Trasmission Fluid - Who's running Shell ATF134
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Joined: Jun 2004
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From: New Jersey
2009 C300 Sport 4Matic
Trasmission Fluid - Who's running Shell ATF134
When I bought my 09 c300 it has 47,200 miles on it, and I'm not sure if the previous owner did the Transmission fluid change. and I wanted to change the fluid. I could get the Shell ATF134 locally from a shell distributor. any member here using Shell ATF134, any change on the car performance ? thank you
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 230
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From: New Jersey
2009 C300 Sport 4Matic
Thank's Glyn from the pm advice too, reason I ask is I could get them cheap from a local Shell Distributor. I could also get the MB/Febi ATF for $10/liter. so I'm wondering is there really any difference between the MB and Shell product.
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From: Acapulco Mexico
2010 C300 Sport
Doubtful that an approved fluid's "brand" will effect a change in performance. They should all have exactly the same technical characteristics, if not the valve bodies, K and B clutches will not operate properly.
Better to check if the 7G Tronic's TCU has had it's FREE software update available for the MY2008-2010 from MB. This WILL improve shifting performance, such as it is.
Better to check if the 7G Tronic's TCU has had it's FREE software update available for the MY2008-2010 from MB. This WILL improve shifting performance, such as it is.
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 230
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From: New Jersey
2009 C300 Sport 4Matic
I'm not familiar about this service, is this something I could just give any dealer a call and they will perform the update and charge me? any member have done this already, is different from the ecu reset ? thanks
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From: Acapulco Mexico
2010 C300 Sport
There is no ECU reset, although there have been minor updates which improve engine performance and are applied when available (or let's say that the MB dealer SHOULD apply) free during any A or B service through the Star system.
Same with the TCU update for MY 2008-2010, MY2011 and after already come delivered with updated TCU software. MB policy is to have dealers perform these updates for free to the customer when available at any A or B service. As long as the Star system is connected to your W204, it shows available updates and the ones which haven't been performed. All the SA has to do is to click "Yes". Also any "recalls". Most MB dealers and service are about as lame as the 7G Tronic. One shouldn't have to ask!!!!! Stuttgart should require that MB dealers confirm that all updates and recalls have been summarily performed, ANY time an MB product is hooked to the Star system. MB DOES NOT !!!!
As for the infamous "TCU (and NOT ECU) reset" which surfaced on the universally read "Secrets" thread, that is just an accelerator pedal recalibration. The TCU takes the pedal position (and its Delta, or change vs time of pedal depression) as one of 7 factors when analyzing a future shift. And you wonder why the 7G is so sluggish?. So yes recalibrating the accelerator will have an effect on TCU calculations.
Same with the TCU update for MY 2008-2010, MY2011 and after already come delivered with updated TCU software. MB policy is to have dealers perform these updates for free to the customer when available at any A or B service. As long as the Star system is connected to your W204, it shows available updates and the ones which haven't been performed. All the SA has to do is to click "Yes". Also any "recalls". Most MB dealers and service are about as lame as the 7G Tronic. One shouldn't have to ask!!!!! Stuttgart should require that MB dealers confirm that all updates and recalls have been summarily performed, ANY time an MB product is hooked to the Star system. MB DOES NOT !!!!
As for the infamous "TCU (and NOT ECU) reset" which surfaced on the universally read "Secrets" thread, that is just an accelerator pedal recalibration. The TCU takes the pedal position (and its Delta, or change vs time of pedal depression) as one of 7 factors when analyzing a future shift. And you wonder why the 7G is so sluggish?. So yes recalibrating the accelerator will have an effect on TCU calculations.
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2019 G70 6MT & 2022 Ford Maverick XL
There is no ECU reset, although there have been minor updates which improve engine performance and are applied when available (or let's say that the MB dealer SHOULD apply) free during any A or B service through the Star system.
Same with the TCU update for MY 2008-2010, MY2011 and after already come delivered with updated TCU software. MB policy is to have dealers perform these updates for free to the customer when available at any A or B service. As long as the Star system is connected to your W204, it shows available updates and the ones which haven't been performed. All the SA has to do is to click "Yes". Also any "recalls". Most MB dealers and service are about as lame as the 7G Tronic. One shouldn't have to ask!!!!! Stuttgart should require that MB dealers confirm that all updates and recalls have been summarily performed, ANY time an MB product is hooked to the Star system. MB DOES NOT !!!!
As for the infamous "TCU (and NOT ECU) reset" which surfaced on the universally read "Secrets" thread, that is just an accelerator pedal recalibration. The TCU takes the pedal position (and its Delta, or change vs time of pedal depression) as one of 7 factors when analyzing a future shift. And you wonder why the 7G is so sluggish?. So yes recalibrating the accelerator will have an effect on TCU calculations.
Same with the TCU update for MY 2008-2010, MY2011 and after already come delivered with updated TCU software. MB policy is to have dealers perform these updates for free to the customer when available at any A or B service. As long as the Star system is connected to your W204, it shows available updates and the ones which haven't been performed. All the SA has to do is to click "Yes". Also any "recalls". Most MB dealers and service are about as lame as the 7G Tronic. One shouldn't have to ask!!!!! Stuttgart should require that MB dealers confirm that all updates and recalls have been summarily performed, ANY time an MB product is hooked to the Star system. MB DOES NOT !!!!
As for the infamous "TCU (and NOT ECU) reset" which surfaced on the universally read "Secrets" thread, that is just an accelerator pedal recalibration. The TCU takes the pedal position (and its Delta, or change vs time of pedal depression) as one of 7 factors when analyzing a future shift. And you wonder why the 7G is so sluggish?. So yes recalibrating the accelerator will have an effect on TCU calculations.
But I decided to google complaints about slow shifting in the 7G and what do I find? More posts from you about the lame 7G.
Did you consider the 6-speed?
Last edited by LILBENZ230; May 21, 2013 at 10:42 AM.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2010
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From: Acapulco Mexico
2010 C300 Sport
Unfortunately the 6-speed is not an option in Mexico, all W204's are ordered monolithically and all come with the same, or lack the same, Eurospec accessories. Besides the 7G, I am upset that the salesperson in writing said my 2010 C300 Sport came with the HK Logic 7 stereo. It did not, and no 2010 W204 except the C63 came with this fabulous sound system. Hence the widely-read "Third Party Speaker..." thread.
The latest Top Gear road test of a MB product, the 2014 E400, makes much note of the 7G's lousy performance. Other models such as the CLS and even the C63 (not the Black Series) have all be panned widely in the auto press because of the 7G's slow-shifting. The 5G, frankly, was just SO much better.
I have promised myself to get the Weistec mod to the 7G as soon as the warranty expires in 2014. The W272 C300 engine has such fantastic torque and IMO great fuel economy if the revs are kept below 3200 RPM, fast enough to do 100 MPH. But getting access to these treasures is difficult with the 7G's lethargic performance.
The free TCU software update does in fact turn the 7G's response into an amazing experience as the update resets the flash Adaptive Learning ROM!!! Alas, only for a couple of hours, the first city traffic or stop sign, or driving in your neighborhood, and the Adaptive Learning teaches the 7G Tronic that maybe it's a refrigerator. Or maybe a washing machine? In any case Weistec lobotomizes the idiotic Adaptive Learning, just THAT will make the 7G perform more like a track-day car.
Even so, the TCU update for MY 2008-2010 is FREE and does improve overall 7G performance. It should be promoted at every opportunity, don't you agree?
The latest Top Gear road test of a MB product, the 2014 E400, makes much note of the 7G's lousy performance. Other models such as the CLS and even the C63 (not the Black Series) have all be panned widely in the auto press because of the 7G's slow-shifting. The 5G, frankly, was just SO much better.
I have promised myself to get the Weistec mod to the 7G as soon as the warranty expires in 2014. The W272 C300 engine has such fantastic torque and IMO great fuel economy if the revs are kept below 3200 RPM, fast enough to do 100 MPH. But getting access to these treasures is difficult with the 7G's lethargic performance.
The free TCU software update does in fact turn the 7G's response into an amazing experience as the update resets the flash Adaptive Learning ROM!!! Alas, only for a couple of hours, the first city traffic or stop sign, or driving in your neighborhood, and the Adaptive Learning teaches the 7G Tronic that maybe it's a refrigerator. Or maybe a washing machine? In any case Weistec lobotomizes the idiotic Adaptive Learning, just THAT will make the 7G perform more like a track-day car.
Even so, the TCU update for MY 2008-2010 is FREE and does improve overall 7G performance. It should be promoted at every opportunity, don't you agree?
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Unfortunately the 6-speed is not an option in Mexico, all W204's are ordered monolithically and all come with the same, or lack the same, Eurospec accessories. Besides the 7G, I am upset that the salesperson in writing said my 2010 C300 Sport came with the HK Logic 7 stereo. It did not, and no 2010 W204 except the C63 came with this fabulous sound system. Hence the widely-read "Third Party Speaker..." thread.
The latest Top Gear road test of a MB product, the 2014 E400, makes much note of the 7G's lousy performance. Other models such as the CLS and even the C63 (not the Black Series) have all be panned widely in the auto press because of the 7G's slow-shifting. The 5G, frankly, was just SO much better.
I have promised myself to get the Weistec mod to the 7G as soon as the warranty expires in 2014. The W272 C300 engine has such fantastic torque and IMO great fuel economy if the revs are kept below 3200 RPM, fast enough to do 100 MPH. But getting access to these treasures is difficult with the 7G's lethargic performance.
The free TCU software update does in fact turn the 7G's response into an amazing experience as the update resets the flash Adaptive Learning ROM!!! Alas, only for a couple of hours, the first city traffic or stop sign, or driving in your neighborhood, and the Adaptive Learning teaches the 7G Tronic that maybe it's a refrigerator. Or maybe a washing machine? In any case Weistec lobotomizes the idiotic Adaptive Learning, just THAT will make the 7G perform more like a track-day car.
Even so, the TCU update for MY 2008-2010 is FREE and does improve overall 7G performance. It should be promoted at every opportunity, don't you agree?
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From: Acapulco Mexico
2010 C300 Sport
Unarguably the 7G Tronic, and the 7G Tronic Plus, is a highly refined piece of engineering. However (and perhaps you are correct that I "complaineth too much") as a symphony orchestra conductor my position is to demand a certain performance from each of the 100+ musicians at my disposal, with the goal of glorifying the composer's, and not my personal, concepts and musical ideas as delineated in his symphonic score, with accuracy and sensitivity. To this end, each part of the orchestra is required to perform perfectly, in note, timing, tuning, tonality, texture and balance, or the outcome will just be a horrible cacophony.
A vehicle, especially a luxury model such as the W204 with greater than 200 HP, should and MUST perform at the owner's demand. It should be able to provide the driver Legato as well as Capriccio. One is the "conductor" of the "symphony" of his vehicle and ANY $40k+ car should respond to his requirements. Even the CVT of the B200 Turbo provided far more Capriccio than the 7G Tronic does.
Frankly, this owner is in fear for his life in every passing situation. Pulling into the opposing lane while smashing down the accelerator pedal, provides inadequate or no response for up to several seconds from the 7G. It is a question of life and death (or sitting behind a truck at 20 MPH in mountainous terrain for 20 to 30 minutes), and a few weeks after taking delivery of the 2010 C300 Sport, purchased a Ford which is more luxurious and even provides much Capriccio. The 7G, with its Adaptive Learning nullified, IS capable of just fantastic performance. Why won't it follow my most urgent direction?
Maestro, the 7G Tronic has Legato, but where's the Capriccio?
A vehicle, especially a luxury model such as the W204 with greater than 200 HP, should and MUST perform at the owner's demand. It should be able to provide the driver Legato as well as Capriccio. One is the "conductor" of the "symphony" of his vehicle and ANY $40k+ car should respond to his requirements. Even the CVT of the B200 Turbo provided far more Capriccio than the 7G Tronic does.
Frankly, this owner is in fear for his life in every passing situation. Pulling into the opposing lane while smashing down the accelerator pedal, provides inadequate or no response for up to several seconds from the 7G. It is a question of life and death (or sitting behind a truck at 20 MPH in mountainous terrain for 20 to 30 minutes), and a few weeks after taking delivery of the 2010 C300 Sport, purchased a Ford which is more luxurious and even provides much Capriccio. The 7G, with its Adaptive Learning nullified, IS capable of just fantastic performance. Why won't it follow my most urgent direction?
Maestro, the 7G Tronic has Legato, but where's the Capriccio?
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I'm not saying you're being dramatic, but I certainly haven't felt that there was any point where my life was in danger. I did drive a 2009 C350 for two days on a test drive that most definitely did not have the TCU updates (because it had horrible reverse delay) and it didn't make me feel that way, either.
There was one instance in my C300 where I started to pass a truck and I floored it from about 35MPH. I had time to think "WTF?!" before the power came on. It wasn't life threatening but I thought to myself that I'd plan better next time. Should I have to think like that? I dunno. I don't have huge expectations for a 228HP small displacement V6 in a car this portly, I guess.
YMMV for sure.
There was one instance in my C300 where I started to pass a truck and I floored it from about 35MPH. I had time to think "WTF?!" before the power came on. It wasn't life threatening but I thought to myself that I'd plan better next time. Should I have to think like that? I dunno. I don't have huge expectations for a 228HP small displacement V6 in a car this portly, I guess.
YMMV for sure.
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From: Acapulco Mexico
2010 C300 Sport
Dramatic, here is Googlemaps showing a local road driven regularly. Besides snail-speed trucks, maniac taxis, curve-cutting busses, drunks, cows, and burros, there are always rockslides, washouts, potholes the size of a VW Beetle, bandidos and kidnappers.
As for the W272 3.0L engine, it is excellent, 14% more torque than the I6 3.0L BMW. Good MPG considering its 10-year old design. Still because of the 7G, the C300 is 10% slower. So you would a 25% performance leap if the 7G "responded" as well as other manufacturers transmissions. Three 3-Series owners in the family are actually jealous of the C300's engine, and two have sold theirs, we will see what replaces their Bimmers. Can´t wait for 2014.
As for the W272 3.0L engine, it is excellent, 14% more torque than the I6 3.0L BMW. Good MPG considering its 10-year old design. Still because of the 7G, the C300 is 10% slower. So you would a 25% performance leap if the 7G "responded" as well as other manufacturers transmissions. Three 3-Series owners in the family are actually jealous of the C300's engine, and two have sold theirs, we will see what replaces their Bimmers. Can´t wait for 2014.
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When I bought my 09 c300 it has 47,200 miles on it, and I'm not sure if the previous owner did the Transmission fluid change. and I wanted to change the fluid. I could get the Shell ATF134 locally from a shell distributor. any member here using Shell ATF134, any change on the car performance ? thank you
Thanks
