Hey guys, I'm seeking your help as a fresh grad who got his first MB.. Was so happy for few months then well, read on..

So I've bought a 2004 convertable CLK 320. Sweet drive. As I got it, it had so issues with the radiator and I had that changed, all good.

A month after, I started noticing gear jerk between 1st and 2nd gear when cruising at lower speeds. I took it to a local garage, they did full check up on their system.. It was called xanity or something.. It showed no issues with the gear or the car at all, they did something called gear adaptation amd boom, the issue was gone! No issues jerk or vibration at all. One month later, the issue was back..

I took it back to a mechanic and he suggested a gear oil change and gear adaptation. I did that and the car was flowless for 6 months.. Sadly few days back, the same issue returned. Its really driving me crazy because if a software adaptation fixes it for a month and more by gear oil change.. This must mean that the gear and its part must be fine, isn't it? This is driving me crazy because all local shops I went to have no clue about it and some suggest changing the whole thing which is absured given that adaptation temporary fixes it.

​​​​​​I searched a lot about it and boy there were so many different answers, PWS solinoed, MAF, gear valve, oil etc etc.. I just couldn't figure out which one is the right fix for my car.

Please, I'm humbly asking for your kind support to fix this.

 

I have a similar issue on my 550. I bought my car in early 2019. I didn't notice the issue when I test drove it (or from the PPI), but after letting my car sit for a month or so while I sold my old car and took care of various deferred maintenance stuff on the 550, I noticed the same thing as you- a jerk between the 1-2 shift and 2-3 shift when cold. It's still there when warm, it's just less noticeable. I've put about 15K miles on it since then, and the issue doesn't appear to have gotten better or worse. So there's some backstory for my issue.

From my research, I was convinced it was the TCC solenoid. My mechanic (who also researched the issue using STAR diagnostics data) wasn't sure exactly what the issue could be, but he said it's probably nothing catastrophic, at least in the near term. In reading some Yelp reviews for a nearby indy shop, I came across someone who had a similar issue which developed right after he had his transmission fluid changed (the shop used the wrong spec fluid). So now I'm on the fence between it being the TCC solenoid, or maybe the previous owner of my car changed the transmission fluid with the wrong spec fluid. Or maybe my whole transmission is s ticking time bomb. Who knows. So far, I've been too lazy and cheap to try a fluid change or TCC solenoid change.

Anyway, sorry for the long winded response, but I just though I'd share my experience in case it helps you or others. If I ever get it fixed, I'll try to post an update- if you can do the same, that would be awesome. I think we have different transmissions (I believe you have the 722.6 and I have the 722.9), but our issues seem very similar.

Best of luck to you.

 

If you sure that it jerks only from 1-2 (in comfort mode, witch is default, your mercedes takes of from 2nd gear, not first) than from what I know most of the 722.6 do that, hell even my brand new Grand Cherokee with 8 speed ZF does it (1-2 shift), especially when cold. Stupid suggestion: just use comfort mode
I had 78k miles on my transmission (also 2004 clk320) and it also was jerking when shifting from 1-2.

 

One more thing you can check is leaking transmission connector. Check that transmission oil didn't get to your TCU (located in the passenger footwell). I didn't believe that transmission oil really can get into the TCU by wires (i think under the wires isolation), but after I get there everything was soaking wet with oil.

 

Could be your lockup clutch. - Quick fix for me was just to block the TC solenoid - Effectively disabling the TC, Been running like this for almost 2 years now. No jerks at all.

 

I as well have a 2004 CLK320 Cab. I restored it to near 100% a couple year back after I saved it from a god awful previous owner. Unfortunately the trans is what it is. A awful transmission to me. My 05 CLK55 and 09 CLK350 are so smooth you don’t even feel it. For whatever reason the 04 just does this. I have done everything except rebuilt the damn thing. I just live with it or put it in C Mode.