How do I get my 2019 C43 to start off in 2nd
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From: Portland, OR
C450, GLC43
I test drove a '19 C43 coupe and it starts in 2nd gear in C and E. My '17 GLC43 does it and so does my C450. On inclines and from could start they will sometimes start from 1st and then after my first full stop they start from 2nd.
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C190
There is no E mode on a ‘19. You might be mistaken and it might have been an ‘18.
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C190
In Xentry under ME control unit, I could not find this option. Are you sure about it.
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From: Portland, OR
C450, GLC43
Come to think of it, I think it was an '18 C43 and a '19 E53 that we drove. The E53 definitely starts from 2nd in C. It seems strange that MB would change this for the '19C43. Have any other MY19 owners confirmed this is a feature change or is this unique to your car?
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From: Phoenix
2019 C43 Sedan
Mine starts in 1st
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C190
All 2019 C43 start in 1st in all modes.
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From: Portland, OR
C450, GLC43
BTW, I also wanted to dispel this idea of a short 1st gear being an issue. The 2019 C43 and C63 have the same 1st gear ratio. The C43 has a slightly higher final drive ratio, so the effective ratio in first gear is slightly higher than in the C63. The C43 not factoring in any losses puts about 6307 lbs of torque to the wheels in first gear at peak engine torque and the C63S 7785 lbs. Short gears and high torque can be a hand full, but if that were the issue, the C63S would be even harder to move off, but I'm not seeing folks having issues with bunny hopping and such in the C63S. I certainly don't. I don't find the first gear to be too short for comfortably moving off. Now AWD vs 2WD certainly makes a difference. It's harder to spin 4 wheels than it is 2 wheels so AWD generally has more shocks going through the drivetrain than an RWD car, because it faces more resistance from the tires, but then it also has a higher loss in the drivetrain than RWD, so I do have a tough time comprehending the issues some people are reporting with the C43 in 1st gear. If they were that bad, I would expect them to be worse in the C63 and even more compounded by the clutch vs torque converter, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Here are links to the specs with gear ratios and everything for the sedan for those that are interested.
https://www.media.mbusa.com/releases...specifications
https://www.media.mbusa.com/releases...shedDescending
Here are links to the specs with gear ratios and everything for the sedan for those that are interested.
https://www.media.mbusa.com/releases...specifications
https://www.media.mbusa.com/releases...shedDescending
I agree. The bunny hop isn't mechanical. I think it's the throttle mapping. It's too aggressive at initial pedal travel. In S+ at less than 50% throttle my GLC43 is at WOT and holding gear to redline. It's not linear either. In the other drive modes I have to actually floor it to hit WOT.
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C190
No, it’s the same. I regularly drive my friends ‘18 Coupe and the throttle response is similar, but the good part is that it can start in 2nd. For my ‘19 whenever I feel any onset of funny behaviour with the car taking off, I let go of the throttle so it doesn’t happen, but I can see how it could get worse if continued. There’s really no excuse for the bad throttle mapping for the C43, it’s not like this car is a super high performance car and have such bad manners. All the other competing makes like BMW or Audi don’t have such a problem. I drove a C63S over a weekend and it doesn’t even have this problem.
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
I agree. The bunny hop isn't mechanical. I think it's the throttle mapping. It's too aggressive at initial pedal travel. In S+ at less than 50% throttle my GLC43 is at WOT and holding gear to redline. It's not linear either. In the other drive modes I have to actually floor it to hit WOT.
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C190
One of these days I'm gonna have to see if I can drive a C43 in a more normal setting. I did drive one on the track in S+, and I didn't feel any issues with the throttle mapping as we were slowly pulling out of the pit lane and coming to a smooth stop in the pit lane after the laps. Neither during the lap. The throttle from what I remember was pretty linear and allowed for smooth acceleration out of the corners. It was during the AMG Driving Academy, so I would think those are pretty well run in cars and obviously have seen some pretty aggressive driving on the track. S+ is really not meant nor suited for normal driving around town, and I still suspect that some of these cars may have learned some bad habits from driving the car in the wrong mode and perhaps too much stop and no go to really collect enough data and adapt the transmission. I can tell from my C63S, that it really took several thousand miles for it to feel right and be in sync with my driving style and at over 9000 miles it still seems to get better as I'm driving it in my typical settings.
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Joined: Feb 2016
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From: Portland, OR
C450, GLC43
One of these days I'm gonna have to see if I can drive a C43 in a more normal setting. I did drive one on the track in S+, and I didn't feel any issues with the throttle mapping as we were slowly pulling out of the pit lane and coming to a smooth stop in the pit lane after the laps. Neither during the lap. The throttle from what I remember was pretty linear and allowed for smooth acceleration out of the corners. It was during the AMG Driving Academy, so I would think those are pretty well run in cars and obviously have seen some pretty aggressive driving on the track. S+ is really not meant nor suited for normal driving around town, and I still suspect that some of these cars may have learned some bad habits from driving the car in the wrong mode and perhaps too much stop and no go to really collect enough data and adapt the transmission. I can tell from my C63S, that it really took several thousand miles for it to feel right and be in sync with my driving style and at over 9000 miles it still seems to get better as I'm driving it in my typical settings.
Yeah I've done the AMG DA too and played with all the toys. Remember, for low speed maneuvering a smooth track surface is much more forgiving than a rutted up city street. There really is no comparison. Even the parking lot at Laguna Seca where we ran the auto X and skid pad courses was silky smooth compared to the streets I drive at home.
Personally, I've only encountered the bunny hop on rough or uneven pavement surfaces which is the condition of most US roads these days.
As far as drive time, I have 28k miles on the GLC43 so break-in is not an issue.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
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From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Yeah I've done the AMG DA too and played with all the toys. Remember, for low speed maneuvering a smooth track surface is much more forgiving than a rutted up city street. There really is no comparison. Even the parking lot at Laguna Seca where we ran the auto X and skid pad courses was silky smooth compared to the streets I drive at home.
Personally, I've only encountered the bunny hop on rough or uneven pavement surfaces which is the condition of most US roads these days.
As far as drive time, I have 28k miles on the GLC43 so break-in is not an issue.
Personally, I've only encountered the bunny hop on rough or uneven pavement surfaces which is the condition of most US roads these days.
As far as drive time, I have 28k miles on the GLC43 so break-in is not an issue.
Last edited by superswiss; Nov 17, 2019 at 07:02 PM.
