HBerman

My transmission stays in gears 2-3 for the first mile or so after the car has been off for a while. It stays around 2000 rpm for speeds below 25 MPH.
If I accelerate beyond this speed it will upshift. Once I have travelled the 1st mile, the shift patterns revert to normal. There is no difference between "E" or "S" programs.
I remember that in my C300 that there was a design point to hold the transmission in lower gears to warm up the catalytic convertor for emmisions control. Anyone else aware of this behavior. The transmission is smooth as silk the rest of the drive.

Dema

Perhaps it is done for better fuel economy. Until your engine didn't warm up, it is better to stay on lower gears.

Tjdehya

I dont know what the reason is but its the same with my 09 E550 and my previous Dodge Hemi. Its a V8 thing I guess. It also has hard downshifts untill the car warms up.

HBerman

This happens even when the temperature gauge shows 90 degrees C from the engine being shut down an hour before. I suspect that sensors on the converter are driving the behavior.

Dema

I am not a mechanical engineer, so it was just my hypothesis. Anyway, if you try to object the behavior, I guess you can switch in manual mode and override gear selection.

blackbullit

I have also noted this shift pattern in my 2010 E550. Glad to hear others also have this. Has anyone taken to dealer to have checked?

HBerman

I talked to my salesperson this AM who confirmed that this is normal behavior for the E550. It has something to do with the emissions control system.