beebsie

Hi: Sadly, I replaced my 1999 S320 with a 2008 S550 4matic. Just bought it. Trying to get oriented. Manual says buttons on the left and right on the steering wheel can determine the range of gears AND a number appears to the right of the D. No number appears, after pushing both buttons. Am I missing something? Thanks

alx

does the tranny shift when you press the paddles? (btw, obvious observation but you realize the buttons/ paddles are on the back of the steering wheel, right? just checking)...

keep in mind upshifts might not happen if speed is too low and you request an upshift. however, when nowhere close to redline downshifts should always happen when you request it via the left paddle.

wilassasin

Why sadly? This is supposed to be a happy moment man, congrats on the new ride.

beebsie

OK, I am sad and also glad to have another MB! Being new to the gear buttons on the right and left underside of the steering wheel ( no levers ), I thought I accidently pressed the left button to 1, because the car would not upgear from 1st, or 2nd, or 3rd, not sure..... but RPM's were nearing the red zone. I pulled over, turned the car off, restarted, changed from S to C program mode, pressed the right button until I saw a 6. The car seems to be fine. Not sure if I accidentally did something, or if the car may be headed for a transmission problem. Am I being too paranoid?

The Thomas J

What are you trying to accomplish? are you trying to manually shift the car as you drive? Or do you just want to put it in drive and go? If just driving and go put it in D and drive away. No need to ever touch the paddles. The car will always start out in C mode. That's second gear. If you want to be in S mode (Sport) you have to press the C/S button each time you start the car to start in first gear. The reason MB designed the car to start in second gear was for fuel economy.

DON'T BE SAD ENJOY YOUR NEW RID!E CONGRATS!

DaveW68

If you're using the manual buttons while driving and want to put the car back in Drive, you just need to pull the shift lever down. This can be done on the fly.

beebsie

Thanks for all comments. I appreciate it. I love my " new 2008 S550 ". I am just trying to get oriented. When the gear did not shift upward, I thought I had done something wrong. Works fine now. I don't want to be pushing buttons while driving. Q: For a regular guy like me, is C mode preferable over S mode? and is there an optimum gear range that I should program. Once again, thanks for your help!

DaveW68

In your year of car, C softens the suspension and the car will start in 2nd gear from a dead start....unless you floor it, at which point the trans will behave the same as if it were in S. C is ideal for slippery roads as you'll get better traction. If the roads are dry, just leave it in S.

beebsie

Thanks. What is the purpose of choosing a gear range with the buttons. Why not leave it at 7?

The Thomas J

It's like if the car had a traditional shifter and the gear numbers were laid out
p
r
n
d
5
4
3
2
L

In the S class they are steering wheel mounted. Just put the car in drive as you would do with any other car.

DaveW68

I honestly don't think there is ever a good reason to have paddle shifters (or buttons in your case) with a regular slush-box tranny. Those should be reserved for SMG or DSG trannys only where they actually have a legitimate use.

beebsie

Thank you all for your comments. Very much appreciated!

Bill