshifts
-Fast hard shifts
-My preferred mode out of the full autos

M - Manual Mode
-Starts in 1st
-Will NOT upshift until you tell it to
-Will downshift if you slow down too much (ie coming to a light in 3rd and stopping, it will go back to 1st for you)

Now as for the the auto modes. Let's say you are in C or S or S+. You are cruising along in 3rd and shift it down to 2nd. Your dash will now say D2. If you redline it it will upshift for you, otherwise it will stay in 2nd. If you slow down it will go back to 1st but will stay at D2, meaning it will now go through first gear and upshift (without redlining) but will not pass 2nd until redline or you upshift it to D3 (at which point it will upshift at some of the higher revs, but no need for full redline).

Lastly, you do not need to stop the car and restart, if you are driving and press and hold the + paddle or move the gear stick to the right and hold, it will shift all the way back to full auto.

Hope that helps explain it!

(PS, if you come to a stop and press the brake then press it again it goes to HOLD which keeps the brakes activated till you touch the gas or brake again, really comfy feature)

ek9beezler

When it leaves you in manual shifting mode you can also paddle up through the gears until it gets past 7 and it'll go back into auto mode.

sriniAMG

Very useful information. I did not know about the brake HOLD feature. Will need to try it out!

nota_troll

Sorry for thread jack but I still don't know how one gets into S+? The dealer is shipping me the manuals so I don't have access to those. There was a forum member who PM'd me and said I just need to put the transmission in S mode and click the downshift paddle and I'm in S+ mode but I don't see a "+" sign. When I do this, the car just stay in first gear and doesn't seem to shift until redline. Or is car just programmed to shift at max RPM? Again, sorry OP for intruding.

HBC350

My 2014 control knob has C, S and S+. Earlier models did not have the option of S+. My 2009 did not. Don't know when the change happened.

themailman34

S+ is only on face-lifted 2012+ cars

INS1GNIA

I did not know people do this in C mode...hmmm

Aww, this would have been an amazing troll post. Everyone just saying that "the S+ is right there, how can you not see it". Nota_Troll would of probably gone crazy searching for this mysterious S+ lol.

nota_troll

...and I swear I am nota_troll...

I guess I need to search with different critera.

austintipton

If you are in "C", but have manually downshifted, just hold the upshift paddle to go back to full auto. Works the same as shifting all the way to D7 again, but much quicker.

You can also hold down on the downshift paddle to access D2, and immediately begin engine braking for a stop sign, red light, whatever.

Bottom line, try holding down the paddles sometime and your complaint will go away.

Suvneer

I gave up using M mode already. The downshifts delay makes me miss my M. I just leave it in S mode all the time.

INS1GNIA

Haha, that's pretty good. No worries, it's a little trick hasn't been talked about recently.

nota_troll

I searched through pages using sport and plus but haven't found anything. Is this an Easter Egg? Or snipe hunting?

INS1GNIA

If you search on google just like this, it will search this site only and better:

sport + site:mbworld.org

AMG893

My car (PFL) doesnt have this.
I wish it did. My old CLK500 had this, as did my W211 E63. I THINK my ML63 had it, i cant remember. But this car doesnt have it. Shame, as its a really good feature.

ENV²

I figured this out on my own. Seemed intuitive to me. Holding the right paddle down put it back in auto mode.

Diabolis

^ This.

tasho3

I can't believe some of the stuff I read on here. How can people not figure this sh*t out. Your car wont blow up if you mess with it! So mess with it. It was designed for that!

Euler

Is there any difference between side shifting with the stick and using the paddles?

beejAMG

its the same thing but makes life easier with the paddles as you dont have to let go of the steering especially if youre cornering at high speeds.

Diabolis

Aside from you having to move your hand from the steering wheel to the shift lever, no. Moving the lever left and right is equivalent to you pulling the corresponding paddle on the steering wheel.

ab0bab0i

Even paddles with a DCT/PDK tranny gets boring after the first minute.

If the car doesn't have 3 pedals, I just leave it in sport/auto shifts.