E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

E280cdi 7g auto box problems! already!

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Old Oct 2, 2007 | 05:33 PM
  #1  
1NDYT's Avatar
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E280CDI Avantgarde Sal & E320CDI Avant Est
E280cdi 7g auto box problems! already!

I have a Sep05 E280cdi with what seems like gearbox problems on my 7g box. I have searched previous threads and no one seems to have had the same problem. Whats the problem i hear you asking....it seems as though the kickdown stops working intermittently, a real eye opener when overtaking on a country lane!

I've had it checked at the dealers (Worcester. UK) and have been told that they can't see any problems with it (there's a first!). Was actually told to bring it in when it happens so that they can try and ID the problem. The way i see it is that i have 1 of 3 options;

1.Wait till the problems gets worse so i can't risk driving it,
2. Wait till i have an accident at a roundabout while pulling out! or
3. Keep driving round Worcestershire until it reoccurs or i run out of fuel!

Can anyone help?
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Old Oct 3, 2007 | 03:50 AM
  #2  
LeslieRushforth's Avatar
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From: CHESTERFIELD U.K.
E320 CDI W211
Turbo lag

Yes ...I know what you mean.
The car when under 1200 rpm when you hit the gas pedal HARD (diesel)... very much lack of power,..infact just stops.
The best way round this is NOT to hit the gas to hard.....a little practice on the pedal helps to learn.
My E320 does this it is turbo lag.It is frustrating.
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Old Oct 3, 2007 | 04:44 AM
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190D 2.5 (x2), 190E 2.6, W202 C240,W202 C43 (C55), W210 E55, W212 E250CDI
does it only happen after sitting at a constant speed and load for a while (freeway driving) but not around town?


I have seen to older CDI's with varible vane turbos get a wear spot on the adjustment lever. Basicly it won't fault when driven around normally, but get it on cruise control for 15-20mins at a constant speed then try and accelerate and the turbo vanes are very stiff to move and respond slowly.

Shouldn't be as much of an issue with the V6 because they are electrically controled, not by vaccum.

The other thing is to make sure you're not comfusing a engine fault with the gearbox downshifting. Remember to get from 7th back to 3rd or 4th for overtaking can take a little longer than 5th-3rd like the old boxes.
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Old Oct 3, 2007 | 01:49 PM
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..me again.

Thanks for the reply gents. The problem isn't one of Turbo lag, its worse than that. When i do get this problem i can put my foot all the way down and it doesn't kickdown at all. It just seems to accelarate gently untill the rev range is high enough to get the next gear.

One thought did occur to me after reading your replies is that it could be a fault with the turbo and not the gearbox. Not sure how the mechanics on one of thes e things work. Is the turbo activated first on full throttle in order to get the kickdown to work

....your thoughts on this would be appreciated..must go
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Old Oct 4, 2007 | 03:19 AM
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190D 2.5 (x2), 190E 2.6, W202 C240,W202 C43 (C55), W210 E55, W212 E250CDI
something else which you can easily try is to check how fast you are increasing throttle to full. If you do it slowly then it will tend to hold the gear it's in and accelerate slowly. If you press it to full very quickly then it will react as if you want to accelerate quickly.

If you haven't had a benz "drive by wire" benz before then you probably haven't realised that this is how they respond.
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Old Oct 4, 2007 | 05:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Ausmbtech
something else which you can easily try is to check how fast you are increasing throttle to full. If you do it slowly then it will tend to hold the gear it's in and accelerate slowly. If you press it to full very quickly then it will react as if you want to accelerate quickly.

If you haven't had a benz "drive by wire" benz before then you probably haven't realised that this is how they respond.
Another way to overcome the gear change/turbo lag scenario particularly when you have your foot off the throttle for more than a few moments and hit the brakes: when decelerating very fast, prior to acellerating very fast, hold the shift lever to the left while decelerating followed by holding the shift lever to the right to get the gear into ideal mode prior to flooring it. Seems to work for me.
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Old Oct 4, 2007 | 12:28 PM
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Many people with the I-6 engine have had problems with the EGR valve at about 30-40k miles. The care behaves exactly like this, doesn't set off a code or check engine light, and puts the car in limp-home mode. When the car is restarted, it acts just fine for a while. Its an easy fix, and should be covered by MB.
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Old Oct 4, 2007 | 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by 1NDYT
..me again.

Thanks for the reply gents. The problem isn't one of Turbo lag, its worse than that. When i do get this problem i can put my foot all the way down and it doesn't kickdown at all. It just seems to accelarate gently untill the rev range is high enough to get the next gear.

One thought did occur to me after reading your replies is that it could be a fault with the turbo and not the gearbox. Not sure how the mechanics on one of thes e things work. Is the turbo activated first on full throttle in order to get the kickdown to work

....your thoughts on this would be appreciated..must go
It's easy to tell whether the problem is with the transmission or just turbo lag. Does the transmission downshift, based on what you see with the tach?

I test drive a lot of cars, and have noticed in a few lately that even when floored the transmission will sometimes refuse to downshift. I noticed this in the new C300, and the new Honda Accord (US).

I suspect the problem is that the fancy transmission programming that supposedly learns your driving style isn't as smart as it's cut out to be.

With the Mercedes transmission, isn't it possible to tap the lever to engage a sport mode, where the transmission will react more quickly? I learned of this after my test drive of the C300, it might have helped.
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Old Oct 8, 2007 | 04:02 PM
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It does have a few miles on it, 85k to be precise so i'm thinking may be it is that EGR problem that traumatic mentioned.

I did read on another thread that some of the guys were resetting there gearbox memory by turning the ignition key to start and then holding the accelerator with engine still switched off for about 15secs and then turning the ignition to off while leaving the key in there.

Not 100% sure that this works on E280Cdi 7g boxes but i tried it anyway and the car hasn't misbehaved since so i'm hoping that its been sorted.

Apparently my dads 2003 e320 cdi had the same issue and he said he just parked up switched engine off for a minute which sorted the problem....but then my dads memory isn't that good and he may have just made it up!
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