munis

I am sorry to be writing this but after reading multiple threads about this problem, what I have noticed is that a lot of the people who are having this issue does not know how to drive this car. Let me just reiterate once again, bunny hop/ rodeo issues in first gear of this car is 100% user inflicted! There is nothing wrong with the car! It is a 362hp (often underrated by mercedes) car with a 9 speed transmission and you cannot expect it to behave like a frigging corolla or civic.

All these complains caused Mercedes to fix an issue which was a non issue to begin with by significantly neutering the throttle response of the car with abysmal fuel economy because the car now stays in one to two lower gears all the time. Also the throttle is almost dead at standstill. All this to address a bunch of customers who does not even know what they are getting into. Do your research better, and if you cannot handle a car like this, do not buy one!

My apologies if this is coming off as harsh. My dealership updated my car without my authorization and it is extremely frustrating now.

I never had this issue in my car for the last 1.5 years I drove it. 2 months back, one of my friend wanted to drive it, so I let him have a go and he caused it to bunny hop immediately. Which was conclusive proof that this problem is user induced. In S+ the car does not like your second guessing throttle inputs. You either go all in or very gentle, there is no midpoint. Also if it does start happening, just pull the upshift paddle! That is what it is there for! You get access to AMG Driving academy with this car. Use it if you need to! But stop complaining about non issues!

Rant Over.

Dieseldan9

iTrader: (1)

Glad your back ! !

NYCSoiL

Give it a week and you'll see another new thread complaining about this

sieglo

ShakyTom

I'm not sure if it's entirely driver error. My car definitely used to randomly hold first gear a lot longer than it usually does which lead to some bucking.

ShazV6

Munaj glad you are back my brotha.It is driver error, i had my friend drive my car and the same thing happened as you mentioned. This is why i always make sure the dealer does not do any updates on my car without telling me. Sucks that happened to your car man.

Dagger9903

THIS is why everyone should learn to drive manual first. It gives you a much better understanding of how drive train mechanics work and empowers you to drive the car in a way that elicits the response you want to get.

C43Ayemgee

This thread needs to be pinned,
and to add to the post

In Sport+, 384 lb-ft Torque @ 2k-4.2k rpm with a gear ratio of 5.35 : 1 in 1st gear, which is Very Short, Will cause the car to buck because of the power delivery. Hence why its challenging to launch the car in manual mode (Gotta be quick!)
The car is meant to perform very aggressive & responsive in sport+, This is part of the AMG characteristics implemented.

You guys should be thankful, I wouldn't want a lazy/unresponsive transmission with lazy throttle response. I Figured this out when i was driving in a residential neighborhood after having the car for a few days and it began bucking back and forth and made me look like a fool that cant drive. I quickly realized its what I stated above and thats why its happening. Like munis stated, Shift from 1st to 2nd, 2nd has a gear ratio of 3.24 and shouldn't cause the car to buck between 2nd and 3rd gear as aggressively.

Either drive fast, use paddles...or get out of sport+

Das Geld 2

Get a C63 call it a day

MVEOVR

I'd be livid. I imagine once updated there's no option to "rollback"?

mcschan86

I read threads about this about 2 weeks into having my C43 coupe when I first experienced it in this car. I read two extremes of trying to figure out the root cause of this symptom. Now, I have picked a side and moved on. I second that this is caused by the driver because I have adapted to the car. Let me share something; this effect happened on another car even before I had the C43.

I was driving a 200 hp 12 year old TSX. The car was smooth for most of its time but I started to experience similar symptom, at a smaller scale, when the car aged and when it rolled out of ramps that had bigger bumps at the curb. My habit wasn't good as my throttle foot was often hanging in mid air (i.e. ankle above ground, toes putting pressure on throttle). As I rolled off these bumpy ramps, my throttle foot reacted to my body roll, causing the foot to press the throttle on and off until the car stabilized when it was out of the ramp. At that time, my first thought was that my dangling foot was inducing the rocking effect. I adjusted my habit to have my ankle pinned to the floor more; the rocking effect happened less. On the few occasions when it happened again, I was always able to prove that my foot was hanging in mid air.

On the more powerful C43, it happened once at my test drive (S+ mode) when I slowed down on entering a 90 degree turn and sped up on the exit. The effect was much greater than when I was in the TSX. I got the C43 still.
The effect happened again twice during the first 2 weeks of ownership - once after a stop sign and once after a 90 degree right turn. I think I was either in S or S+ mode. On the stop sign, my ankle was not fixed and I let go on the gas when the car sped up more than i expected in slow zones, causing my body and foot to move back and retract from the throttle, then reapplied throttle as my body rolled back forward when the car lost some momentum from previously pressuring less on the throttle. On the 90 degree turn, I didn't go gradual on the pedal. I was used to the TSX for too long when I applied similarly heavy but rather abrupt throttle on the exit.

Based on my xp on this symptom in two different cars and my own initial thoughts that are further confirmed by others here, I'm going to conclude, for myself, that it's driver induced. I now have the C43 for about 1.5 months and have adapted to this throttle. The last time that this happened to me was the times during the first 2 weeks. I now have a fixed point on my throttle ankle and my left foot is lightly pressed against the "footrest". This helped a lot to stop the driver's body from wobbling during the drives.

ShakyTom

I fully agree it is driver induced, but I have only ever experienced it when the car unexpectedly holds first gear for longer than usual.

RichardCranium3

Sticky this ish!

munis

In S+ of course it holds the 1st gear longer! That is the whole point! Like I said you guys need to learn the car better instead of expecting it to act on your whims.

There is no doubt this is driver error Shaz. Drove several examples of the C43, never had this problem while I was driving the car.

Absolutely agreed with this. Anyone who has driven a manual knows about 1st gear sensitivity and knows how to take care of it by modulating the pedals. I think we are currently in a generation where 90% of the people have no idea of how to drive stick, hence this kind of things are being referred to as manufacturer issue where as most of the are complete user errors.

Have already considered this and will do it next year. I wanted a driver's car from the get go. Should have gone for the C63s. The C43 is an amazing drivers car too, but all this *****ing and moaning is kind of ruining it. A lot of the customers who should have gotten a C300 are cross shopping into the C43 and have absolutely zero clue about how to handle the performance that comes with it. C63 owners even if they cross shop just has to deal with it, cause Mercedes probably don't update the tranny software just for addressing sissies.

It is a one way street man. I knew this. Hence I never wanted them to update it.

munis

Agreed with everything you wrote here. In a 9speed tranny, ofcourse the 1st gear is ridiculously short. Which makes it a dream to drive this car in normal streets. Because you can make it pop and bang within reasonable speed limits in the city. And I am sure the responsiveness of the 1st gear was not a mistake by Mercedes or something, the engineers initially specifically tuned it for that I think. Of course later ruining that with an update.

On the bright side, Mercedes must have some really good engineers who are in charge of addressing these issues. If you brake boost the car, the lag does not happen. So if you are trying to launch the car at the track or trying to do a dragy run, the car overrides the usual lag now and gives you full responsiveness. I did a 0-60 run in 3.48 seconds yesterday. So it is great to know that at least the launch is unaffected by this update. I would have absolutely lost my sh*t if that was not the case. But can't afford to launch the car by brake boosting everywhere I stop now. So still severely irritated.

ShakyTom

Of course it holds first gear longer, but my car would *randomly* hold it almost to redline even without driving hard, especially shortly after the car had been started (but not cold).

munis

This has more to do with your tranny adaptations than software. The car is thinking that you want it to hold the 1st gear for longer. Hence it is not shifting. Sounds like a good trait to me. Two options, try resetting the adaptations at the dealership, or get into the habit of up shifting it using the pedals yourself, which is the far better option.

ShakyTom

Not a good trait at all, especially when it only happens once after starting the car, and then only sometimes. It should be predictable and not randomly decide to hold to redline with just a gentle foot on the pedal.

It's absolutely fine when driving with the paddles of course, but it's not unreasonable to expect the gearbox to behave in a somewhat predictable manner. Certainly when I experienced the 'bucking' it was because the car decided to hold 1st gear rather than shift into second. If I am flooring it, the car should hold 1st as long as possible, if I'm not it shouldn't (which is usually what it manages to do).

I drove an R8 for 3 years and while the gearbox certainly had its quirks, it was at least predictable and certainly never caused any 'bucking'.

munis

That is because the Mercedes adaptations are even better than the R8 then. The car remembers the last 26 shifts you have made. So if you were to redline the car in manual mode, the tranny adapts to changing late when you will be in auto next time. Hence it holds the first gear. If you want to drive the car in auto but want some sportiness, drive it in Sports instead of S+, should shift earlier. S+ has not been designed for relaxed driving.

Schnippy

Ok, I testdrove a lot of AMG's explain me why I only have this problem with the C43 ? The c63, E63S and GT-S don't have that problem when I drove those.

munis

How many of them was 9 speed? And how many of them had the 1st gear which was as short of a ratio as the one in c43?

C43Ayemgee

Lol to add to this,

Someone find a me a car with a shorter gear ratio in 1st gear than a C43, The camaro ZL1 is 10 speed (4.70 in 1st gear) and the C43 still has a shorter first gear byfar.

Can't emphasize this enough 5:35 is VERY short

Btw, Coming from a car which has long gear ratios (which drastically affects 0-60 time) I'm very happy with the 9speed and the shorter gears. Theres a reason we don't have launch control....because we don't need it.

Been searching for about 10-15 minutes with my vast car knowledge, I think the 9speed from mercedes sets the record for having the shortest 1st gear. Someone correct me if im wrong.

Mr. J

This^ is what threw me off with my GLC43. I had the bucking issue a couple of times. It occurred after some spirited driving when I entered a tight hilly neighborhood and had to maintain very slow speeds for some very acute corners in a residential area. Well... the GLC 43 held first and when I gave it a little throttle around a tight bumpy turn it bucked like crazy and nearly scared the **** out of me. The bumpy road surface definitely amplified the issue.

This issue had not happened to me before in my C450 which makes sense because the 7g has a much taller 1st gear and 2nd gear.

I usually don't drive the GLC 43 in S+ for city driving now. I use either S or C. S will hold 2nd until you come to a complete stop which is much better for city driving. It allows for smoother rolling stops through Portland's many no-stop-sign residential intersections. This is a definite adaptation from my driving style with the C450. In that car, I roll in S+ all the time on surface streets. I only go to C on the freeway.

Mr. J

C63 and GTS are 7sp dual clutch trannies. I'm not sure about gear ratios for the E63 but I bet it's much taller than the C43. Otherwise, the car would be activating stability control every time it's started from 1st gear.

munis

I know a 1st gear that short has its quirks, but I will never give up the ability to make upshift bangs at speeds as low as 35kmph.