Jim Banville

I used to get annoyed at our old C240's throttle lag. I'd press on the gas hard, but the engine power would only come on slowly. Not good when you need to jump out into fast, heavy traffic. It was also weird because when you let off the gas (sitting still in park) the revs would go down slowly too. It was almost as if the throttle and engine in that car were connected by one of those first generation digital cellular phone connections where you could hear you own voice in a delayed echo on your own phone! The V6 in that car is certainly no powerhouse, but other cars (Japanese & American) with similar HP perform much better from a dead stop, so its isn't the lower power not causing the problem. Our C240 was an auto and I've never driven a C240 manual. Some people said the manual C240 was better in its throttle repsonse. How is the C230K SS in this regard. The single MB dealer in our small town has a single C230K SS on its lot. I haven't had a chance to drive it yet, but its an auto anyway. We think we want a manual, and the second closest dealer (nearly an hour away) has lots of autos, but only a single manual C230K SS. Has anyone here driven both an automatic and manual C230K SS? Do you get immediate response from the engine when press hard on the throttle? Do the revs drop immediately when you release the throttle?

thanks
Jim

PS- In an ironic twist of fate, if you don't press on the gas pedal slowly in our automatic Sequoia, it'll jerk your head off!

rockintunes23

Atleast you have two dealerships within a hour from you. I have to drive atleast three to four hours to find another benz dealership. lol I find, if you don't push as hard on the pedal... the car will go better. As I would "floor it", there was a delay.

Jim Banville

What car are you referring to? C240? C230K SS? Auto or manual?

thanks
Jim

nlpamg

there's definite throttle lag. I feel it in my 05 C230 SS. comparing it with the 2005 C240 loaner I drove for a week, I think it's almost the same. it's something that I guess that is inherent in a lot of auto MB's. I used to complain about it all the time in my 1997 C280 Sport, and HOI changed the ENTIRE transmission under warranty, and I still felt throttle lag.

however, when you do release the throttle, it does drop the rev immediately.

Jim Banville

nlpamg, just to clairify - I'm assuming your '05 C230K SS is an automatic?

nlpamg

yeah

elchinocache

i have a 240, i know wat u mean by the lag time. i guess its the throttle by wire stuff. i personally dont like it because a computer tell the throttle body how much to open up instead of your foot. i like the cable better like i had in my maxima, i personally feel its waqy more responsive, even though they say the throttle by wire is supposedly quicker. i have driven s and ml classes and never had that lag, maybe its only inherent to the c.

DiamondNoir2K5

I have an '05 C230 Sedan. I find that if I hit the gas hard, the car tends to "choke up" and acceleration is not great.

But I have learned that if I apply gas little bit more gently and don't overshoot, I hit a "sweet-spot" where the car accelerates pretty darn well.

Jim Banville

Is your car auto or manual?

akbro93704

the worst part of a Mercedes' drivetrain is the throttle lag...out of the Mercedes I have driven, my mom's '00 E320 has the best throttle response, and the auto C240 has the absolute worst, tied with the W211 E320. Even with full throttle from a stop, the C240 lags until about 3000 RPM's and then it revs extremely quickly. Mercedes definitely needs to improve this....

lars

DiamondNoir's experience is pretty well the same as mine with my 6 spd 230 coupe. Feeding the gas in gently gives instant response. Let the clutch out gently in first, stand on the throttle, and there's a disconcerting lag. It's only for a heartbeat but it's noticeable.

SaRiDi

I have a 05 C230SS 6spd, and the throttle lag is less than auto C230SS, and much much less than 01 C240 auto. It is progressive enough for you to control rpm easily

Jim Banville

Thanks SaRiDi! That's the kind of comparative response I was looking for!
My guess is that MB inserts the throttle lag into the car as a defense against wear. The slowed power gain is probably alot easier on the drivetrain, but it sucks for the driver.

Jim Banville

Here's another twist... has anyone noticed that "chipping" their C240 or C230K has removed or improved the throttle lag?

calboy

Get a powerchip, no more lag.

DiamondNoir2K5

auto.

mctwin2kman

Yes the lag is built in the ECU. More so when you floor it. My 2003 6 Speed does not seem to have the lag everyone talks about though. Maybe I just don't notice it. I have noticed it in the C240 and the W211 E320 loaner's I have had though. Not so much when you feather the gas but when you jump on it is very noticeable. Then again on my 6 speed I usually start off slow for the first second or so then jump on it to limit tire spin and get a smoother take-off.

czachari

When I gun my 03 C230K manual it just takes off. Occasionally, it will bog down but that's just the traction control cutting power because of wheel slippage. It does feel as if the engine is picking up revs VERY slowly even though the gas pedal in on the floor.


CZ

Jim Banville

Traction control MAY play a roll in it, in that maybe its programming is not allowing the engine to do something that MAY cause wheelspin. BUT traction control isn't causing the lag because it is being activated by a slipping wheel, because it happens when in PARK (plus you should see the icon light up on the gauge cluster if it is being activated). Watching the tach in my old C240 while stopped in PARK, you could floor the throttle and watch how slowly the revs would build. Then when you released the pedal, the revs would drop slowly. It's sort of like the car is saying, "I don't care how hard you press that gas pedal, I'm only going to give you power at a rate I choose!"
Does anyone know a chip maker that claims to be able to remove this lag on this particular car? I know they all claim to improve throttle response in generic terms.

GDawgC220

MB auto's are made for "smooth" take off's and not instant acceleration (exception of AMG's, of course )

What I have found is don't mash the gas all the way down, instead, apply pressure to the gas pedal swiftly. I find that gets the best "take off".

mctwin2kman

My 6 speed rev's instantly in Nuetral! May be diferent programming for the E Throttle on the Auto Trannied versions.

rockintunes23

My friend's Dodge Intrepid was the same way. Could be a company thing also since Mercedes-benz and Dodge are managed by the same people.

BabyBenz6spd

I have 2k5 C230SS 6spd, I often ravv the engine (Close to 6000RPM couple times) to make a pass........I didn't notice any lag that you guys are experiencing.

The only thing I notice is in the lower RPM range the car is sluggish and have no power except to cruser slowly...like from 1000RPM to 2300RPM.....then feels some power @2500RPM......Power comes alive at 3000RPM through redline.

So having a manual tranny allow me to cruser often around 2500RPM, "maybe" the engine response faster in higher RPM range?

Jim Banville

We are talking specifically about throttle lag from a dead stop (engine at idle), NOT throttle response when you are already moving.