Q2SUPHOMIES

I was wondering if it is safe to shift up and down with the auto trainy without major wear and tear...and can the clk handle some hard driving or should i baby it...Thanks

King320

my CLK has 90k+ miles and i use the autostick all the time. I wouldnt worry about it. Before you change gears a computer decides whether or not the speed is safe for the gear and then either will or will not switch the gear. Be reasonable, but i wouldnt be overly cautious. but dont do things like shifting into 1st above 10mph, etc. Obvious stuff like that

Q2SUPHOMIES

can i drive the car hard...i know mustang is not a benz ...but i beat the hell out of my gt and it ran great....is it ok to run it quite a bit...i wouldn't run it to the level of a stang...because its more a cruzin vehicle for me...but im just worried im going to run to the bank everytime i get into it. thanks

Chappy

Yes. Drive it hard and enjoy

str8ridin

Yes, it can be driven hard, but you just increase the chances of something breaking. And a Mustang is easy and cheap to fix. A Benz is not. So be careful and have fun, but don't abuse.

BTW, have you priced a new CLK trannsmission lately?

Between $6-$9K. So, the choice is yours.

mmgrad

just make sure that if you gonna break it that you do so before the warranty runs out

moa4r

I personally would avoid shifting with the automatic, it wasn't really meant for that kind of use and would likely cause and tranny failure

Q2SUPHOMIES

How often does a tranny go out in it's entirety..or is it usually just a part or two needed to fix the tranny...Thanks

Chappy

I've never heard that before. Could you please elaborate?

moa4r

if its a pre-2000 model with no tip, then I don't think you should be changing the gears manually while driving bcs it wasn't designed for that

Chappy

I see your point (I don't know what year Q2SUPHOMIES CLK is). So, you are saying it's fine with MY 2000 + ?

moa4r

hey, I'm not an expert, but I know people who have jacked up their transmissions trying to get fancy w/them. I used to use the tip to downshift when coming to a stop, but I don't do it anymore bcs I heard that engine breaking is not that good for the transmission, but really who knows?!

MeNmyCLK430

Engine breaking wears out a tranny quicker... might as well use the brakes... pads are a helluva lot cheaper than a transmission. I use mine to upshift at time though

x15jq

Im not sure about you guys, but I have been shifting my 99 clk 320 manually since I got it. The downshift feature is extremely useful in traffic to hold yourself back from gaining speed.

The way I look at it, the trans kicks down anyways when you floor it, what is wrong with downshifting it while giving it like half throttle? Sometimes I just do that because I dont want to floor it, but i want it downshifted so i can merge in traffic better. Anyways, almost 6 years later my car has not had one trans problem. So until somethin happens, I wouldnt change my driving style. Simply put the auto trans is stupid and even though it is supposed to be "driver adaptive" it needs a little driver input from time to time