Brian_I.

Is there away to adjust the accelerator pedal so that it doesn't take as much pressure to give the car some gas? I was just curious if your gas pedals are like this as well. I have to really put some back into it when pressing down on the pedal and I'm no lightweight neither. It's so bad that sometimes in traffic I get cramps in my right leg from pressing so hard!
The worst part is, when I drive somebody else's car or hop into my Expedition, everyone gets whip-lash because I, out of habit, press down on the gas with all my might.

mmgrad

Hmm... what car do you have again?

My 430 doesn't seem to be that hard to depress the gas pedal... the brakes aren't bad either...

If you wanna know what a tight pedal is... try the brakes on an ML or an old C-class... man, your legals will be sore after a half hour traffic jam... good part is, at least you'll get nice calf muscles afterwards... hehehe

Brian_I.

I have the 320 (didn't do my research before buying otherwise would have gone with the 430) and it's a '99.

BTW, my wife did mention that my calves are looking more "buffed".

Brian_I.

I guess no one else is having this problem. I'll just drop the subject.

heeman

I actually have the same problem. Mine's a '98 230 Kompressor. I am so used to it now that I hardly notice it.
I just use the cruise control on the highways. I can almost drive to and from work just using my hands

mmgrad

unfortunatley, that can only be achieved in LA highways between the hours of 9pm & 5am... sigh....

Petrol Head

I find that it requires a high force to initally get the pedal moving initially. Seems to have a high 'sticktion' before the pedal moves - I too would like a pedal with a softer spring.

Brian_I.

Finally, someone who feels my pain. Even the freakin' brake pedal is like that. I have to switch to Neutral every time I'm at a stand-still just to give my leg a rest.

There's got to be an adjustment somewhere to soften it up a bit.

mmgrad

Argggh... be a man...
j/k.... hmm, i don't seem to have that problem. Is your seat positioned really far back? kinda ghetto style?

Cause if you are seated more for the COOL look, rather than for comfort, that sometimes plays a role.... if so, move your seat closer a little.... that will help immensely

Brian_I.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head. I do have my seat pretty far back but it's cause I feel dorky all up on the steering wheel. I always feel like your chair should line up with the back of your window, but in the CLK that is pretty far back. And I'm only 5'10"!
I'll try it out with the chair in the "proper" position and see if that helps. My leg feels like when you pull a muscle in your lower calve. I'm not exaggerating either.

mmgrad

i knew it... you gansta wanna-be...

yeah, when your foot can barely reach the pedal, it makes it harder on your foot... you gotta exert a lot more energy to depress it....

here is a compromise you can try... if you want the seat to be far back, but still not tear up any ligaments while driving... try setting the seats a little lower to the ground... it makes it easier on your legs... but the COMPROMISE is that your view over the hood won't be as great... give that a try if you wanna keep that ghetto look

Petrol Head

I don't think it's the seat position as I drive the car with the seat in a non-gangsta stylee but more in accordance with Police Advanced driver position. Other cars I drive regularly (BMW 330i, MINI Cooper S, and various other cars with a throttle cable as opposed to 'drive by wire' (like the previously mentioned cars and the CLK) do not exhibit such a high initial depression force. After this force, if you do not then quickly ease off to compensate, I find the car shoots off like a scalded cat. I've become accustomed to this, however slow speed tight maneouvres need care on the throttle. For a linear pedal load, the output response of the vehicle is not linear - Just seems to be a poor selection of spring loading/pedal mechanism, output response of the throttle pedal voltage vs. amount of travel and engine calibration.

Brian_I.

Couldn't have said it better myself.
So is there a solution to this problem?

Petrol Head

I know what the symptom is, but I don't know whether there is a solution to it. I'm thinking possibly to take the pedal asembly off and having a look - I'll wait until I get some new pedal pads/finishers. It may be a simple case of lubricating the hinge/pivot point. If it's the spring force or the potentiometer travel that is causing the 'initial high force' requirement, then there's nothing possible I guess Typically, there is no obvious adjustments for a drive by wire system as the pedal spring is set and the engine software/calibration would not have any adjustment for the two throttle input voltages as it's a safety critical signal.

tokomo

I have CLK320 Y2000 and mind is smooth...

I have noticed that if you don't put your feet up against the pedal the pedal may feel stiff....meaning if your toes are not pressing the top of the pedals it will feel bit hard...

I used to drive by pressing the middle section of the gas in my other cars but for MB, it will make your gas feel heavier...

I think this was done so that a jerk from your leg won't depress the gas as much compared to other cars...You can even tell by looking at the mechanics of how the gas is structured in CLK compared to your other cars...

Petrol Head

The gas pedal of the Cooper S and BMWs I drive have similar mechanics compared to the CLK, i.e. the pivot point is on the floor. Granted other cars have a different mechanism; being suspended off the floor.

tokomo

I see..

Have you checked the pedal cable adjustment???
For mind it is located on the upper right side under the hood...
You will see a steel cable hooked up with a ring spring......if you losen that up it will help you losen the pedals a bit...

Don't do it too much though then you will lose some of the gas pedal range..meaning if you wanted to press the pedal all the way for 100% engine performance......after losing it up you might only get 80% because the pedal will floor out before the cable does...

another thing is change that spring ring....yours might be stiffer then the ones that they have now....

I hope this helps....

I suggest mark it first so that you can always put it back to default...

Petrol Head

Thanks, I'll have a look. I'd assumed the CLK has a drive by wire throttle as opposed to a throttle cable; this is because when cruise is activated, the pedal does not move if the car 'resumes' to a higher speed.

rkloster

I reccall reading an article years ago, that American car makers found that a heavier throttle spring gave the illusion of a more powerful engine. That is, Joe Public equated pedal force with apparent horsepower. Maybe just an urban legend, but after thinking about it for awhile it may be partially correct. At least for the public at large.

bbearden

Lookina at the system in my car, it looks like the part that is causing all the trouble is the ring spring, located hear the throttle position sensor. I don't know if you can go to Mercedes and change the rate of the spring to something softer. They may consider this a liability to them in the event your throttle sticks (which is more likely to happen with a softer spring). The rest of the system is just a pedal connected mechanically to a steel cable that runs to the ring spring. The rest is throttle by wire and is electronic so go chase down a softer spring to fit that throttle position sensor.