Jake215

UPDATE: Can confirm that I put the car in standby moved the drive mode to sport and started the car, from there when I changed to drive and the car was in first gear no thud what so ever. Only way I know to technically start the car in first. If you start the car normally it will always be in comfort mode, and in second gear.

/Thread

604 C63

I gotta say....

I agree that when operating normally, this car will start in 2nd when in C.
What people seem to be missing from what Alex is saying is that his car is quite possibly NOT operating normally and so starts in first.
He concedes this is not normal.
I have never met Alex in person, but I have had enough correspondence with him to know
that I would not bet against the possibility that he is, in fact, somehow maybe possibly.....you know, correct, when it comes to his own car.

Just sayin, weirder stuff has happened.

chrisridebike8

We don't doubt that. We are just telling him to see what the car is saying on the display. Refusing to even look and assuming things is no bueno though. Had he said "I looked and it starts in 1st and I have these fault codes" we would have been like "hey dude, that's cool. Here's what you need to do." Just saying.

604 C63

Fair enough. But maybe he will. I see he hasn't been on since this discussion yesterday morning. I hate when the real world gets in the way lol.

Alex.currie44

Ok so here is the update.
Being data driven I did some testing using the AMG screen that one person insisted would debunk what I could feel in my *** and see in the tach.
The car is going in next week once they let me know they have a TCU and a selector switch.
This week she who shall be listened to was given a pencil and a piece of paper while we were out and about with lots of stop and go driving as well as a few stops along the way. She was told to mark down what gear the car started in from STOP with it in C and brake on.
ON ENGINE START UP the car always started in 2nd gear when in the comfort selection which is the default.
In 50 stop/start cycles the car started in 2nd gear only 17 times or 34% of the time. The rest of the time it started in 1st.
Totally random.
Clearly something is not right as I suspected and being intermittent probably not something that is readily noticeable until you look for it. This may explain why on occassions I can break the rear tires loose even with the ESP on in C, I know you can do it most of the time but sometimes it seems easier which would be explained by a 1st gear start.
I fully expect they will sort it out. I want it fixed before the thing comes out of warranty in March which is February 14 as far as I am concerned because I will be out of the country from then and it will be well past its expiry when I get back.

SuperFastYo

You have time, but I would still get it in ASAP. I've had crap where the techs couldnt "duplicate the issue". So I had to send it into them two or more times. Give yourself a bit of wiggle room just in case something like that occurs

chrisridebike8

Have you tried the transmission reset yet? Maybe the previous owner had some weird adaptations in there. If that doesn't work, I'd definitely get it looked at sooner rather than later. Any other symptoms like roughness or anything?

Alex.currie44

Well I am blessed with a tech who a) has years of experience in the newer cars, b) thinks hard before he spends my money, c) is not afraid to say he wants to keep the car and consult with Toronto (I have let him drive my cars home on occassion over the 8 yr I have known him) and he does everything he can to make my life easier.
That is why I drive 2hr to take the car in, 2 hr back home and repeat the cycle when the car is ready. I could go to an affiliated outfit 30 minutes away but as a dealer they suck. I have no doubt this will be A-Ok this time next week.

Alex.currie44

The engine reset was the first thing I did when I got the car 7 weeks ago. I have been doing that every 3-4 months since at least 2009 on my W211, W212 and R171 cars. It is such a neat thing to feel the change after doing it. Even she who shall be listened to feels the difference. Not that she is super mechanically inclined but she has a rep from a drive from Toronto airport to Cambridge Ontario in a Z28 in less than half the time it would take a legal speeds of 100 kph when she was a tad younger so she knows.
More people need to know about this easy reset.
I am not sure who told me but I understand that this procedure is the only one used by most techs these days to do the reset absent any coding issues.
No issues with idled, power etc. The thing still runs like the freakin' wind!
The only ***** I have with this car is it is perhaps even a bit more thirsty than what I expected. My 2011 E350 wagon in my mixed driving would give me 10.3 L/100 km. The CLA45 AMG that this replaced about 9.6L/100 so getting 12-13 is a bit of a step up at $1.35 CDN per L for premium ($3.80 USD per US Gal) but what price fun!

zcct04

Alex - I was in C yesterday and bumped the left paddle back as I rolled up to a stop light. When I accelerated off after the light changed, I realized that I had left the light in first. Further experimenting confirms, to my surprise, that the car WILL let you shift down into first even when the mode is set to C. Do you ever downshift manually while you're driving, and if so could that have been the cause of some of your 1st-gear starts?

Alex.currie44

Yes I know that but if you look at my last post that is not the issue. My testing was based on leaving it in C after start up with its 2nd gear default start and watching what happened. 66% of the time it started in 1st on its own and always random. There is more involved so it goes in this week. My suspicion talking to my service guys is they will change the TCU or the selector switch or both unless something basic shows up in the computer.
You should have noted that if you start the car in 1st manually it does not shift on its own. That is what I find whether I do down shift all the way or only part way. Whether that is normal I don't know.
My 2014 SLK 350 and 2015 CLA45 AMG would shift normally from a lower gear I had down shifted to but this one doesn't.
We will see.
Thanks for the thought but there is more here than that.

zcct04

Just FYI, the C63 IS different. If you're in M mode, the shifting is almost completely manual, controlled only by the paddles or the stick. As you come to a full stop, the car WILL automatically downshift you into first. When you give it gas, it'll wind out first and, unless you manually upshift, you'll eventually start hitting the rev limiter. Driving in a higher gear and standing on the gas does NOT cause an automatic downshift - the car stays in whatever gear you've told it to.

The paddle function in C, S or S+ is different. In these gears, the car shifts automatically and the paddles are used to determine the HIGHEST gear the car will utilize. Example - coasting at 60 in 7th gear, if you pull back the left paddle 3 times, the car will shift down to 4th. If you bring the car to a stop the car will auto-shift down thru 3, 2 and 1. If you then continue driving, the car will auto shift up from 1 to 2, 3 and into 4 - but no further unless you start tugging on the right paddle to increase the max gear.

Alex.currie44

Yes I understand the manual mode as it is no different than my W211 E, W212 E, R172 SLK and C117 CLA45 AMG.

In the latter two cars in C (Eco in the CLA45) or S if you paddled down they would go down but would go back up to 7th if you did not intervene. The CLA45 had a bit of delay and flashed at you to shift but if you didn't it would shift it for you.
It was that feature than made me realize this one, when I paddled down was not shifting back up in C, S or S+ and I would force the shift with the right paddle. It did not occur to me that it might be shifting to the last gear I selected and then holding. With its issues anything I suggest anything is possible at the moment.
I will test this idea out tomorrow. Hopefully all will be resolved by the end of the week. Thanks for the input.

chrisridebike8

Yeah. It won't upshift until redline. If the car says D1, it's starting in 1st and will hold that until redline. Dx (x being a number) is saying you will not go above x gear until redline. S, S+, and C all will act this way. For example, D4 in C mode will make the car act normally in the first 4 gears (start in 2nd and upshift normally) and then redline 4th. Hold the right paddle until just D is displayed. C, S, S+ and M are just shift modes. Have you been paddling down to D1 in C mode?

Alex.currie44

It depends on circumstances whether I downshift or not but from my testing that is not the issue as I left everything alone and did not downshift at all while testing and collecting info. It goes in Thursday so by Friday latest it should be resolved.

AMGC

Just a FYI
Was reading the manual and it said to only shift from c,S,S+ to manual mode when stopped. All other modes can change while driving.

chrisridebike8

1) that's awesome that you are actually reading the manual, unlike many people on the forums. 2) almost no one does that. Even if they do, you can still feel the car shift to first at a standstill. And if it were actually bad, they just wouldn't let you switch modes unless stopped. The only reason the manual says that is because they want to minimize that thump you feel. If anything, I would say going from C to any mode would be the worst. S, S+ and M all start from 1st. Maybe that's just my dumb logic though.

BLKROKT

Agree. Just don't switch modes while accelerating or decelerating. You want whatever mode your switching into to keep the same gear as you're currently in. I switch while driving all the time, but wait until I'm cruising at highway speed or at least under light throttle.

ecohen2

If I am not mistaken there is a difference in the shifting smoothness between the models with a torque converter and the MCT. I have the MCT and it always CLUNKS going down into first if the car is not moving slowly. If I coast to a stop, the clunk is far less severe..

In C mode the car will start second unless I am on a hill, then it drops down to first almost immediately when I get on the gas. In S, S+ and M the car always starts in 1st from a complete stop...

Ed

Alex.currie44

I am under the impression that the C63s all have the MCT. The 7G with the TC was used on all the other models in the range was it not?

chrisridebike8

2008-11 have the normal TC. The line is basically FL cars hve MCT. PFL=TC

Alex.currie44

Thanks for the info. My rule is I must learn at least one new thing each day before I can go to bed. Done for today!

Alex.currie44

Gather 'roud all you doubters and hear the word!!!
You will no doubt read the results of my testing two weeks ago which showed this car, when in C, was randomly starting in 1st gear 66% of the time with no intervention by me.
It went into my tech guys late Wednesday this week and I picked it up today.
My tech drove it home after work on Wednesday and back Thursday and confirmed what my data told me.
He ran the usual computer checks and while there were a few anomolies nothing struck him as being the cause.
Being a well experienced tech he relied on his experience. While not a common occurrence he has seen this issue on the odd one of these cars and also on a number of the lower class versions of MB cars with the abiltity to change shift patterns by using C (or E in some cars) S or M.
Based on that experience he changed out the selector switch in the console. He drove it home again Thursday and back today and it did not happen. The car started every time in 2nd.
I drove it home and every stop resulted in a 2nd gear start.
As a test I forced a 1st gear start on half a dozen occassions on the way home and as expected I had to shift it manually from there to 7th. Every time after each test cycle it returned to a 2nd gear start when I did not intervene.
So all is back as it should be and the problem resolved.
The lesson learned is there are always new things to be learned about these cars and any MB when they deviate on their own from what experts expect.

chrisridebike8

Glad you got it sorted out! Enjoy the car now!

Alex.currie44

Every day!!