chamnya

Hi guys,

had a quick question..here is the background. just bought an E430 4matic still under extended warranty for 11 months or so. has 74k on it. had some vibration issues and replaced all 4 tires. continental extreme contact. i think it feels good so far (200 miles). purchased an installed at a honda dealership because of their unbeatable price. i am yet to get them aligned at MB dealership (coz honda said they cudnt do it on this vehicle).

so here is a new phenomenon that started RIGHT after getting new tires (atleast i dint notice it before that) - car shifts gears weird before 20mph. so if i am at stop sign and accelerate from there, it has some lag and then thursts..then it goes ok for 5-6 mph and then it does the same thing with that weird gear shift..then it just runs like a dream..not sure what happens here

things that were done recently
both front shocks replaced and one f.axle boot replace (all at dealership)

i cant explain exactly how it runs but it feels a little weird..can anybody telediagnose the problem?

thanks a lot,

chamnya

Ok forgot to mention a couple of things-

previous owner says he had transmission fluid changed within last 10k miles.
also, it doesnt shake at any speed at all..it just runs smooth after 20 mph.

please help.

chamnya

No replies?

MBE430!

I live in New England, so it gets cold here around this time of year. I have the same problem. i just let the car warm up for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of the day (first start). If I don't let it warm up, I have the same problems that you are having. And after driving it for a couple of minutes the problem goes away.

Also, since I commute to Boston everyday. Once and a while in traffic, the car tends to shift a little wacky, but that has not happened in a couple of months (knock on wood).

Hope this helps.

fosmith

I can't imagine how new tires would affect how the transmission shifts. However, these cars have adaptive transmissions, that is, the transmission adapts how it shifts based on how you drive the car. I find if I'm really gentle with the accelerator, the car will try to stay in a high gear to improve economy. Then, when I want to accelerate, it has to shift down, causing somewhat of an hesitation. If I'm a little more aggressive with the gas pedal, the car tends to stay in a lower gear and is more instantly responsive to throttle inputs. Of course, then my gas mileage goes down...

Fred

Yacht Master

Your car may be in W mode and starting out in second gear, as you require more power it downshifts to first then back up to second.
I would suggest you try S mode that way the car will start in first gear and have better acceleration with out down shifting.
One other thing to have checked is the transmission fluid level, it requires a special tool and must be exactly correct or you will have shift problems.

chamnya

I doubted that new tires had to do anything with it. Cold might have to do (ironic isn't it? my ford doesn't do that)

so will it help to take to a dealership or suck it up and keep driving? it improved a little bit after i did ECU reset..but still has lag in lower gears..

thanks again,

chamnya

I have it in S mode since i tried both modes. will look into transmission fluid level.

thanks for your suggestions.