hx_guy

Not sure why this is happening as it wasn't at first, but now the car has a little over 1000 miles and I've noticed that when I drive the car after it's been sitting over night or all day, the first few miles of driving before the engine warms up, the transmission slips when it shifts. You can both hear it and also see it on the tach...it'll shift, then tach needle will jump a 200-300 RPMs and then fall back down. This is while driving the car very normally, no hard acceleration. After driving a 3-4 miles and the engine warms up to operating temperature, the shifts are normal.

Has anyone else ran into this or heard of this before? I think I need to make an appointment at the dealer.

BTW it's a 2012 E350 Bluetec.

hx_guy

I went out a shot a quick video so you guys can see exactly what I am talking about at the :04 mark and :09 second mark.

http://youtu.be/GGYd5rbbGpI

konigstiger

LI27.20-P-051537 “may” apply (transmission # range applicable) fault codes will be stored – valves clogged with wear debris.

hx_guy

Wear debris? That would be odd considering the car has just over 1000 miles on it. Guess I have to take it to the dealer and see what is going on.

mafialink

I has this same problem and it was fixed with a software update at service. Mine was a 2012 E350 4Matic

jvc300

Take it in... It may be as simple as a firmware refresh to correct the shift points. It doesn't look like slippage, but seems that the syncros seem to be off. The RPMS slightly increase to properly change gears and it seems to be on the high side.

As far was wear debris, maybe a chance if something made it into the fluid. I would get it looked at by MB asap.

just my 2 cents... Good luck and please let us know what happens.

hx_guy

Made an appointment for tomorrow morning, will follow up and let you know what they say.

hx_guy

Took the car to Mercedes a couple days ago and picked it up today. I'll have to see in the morning if the problem is fully fixed but my first impression is that the problem is still there. When I drove off the lot, it seemed to do it for the first 1/2 mile or so until the engine warmed up, though it was already pretty warm though not at full operating temperature. I'm pretty bummed if the problem is still there.

Per the service papers, they did the following:

1127 TRANSMISSION FLUID SLIGHTLY LOW, TRASMISSION ADAPTATIONS NEEDED T3123/10431-ROAD TEST VEHICLE TO VERIFY CONDITION//2-SHORT TEST PERFORM-NO RELATED CODES STORES//3-TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVEL CHECK AND ADJUST 722.9 TRANS ADD 0.7QRTS TRANS FLUID//4-TRANSMISSION ADAPTATIONS PEFROM.

listerone

I thought this was only a problem for diesels but perhaps I was wrong.I had the update...meant for Bluetecs,I assume....but it didn't fix the problem.Still bucking and hesitating for the first minute or so after morning startup.

hx_guy

Reporting back from this mornings test drive...all seems fine thankfully! Same engine temp as my previous YouTube video and the transmission did not slip.

hx_guy

So unfortunately after driving the car a little more it seems that the problem is not fixed. It's so strange because it seems so random, I went out for a test drive again and it didn't do it at first but then did it twice in a row and they didn't again for the rest of the drive. It seems a little different than before where it now almost seems like there's a thud when it shifts, like it gets kicked out of gear, the engine revs a little and then when it re-engages it's a bit harsh...but again seems very random and it happens very rarely it seems.

beb

Thanks for your post. My 12 E350 Bluetec is currently at the dealer getting the software update. *crossing fingers*

hx_guy

Please let us know how it goes but I have a feeling it won't do much for you. We still have the same "problem" but at this point, it's very minor and I've decided to just let it be and see what happens. It's under warranty for a long while so no rush and like I said, it's very minor, you really have to watch the tach sometimes to even notice it.

BenzMan369

hx guy:

I'm just curious if the car exhibits this behavior in both driving program modes: E and S?

I don't know much about the Blutec cars, but I assume it has the same trans. as the gasoline version, with these two shift program options.

Thanks.

hx_guy

I've only driven in E mode so far. I'll try S later today and see how it acts.

hx_guy

To follow up, I had a chance to check how the transmission would act in S mode and it's the same thing, maybe even a bit more pronounced than before, the shifts felt a bit harder/harsher and the RPMS still jumped a few hundred when shifting from 2-3 and 3-4.

beb

Hopefully Ill get it back today... Not sure how yours was, but mine started off a couple weeks ago and only before it reached full operating temp. Today on the way to the dealer, it would even jerk on acceleration after being warmed up! Good car, at least it doesnt hide its symptoms for the dealer :P And Im not too worried about mine with the warranty and since its a lease... Only thing I could hope for is to lemon it out so I can get my money back and get another Bluetec! *wishful thinking*

beb

D'oh! On me. They just called to say they cant find/feel any problem with acceleration. -_-;

hx_guy

Yep, that is what sucks about this problem. If you drop it off and they don't do the test on the first drive of the day when the engine is cold, then they will never see the problem. I don't know if you left yours overnight but if you didn't I suggest you do and tell them to test drive it in the morning. Hell, see if you can arrange to be there on the first test drive when the engine is cold so you can point it out exactly when it is happening.

RJC

You guys realize when the engine is cold the trans is designed to hold first gear longer than when engine is warm to get the cats heated up faster...could that be what you might be noticing?

beb

RJC - Yes, we do know that. This problem is actually more like you are in 1st accelerating and before you shift into 2nd, you see a cat in the middle of the road and tap the brake a quick millisecond. I know the E isnt a manual, but thats the best way I can describe it. Its not the typical kind of notchy shifting from being cold.

hx - They said they would keep it overnight. I told them Id be there in the morning.

hx_guy

Did you have a chance to see the video I took?

http://youtu.be/GGYd5rbbGpI

You can see at the :04 and :09 marks what I am talking about, how the transmission shifts and the tach needle jumps up as if the transmission slips.

RJC

Did the tech watch the video?

BenzMan369

Thanks very much for trying that. I also looked at your video. That behavior would cause me concern too. At least it's on record with the dealer.

Worth asking them to look at it again? (Making sure they do so under the same cold operating conditions you see the issue).

I've seen some other reports of rough shifting with late model E350's, but the "cure" seems to be adding trans. fluid or making changes to the program, both of which your dealer apparently addressed when you had it in.

beb

Got to the dealer, took a drive with the service manager and......... no issues. They probably think I am a crazy person. I need to take videos like you did, hx... But hopefully the issue is gone for good. Said I didnt need transmission software update since I was completely within specs.