tmukherjee

recently picked up cl500, previously had sl500 and clk 320 with 5 speeds. i notice that the seven speed "hunts" for the right gear occasionally...something i NEVER noticed with the five speed.
also on an incline the car does roll back requiring some throttle on occasion.

none of this really bothers me now and i will bring it up when i have to take the car in for its A service.

does anybody else have a similar experience with the tranny or am i ignoring a real problem?

MBZFAN55

The 7 speed transmission is a decidedly different driving experience than the 5 speed. The "7" is much busier, seemingly always searching for gears on both up and down shifting. As it enhances the performance with the additional gears and ratio, it probably also affects gas mileage by shifting very quickly, particularly from a stop. It took me months to get comfortable with this new transmission and enjoy the S500 performance. I might also add that occasionally, when there is an abrupt change in acceleration, the transmission seems to get "confused" and jerks into gear after a slight pause. I can see why there has been reluctance to bolt the 7-speed up to the 55AMG series. I think the 7-speed would be "overwhelmed".

tmukherjee

thanks for you response. my mileage is decidedly improved over my sl500. i managed 20 mpg with snow tires this morning. no complaints there

my only concern is this. have you noticed any tendency to roll backwards on a hill? i do have to apply throttle to remain stationary. this never happened on my previous cars.

any thoughts would be much appreciated