Tranny Shifting Question
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Iowa
98 C43, 86 Porsche 951, 98 Volvo S70 T5M
Tranny Shifting Question
I've heard about the tranny shiffting wierd and acting like it had a mind of its own. Sometimes it doesn't always downshift for me like I'd want, but what worries me is that it sometimes holds first gear way too long when first started. At first it was only for a few seconds in the morning, but lately it has been really cold (around 0 F) and it doesn't shift out of first for up to a minute. This is definitely not making me feel good about the tranny. Anybody have an idea on what is going on?
Thanks.
Thanks.
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From: San Francisco, CA
1996 C36 AMG, 1995 Volvo 850 Turbowagon
that's normal. enigne is merely trying to warm up asap. and yes, it won't downshift sometimes. just toggle the gear selector down to the next gear urself.. manual even mentions something like that iirc..
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From: NorCal
'99 C43, '12 C63, '13 E350, '14 Sprinter
Even my old 190E does this a lot when cold. The cold spell we had here recently made it worse than I recall. Sometimes I'd be at 25+ MPH before it would hit second. Not unusual if it were a stick, but when warm this thing seems to be so anxious to shift to 2nd that it's a little disconcerting when you aren't used to it.
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09 335i 03 CLK55 AMG
We've been around 25 degrees F here in NY...and unless I wait awhile until the engines at at least 40 the shifting seems to not be as smooth as when its warmed up at 80. Just have to give the car some time in the morning to warm up but its definately normal.
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Iowa
98 C43, 86 Porsche 951, 98 Volvo S70 T5M
Wow, I've never seen this before. The wife's Subaru shifts out of first just fine. I'm talking about the car holding first up to 5000+ rpm and not letting go for sometimes up to a minute. That is something that I wouldn't have expected from a MB car. It makes driving really unsafe as I can only go about 25 mph.
This leads into my next question. If it is a warmup thing I'm thinking maybe my thermostat is stuck open. I can drive all the way to work and the car will barely be above 40. It is about a 10 minute drive and the Volvo will be fully warmed up about half way. Maybe that is part of the problem?
Thanks for the replies.
This leads into my next question. If it is a warmup thing I'm thinking maybe my thermostat is stuck open. I can drive all the way to work and the car will barely be above 40. It is about a 10 minute drive and the Volvo will be fully warmed up about half way. Maybe that is part of the problem?
Thanks for the replies.
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From: San Francisco, CA
1996 C36 AMG, 1995 Volvo 850 Turbowagon
my volvo does the same thing, no higher rpm lightup and no delayed shift. (btw, u should visit us at volvospeed if u haven't already, ur s70t5m is in high demand/good company.)
5000 is awfully high, but i guess it doesn't get really cold here in sf. usually with temperatures 30F-50F, and depending on throttle position, the car won't shift out until its like 3500 rpm or so.. especially relevant in 1st or 2nd gear...
what i did find a few weeks ago is that the car didn't go higher than halfway on the temperature gauge when outside was hovering around 40F. normally, it gets closer to 80-100 when it's 90F outside. maybe i have a thermostat problem..
5000 is awfully high, but i guess it doesn't get really cold here in sf. usually with temperatures 30F-50F, and depending on throttle position, the car won't shift out until its like 3500 rpm or so.. especially relevant in 1st or 2nd gear...
what i did find a few weeks ago is that the car didn't go higher than halfway on the temperature gauge when outside was hovering around 40F. normally, it gets closer to 80-100 when it's 90F outside. maybe i have a thermostat problem..
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From: bay area
98 C43 AMG, 93 190E 2.6
Even my old 190E does this a lot when cold. The cold spell we had here recently made it worse than I recall. Sometimes I'd be at 25+ MPH before it would hit second. Not unusual if it were a stick, but when warm this thing seems to be so anxious to shift to 2nd that it's a little disconcerting when you aren't used to it.
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From: right near da beach, boyeee!
99 civic EK hatchback
don't jump the gun yet. first off make sure your trans fluid is not low(assuming you own a trans dipstick to check the level). if level is ok, you need to find out if there are stored codes in the trans control unit. gonna need a shop for this one. if no codes present, have them adapt the shift adaptation. if after doing all these the problem is still present, then you can either have a bad valve body, trans, or control unit, or a combination of the three. but like i said, don't jump the gun yet. gotta check the basics first. hope i can help.
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From: Iowa
98 C43, 86 Porsche 951, 98 Volvo S70 T5M
Thanks for the replies. I just got the tranny flushed by a guy who does MBs on a regular basis. Hopefully that is ok. I'll have the shop check for codes.
As far as Volospeed, I've been on there for over 3 years. Love my Volvo, but driving the Benz is pure fun. The kicked in the pants feeling of the Turbo 5 is pretty fun, but the low end torque and RWD of the Benz is better. If the S70 was a RWD car it would fare a lot better against the other Euro Cars, but it isn't. I do miss the huge power surge from a roll, but not roasting the front tires all the time. Torque steer? Whats that?
As far as Volospeed, I've been on there for over 3 years. Love my Volvo, but driving the Benz is pure fun. The kicked in the pants feeling of the Turbo 5 is pretty fun, but the low end torque and RWD of the Benz is better. If the S70 was a RWD car it would fare a lot better against the other Euro Cars, but it isn't. I do miss the huge power surge from a roll, but not roasting the front tires all the time. Torque steer? Whats that?
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Iowa
98 C43, 86 Porsche 951, 98 Volvo S70 T5M
A quick update. Now that the weather is back in the 30s, I don't really have this problem anymore. Got the Thermostat changed and that helped a little. I'm wondering if it was partly tranny flush followed by cold weather. Sometimes a flush can cause some crap to dislodge. Things are working ok now, *knock on wood* and I'm fairly happy.
My username on VS is Inlineturbo.
My username on VS is Inlineturbo.
