AZ_Mike

Test drove some new C Classes this weekend
'04 C320
'06 C230
'06 C350SS
'06 C280
Came from the BMW dealer where I drove new and used 3 Series
All with auto, sorry wife has issues

On the '06 I noticed that the car shifted down to 1st forcefully about 20 ft from a stop. I know this has been reported before on this forum and others. Speculation was that the transmission needed to learn your driving style then the abrupt down shift to 1st would be soften.

Has this been confirmed? The '06 are very nice but I think this would annoy me after awhile.

Thanks for your inputs

Sauceboy01

Apparently the 7G auto has gear searching issues from what i've read. Wait a year until they have been refined and issues taken care of.

AZ_Mike

Isn't this the same tranny that was in the '05 E-Class? If so they already had a year to work on it. Don't know if my old car will make it another year.

Belle the Benz

I know it was in the 05 SLK

Sauceboy01

Sure, it's the same type Tranny, but you have to remember. New Application, new problems. Give it a year, or buy an 05!

Outland

Doesn't matter if its been used elsewhere or not. The tranny definately has some peculiarities. It may be the problems are design, programming, or manufacturing. The best way to fix the problem is the to just get the standard 6 speed.

MB2006

7g transmission has NO issues , I have 2006 230ss and put 3,700 miles on it already, car is FINE.
I am tired of threads like 2005 faster then 2006, 5sp beter 7speed.
i have a news for you (if you dont know yet) both cars are slow,
and both transmissions working fine.

Outland

You have one car, with very low mileage.

There have been numerous threads discussing the 06 tranny and the new V6. Most, if not all, mention the excessive shifting. This in itself may not be an indication of something wrong , or a defect, from a design or manufacturing standpoint, just something people don't like.

And that makes it a problem.

230Kompressor

just don't drive it at its "manual" mode then! problem solved.

diamondblak05

I see that you got quite defensive there. Slow down buddy! It's not necessarily a problem or problems with the new 7sp, but I've read and heard quite a few issues also with it. I guess most people just don't like the way it shifts, so like "Outland" said, that translates into a problem. A good example is my dads' '04 RX330. The new transmission hesistates when flooring the pedal. Lexus got so many complaints, even though it was well within specs, they decided to flash the ecu as an upgrade to the hesistation.

230Kompressor

damn i really don't understand the problem. are you saying the car doesn't downshift itself or downshift to early? i have a read a couple of threads about this subject already. please elaborate. thank you.

GMW

I drove a 5-speed auto for the last 2 years. Nice and smooth...for that time. The 7-speed is even smoother! and when using the touch shift facility (triptronic) to manually hold gears it is far more sporty and responsive compared to the touch shift on the 5-speed. There is no feeling of tension or some high pitch whining like in the 5-speed where you felt you were overstressing the transmission with continuous accelerations within one gear.

With the 7-speed the sudden jolt during the shift from 2nd to 1st disappeared sometime around the breakin period. The one thing I notice that can be a bit annoying, and the only negative point I've found so far, is when I press the kickdown button and it takes 1-2 seconds to go down to the lowest gear. At least it happens rarely. However, there are times that the gearbox shifts impressively fast! Fast enough to push me into the back of my seat from the sheer immediate acceleration! Overall, there are a lot more positives than negatives to the 7-speed! Did I mention that it has the same fuel economy of my previous C180 (2 litre - non Kompressor)!!! I just love it!

Just my 2 cents!

mctwin2kman

It is not that the tranny is bad it is that people do not like the amount of shifting going on. I was readin the C&D article about the new S class and they for once actually liked and prefered the 7 speed. Stated it is always in the right gear! I have to agree with that statement but I still do not like all the hunting it does, alas I would get used to it if I owned one. I still prefer the 6 speed MT in the SS, but would get the 7 speed if I was buying one of the Luxury desgnated models, such as the C280 and C350 Lux. It is all a matter of opinion really and we as humans never like change at first either....

Onto the wife not like an MT, well my wife never drove stick in her life before we got the Coupe. Now I can't stop her and she prefers the manual transmission. So teach the women or tell her she can not drive the car and get the 6MT. LOL

AZ_Mike

Thanks for all the inputs. While the test drive was short, 10 min, I would not be willing to say that the car was always shifting. It was just when coming to a stop.

Imagine you're coming to a stop, as you slow down you can feel the transmission drop down the gears, this is pretty smooth but you can still feel a slight shutter. When the car finally drops down to 1st (speed probably 10-15 mph or about 20-30 ft from stop) there is a larger jerk, like the car hasn't slower enough for such a small gear. I drive a manual now, sometimes I'll shift to a lower gear and botch it up and there is a jerk (my speed/revs are to fast or I pop the clutch). Same with the 7-speed auto.

I would say this transmission was not working properly. The '04 C320 felt fine, although a different transmission, the '06 C280 had it a little but not to bad, the C230 and C350SS was pretty bad. Thought maybe it was the default setting MB puts in the SS computer. Once the settings are updated with your driving style the problems would go away. Still don't know?

By the way the C350SS is not a slow car, maybe against a Z06 Vette but not slow.

mctwin2kman

That is the way it shifts in S mode. Put it in C mode and it shifts much smoother. And if you floor it in C mode it still can be aggressive.

Outland

Exactly.

I kinda think the 7 speed is really a bit overkill for an automatic. How many gears do you need really in an automatic? A CVT or stepless transmission, with simulated gear mode, sounds like a better idea at this point. The CVT can vary its ratios pretty much infinitely. Ive driven a few that have this feature, like the Audi and Mini. The biggest problem with the CVT remains the power...it usually can't handle the same power an automatic or true manual can.

StillKickin

My 2005 auto does the same thing after I drive it hard for a little bit....its just a more agressive shifting program...id assume whoever had it b4 you beat the car seeing what it can do....for me that slight irritation would be worth it for better gas mileage

mctwin2kman

The 2006 gets worse gas mileage than the 2005! I would hate to see what the 2006 would get with a 5 speed!

Outland

Hillarious!

mleskovar

I have been following the 7G problems on the 211 forum because that's probably the tranny I'll get when I buy my next Benz and the 211 was the first model to get it I believe. The harsh downshift to first seems to be a common but solvable problem....usually software/program related.