cagefighter

I have an 04 E320 with 50k miles that I recently purchased certified pre-owned from my MB dealer. Although I am incredibly pleased with both the vehicle and purchase price, there is one issue that is of some concern. The transmission shifts very early (I drive in S mode) and frequently needs to downshift to accelerate moderately. The transmission keeps revs at or below 2K rpm when cruising and seems reluctant to downshift. It almost feels like the torque convertor is locked all the time. In other words, when I give it gas at say between 20-45mph, the tach needle does not rise freely but rises with road speed. My 540i(124Kmi) and GS300 (37k mi.) both shift like butter and seem to always want to go (gs power is on par with E but feels more responsive). Don't get me wrong, The E is far and away my favorite but shifting just feels sluggish. I've done the sneaky ECU reset and noticed some improvement and I'm aware of the glycol contamination test. However, my issue isn't really low speed jerking but rough, reluctant shifts. Is this just the way its supposed to feel or is there a problem? any ideas/thoughts? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks.

SZMB

I just recently bought a 2004 E500 CPO. I've driven BMWs (both 3 & 5 series) for a long time. The E is not shifting as smooth as the Bimmers, sometimes it's a little jerky when shifting up/down the gears. I noticed that it's especially jerky when driving in the manual mode. When you down shift hard, it's very jerky since the transmission does not match the rev very well. In the Bimmers, the engine and trans rev are matched quite well, thus a silky smooth transition. I've recently test drove the 07 C320 and the 08 C350, MB has improved a lot in both the engine and transmission. It's much less jerky in these two new models, and the performance is more like Bimmers. Even with 302HP in the E500, it does not feel like "power at your finger tips", you can't cut in and out of traffic with precision. But in the 225HP 530i, it's like power at your command... But the MBs are more comfortable and more luxurious.

cagefighter

For the past two mornings the car has bucked when coasting downhill at parking lot speeds. I hadn't noticed low speed jerking before but now i think i might really have a problem here. It feels like a teenager learning how to drive a stick! This particular problem has led me to make an appointment with the dealer in the hope that they can sort it out. Any thoughts? Glycol issue? torque convertor? software?

xxwhitecastlexx

have you tried doing the ecu reset?

starbrite

Re read the OP: " I've done the sneaky ECU reset and noticed some improvement and I'm aware of the glycol contamination test"

jmeds1

cagefighter, let me know too if your dealer find anything wrong. I have the same problem when i'm rolling down at parking lot speed.

Vik888

There are probably some tranny bulletins for this sort of problem. I've read them in this forum for w211's.

konigstiger

Mention DTD P-B-27.20/78 AUG06 and P-B-27.60/43c FEB07 to address both torque converter and glycol concerns.

cagefighter

Thanks konigstiger. I'll mention those when it goes to the dealer shortly. Will keep everyone posted.