rolivier

I am new to this forum, so sorry if this has been covered elsewhere. I have a 2012 S350 BlueTec diesel with 30K miles. I have noticed recently that when I accelerate slowly from a dead stop, the car has a slight jolt when changing gears. It doesn't happen all the time, but often enough that I took it to my local dealer. After keeping it a few days, I was told that the jolt was a "feature" of the diesel powertrain that puts the car into neutral when it's idle for a certain period of time (to save gas), and the jolt I was feeling was the transmission moving back to 1st gear when I accelerated. I was told this was a feature of the diesel engine transmission (something they called the KID transmission) and was assured this was normal. I'm skeptical that MB would engineer a car that has such a rough initial acceleration, especially a luxury model that cost over $100K new. Has anyone else experienced this issue with an S350? And more importantly does anyone have a recommendation on how I should proceed to get this fixed with MB? Thank you in advance for any help!

Nuru

I have not noticed anything like that. You might want to consult other dealer service departments and see what they say. Also speak with MBNA (MB USA) on this "feature". My experience has been with automatic transmissions is that when you come to a dead stop, they automatically shft to first gear unless you stop and suddenly pull off before the transmission has the chance to switch to the lowest gear. I have never heard of this being an issue in MB cars unless there was a problem. When was the transmission last serviced?

alx

yes. my personal s350 does the same after flashing the tcu to the latest code. the dealer is correct in their description as to why it happns. i have played a bit with my 1st gear adaptations to no avail.

one solution is to backflash the tcu to older code which seems does not have this feature.

let me know if you find a solution.

Nuru

alz, what version is the latest tcu code?

roliver, how long does the car have to be stopped before the transmission shifts into neutral, did the dealer tell you this?

Seems like this is a crappy update for saving a couple of miles per gallon? They might as well give everyone the ECO mode and be done with it.

rolivier

Thanks for the responses. Nuru, the dealership said it will engage this feature after the vehicle is stopped for 4-5 seconds .. they call it "power free" mode. I agree its a crappy update. Alx have you talked to your dealership about a solution?

Nuru

Definitely not a good update. Once I find out what version of software, Hopefully they fix that in the next version. Seems strange as if you put the car into neutral/park and then switch to D or first gear, it does not do this?

rolivier

Good question Nuru .. I've never noticed it when I first put the car into D, only once I have been driving it and then stop. Btw I did send an inquiry into MBNA and will let you know what I hear back. Thank you!

DaveW68

If you folks who have this update file enough complaints with MB USA, you might be able to get the engineers to remove this feature and produce another update.

Nuru

Yep, definitely awaiting that response.

Nuru

Yes, hopefully that will happen if it is the latest software version that has surfaced or established the issue.

rolivier

Still waiting for a response from MBUSA. Received a response on 9/18 from a customer service rep saying that someone from their Produce Advice Dept would be back to me within 24 hrs .. but have not heard back yet. I sent a follow up email today.

rolivier

Well I heard back from MBUSA today, the Product Advice Dept. Unfortunately they confirmed what the dealership told me. This a "feature" of the 4MATIC meant to save fuel and limit vibration in the cabin (?). I was told it wasn't due to any recent software update though .. that it was original to the car (I purchased this car 6 mos ago so can't speak to what it drove like new). They suggested a 'work-around' ... basically use the paddle shifters each time I come to a stop to re-engage the transmission .. not something I'm likely to do every time I come to a stop. Was also told that only the Diesels had the feature at this time ... strange considering they already get much better mileage than the Gas versions. Totally unacceptable in my mind, but not sure what else I can do at this point other than tell the rest of the MB community to complain to MB until they fix it.

kaqy

2011 E350 bluetec. 61k miles just replaced the seals. there was a total of 19 seals MB had my indy use to replace. He said they told him to replace them as it was a known problem. Unreal.

rolivier

kaqy, is this related to the S350 transmission issue in this post? Sorry, but sounded like it might have been posted to the wrong thread. If it's related, did this fix the issue?

kaqy

My bad rolivier. I thought I was posting to the w212 area.....I think I scrolled down too far. Thanks for pointing this out.

rolivier

No worries kaqy, thanks for the clarification.