I have a 2005 Mercedes Benz c240 4 matic. What does the button Transmission "C" or "S" option, + or - symbol on the shifter?????? I read through the manual but it was unclear. When you push the button the the shifter counsel area the dash light changes S OR C, what do the options mean? The "+ or -" symbols? What are those? Just curious. Thanks

C = comfort and S = Sport mode. Comfort starts from second gear and shifts at lower RPM, sport starts from first gear and shifts at higher RPM

The + and - is for "manual" mode. You can shift by hand by moving the lever to the right (to go up a gear) or to the left (to go down a gear). I haven't tried this, but that is what the salesman at the dealership told us.

thanks, what about the "c and s" buttons? Any idea?

Check out ontmiss's post above.

thanks guys, not sure what the standard mode to leave it in, c or s? can you hurt the transmission leaving it in one or the other? Thanks again

I've pressed the button while in motion of the car. I wouldn't recommend it as the manual does not recommend it. Any time you want to change from C or S, it's best to be on a FULL stop and having the transmission in Park.

I leave mines in S because I don't like the minor sluggish feel to taking off in 2nd gear.

It won't hurt your car. S and C mode is basically personal preference to the driver and how "aggressive" you want the shifts between each gear to be. You wont really notice much difference other than from a complete stop...

+ & - is to select gears depending on conditions, some cars have P-R-N-D-L-1-2 to select, but here you have only P-R-N-D so + & - is to select L or 1 or 2

Did it come with an owner's manual?

pushing c or s while in motion does not hurt your transmission - what a load

^^^^
While it may not hurt or affect the transmission, it may not properly and fully engage itself into the desired setting unless it's in park.

Depending on how you drive, you may want to keep it in comfort and average out better fuel economy.

I get better mpg when in 'S' mode (calculated by the miles I drive/gallons @ fill-up), especially if you like to coast to stop signs/stop lights. If you're in 'C' the tranny will grab and slow you down when coasting at lower speeds. I also think the extra gear helps with fuel economy (also why the 7-speeds are more eficient than the 5-speeds).

In hilly areas, I like to use 'C' to help keep the car from rolling backwards @ stop (try sitting nose up on a hill or driveway - take your foot off the brake in 'S', then try it in 'C'). I will also use 'C'mode if it's slippery or snowing.

+/- is how you manually shift into gears - much like setting other makers tranny's into '1' or '2' etc, instead if 'D'.

Yes - I get marginally better fuel consumption in S mode

sounds good to me, leave it in s mode most of the time and c mode in snow or rain, fair enough!! Thanks everyone!!

When you use the + or - with the shifter, you will see the gear number in the dash display instead of D for Drive. At least, that is what it does on my C280. When you are in 4th gear and use the + it will revert back to auto mode and show "D" in the display.

+1

Gents... when in C or S mode, manual shifting still works on my c55. Is this normal?

Yes, thats normal. In comfort mode the car pulls away in second gear & has a less aggressive change map. Does not hold gears for as long in the rev range.

My manual indicates:
C= Comfort
M= Manual
S= Standard (not Sports).

Interesting...

My C200 allows downshift in S/C mode. Once downshifted you can then upshift.

C = Cruising so slowly I'm almost falling asleep
S = Sh*t, I should have bought a manual transmission instead

Exactly.


And, although it doesn't affect the 203's, I have noticed within the last year (at least for the US market) the loaner cars I have driven (C300's and GLK350's) have changed to E and S. I suppose E = Economy. They also ALWAYS reset to E mode each time you restart the car.

I suppose MBUSA is trying to up the CAFE numbers.

That's the part that I REALLY hate on my all-too-frequent W204 loaners.

I'm assuming that doesn't happen on W203s? I hope not; I'd jam a paper clip in there to keep S operational.

I really gotta see if you really do get better mileage from using S vs C. That sounds almost counter intuitive.

S and C can be changed on the fly. It does NOT ruin your car. I think MB just put that in the manual for liability reasons, in case someone is too busy pushing the button and drives off a cliff.

One thing I like doing when I'm bored in stop-and-go traffic is to take my foot off the pedals and modulate the S/C button to roll. S gets you rolling (since it's in 1st), but often C (2nd gear) doesn't have enough torque at idle to keep you going. So yes, you can work the tranny between 1st and 2nd.

C will hold you when you are stopped on a steep uphill and release the brakes, while in S you will roll backwards.

The + and - are what I call "maximum gear holders". For example, if you tap - so the car changes to say "4", the car will not upshift past 4th unless you redline. It's obviously no substitute for a manual tranny. There is only 1 place I use this where i live: at this 1 merge point where you are going 20km/h (congestion) but the highway you are merging onto is going 80km/h. This ensures you are in a low enough gear to get up to speed when you punch it.