hsjacks

I bought a 2011 C300 sport 3 months back; it has 1500 miles on it. For the last 1 month or so the following problems are occuring intermittently :

1. When I press throttle little hard at 20-30 mph; it first slows down and then accelerates
2. When free rolling at around 30 mph, I feel abnormal slow down
3. When I accelerate and release throttle, it behaves as if its braking
4. On the day all of this happen (as I said it is intermittent) my overall mileage reduces by 3-4 (I get like 16 in place of 20 during my normal commute- mostly highway)

Could someone please help me out ? I took it to the dealer and the problem doesnt seem to repro when they drive! They reinstalled some software, and it worked well for 2 days and then back to square one. I tried resetting TCU using the gas pedal procedure with same results. I am not able to feel I am driving a sports car!

Thanks in advance!

Domm

It continuously learns your driving style. You have to reset it every few days to revert it back to the initial style of shifting, especially if you drive mostly around the city.

hsjacks

so can i never get the car to "learn" me properly ? i was wondering why it is designed this way..

Domm

You and the rest of the forum

Acapulco Bill

All the reviews of the W204, including the C63 (Top Gear for instance) decry how much the 7G transmission STINKS. Around town driving, and it "learns" you are a little old lady.

When my TCU software was upgraded (for pre-2011 7G's) the shifts were FABULOUS, but now it is back to taking a week to make up its mind to shift or not. Maybe the 7G TCU thinks it is a washing machine, it is always so confused.

There s NO way to reset the TCU, many believe resetting the accelerator throttle pedal is a TCU reset... IT IS NOT!!!!!!!! I dont drive my C300 much, and today I found the battery dead, that is how little I have used my Merc in 3 years, 8k miles, preferring my FORD purchased a few weeks after the W204 out of complete disappointment in Mercedes.

The Ford which in build quality, materials, handling, engine, transmission and comfort IS A BETTER CAR. I do admit the Merc has better brakes. But honestly thats about all.

mmike

slightly off topic but i had to interject. which ford vehicle are you talking about? perhaps theres a difference between fords here in the us and those in mexico, but i think most people (including myself) would say MB C would be better in most of those mentioned categories

Carsy

Life is too short to have a car in the garage that you do not like.

A few comments :-

I just wonder how may people do adequate research on the new car they are buying. I reality you should drive it a least 3 times on all road surfaces & at all speeds both night & day. If you like it then a through inspection all over , engine bay & on the hoist.

You will say , silly Bug#er , but if you are paying $60,000 odd & keeping it for many years then the effort is worthwhile.

I have had my 220CDi for nearly 5 years & the verdict is still out. I will tell you in another 5 years whether it is reliable. To date ,it has a good balance between handling & ride ,great economy, sufficient torque & power ,excellent rear wheel traction,feels safe, is reliable , has not cost much to maintain & I enjoy driving it each time I am behind the wheel. The 5 speed ATM is a little gem , smooth as silk .The car suits me to a 'T'.

Carsy.

Acapulco Bill

Ford Mondeo Mk IV, built in Ghent, Belgium and outsold for 10 years the BMW 3 series in England for instance. Now at 74,000 km, still had not had a B service and runs perfectly.

The Ford Mondeo was Top Gear's "Car of the Year" TWICE. Truly (was) a fantastic automobile.

The new Mondeo (which looks very Aston-Martin-ish) will substitute the Ford Fusion in the US for 2013, although will still be called the Fusion in the US and Canada, Mondeo elsewhere. Built in Mexico, the European models will have an option for Ford's new 3 cylinder 1.0L turbo which cranks out 120 HP or so at 50 MPG.

However I have no idea of the build quality, materials, design and reliability of this new Mondeo will be. Out of the 11 vehicles we have, the Mondeo is the one all the family likes to "steal", and the W204 the least, reason why in almost 3 years it has only racked-up only 8k miles and for lack of use, the newly replaced battery has gone flat.

Not really off point, if we are discussing the defects of the 7G transmission in this thread, other manufacturers offer, frankly, "twice the automobile at half the price" of Mercedes, and the contrast between just the 0 to 60 times of a BMW 3-series to the W204, is nearly 1.5 seconds faster with the equivalent engine (328 vs C250), most of which has to do with the fabulous BMW transmission, and even though it "learns" one's driving habits, doesnt do the whole thing STUPIDLY like the 7G does. Shifting should be "track day" all the time on demand, IMO.

Carsy

Good answer.JC

kevink2

Bill, I really think the car not being driven, and a lousy adaptive trans TCU, combine to make it drive like crap. Do you think if the car were driven hard every time it was driven, it would still become a slugg?

I have always thought that Ford was the best of the big 3, and the one company that was making NEW cars like the Ford Taurus (except they stole the rear end design from Mazda's 3rd gen Rx7) , while Chevy was using the same design features from 15 years ago ... door handles, dash, etc. Now they stand proud of not begging for an Obama Style Chapter 11 modified Bankrupcy. (were the top of the pile creditors were hosed, and he used about 30 billion of tax dollars to cover the Union's as whole and owning a significant part of the New company.)

Equivilant? Don't think so. Check the hp and Tq ratings of each. The BMW 2.0 turbo is a bigger engine than the MB 1.8L engine. And it's likely BMW took the low end advantage of the twin scroll design to use a proportionally bigger turbo to get the 240 HP, vs the C250's 201 HP.


Spot on there. The strong adaptive feature in the MB should only be limited to the E drive, which the EPA specs apply to. The S drive should stay track ready.

.

Acapulco Bill

@kevink2: After getting the TCU update I mentioned, from the closest MB dealer in Cuernavaca which is about 310 kms from Acapulco, the trip took about 1:35, 196 KPH AVERAGE (122 MPH) including 5 tolls, construction, and hairpin turns. Still in the last 15 minutes of city traffic, by the time I got home the 7G was back to its old, garden slug ways, the exhilarating ride only lasted on the highway. I am tempted to see if I can lobotomize the TCU so that it stops "learning". The MB dealer is willing to help, fortunately the warranty is extended to February 2013.

Acapulco Bill

Although in the Ford Mondeo, t would have averaged a good 10 MPH less, due to the 50 HP difference between the 2.5L Duratec engine (originally designed by Porsche) and the M272 3.0L C300, which certainly comes in handy going over the 10,000 foot peaks in the Sierra Madre mountains.

sherrypeter_g

Guys,

My 2010 c300 shifts slow specially in manual mode..and the 2012 c250 is shifting faster..I guess the 7g is updated for 2012..I can see a major difference..But still prefer the c300 due to smooth accelaration and good sound..c250 seems to surge fwd when u floor it ( turbos kicked in) and the acceleration is not smooth for a merc.

Sherry