Nevada Jack

I have received the info I wanted and the ADS is independent of the transmission. The confusion stems from the "C/S" button found in passenger cars (formerly "W/S") which did change the shift point on the transmission.

The Comfort/Sport button for ADSII is simply the amount of play the airmatic system will allow on the shocks when in a specific mode.

So that is it...no transmission involvement and no starting in 2nd gear in Comfort mode.

This is solid information, not somebody's opinion. I may have more specific details later on and will post when I get it.

Stoneseller

That was my understanding of how things worked as well. I assumed I knew all about what did what, until I looked at this page:

http://www.mbusa.com/models/features...50&class=08_GL

Where I read the 550 does indeed feature trans behaviors like the S & E series.
Label me confused too

Nevada Jack

Yes...having owned a '03 E320 and then a S430 and S550, I assumed the C/S button on the GL550 would have the same transmission involvement as the passenger models. But that is not the case.

Comfy_Couch

Very interesting discussion, folks. I'm still confused, though, as to the answer to my original question regarding a purported "driver selectable Comfort Mode," which I haven't been able to find. Since I have no C/S switch on my dash, it sounds like this feature just doesn't exist on a GL320 (i.e. MB is wrong), regardless of whether it's related to such a switch. Thoughts?

Nevada Jack

The C/S switch is only on GL's with ADSII option. This option is standard on the GL550 and on the GL450 when you have the Off-Road-Package (ORP) option. The GL320 does not have the ADSII option available or the ORP option so it does not have the C/S switch.

AsianML

NJ has pretty much confirmed my suspicions. However, for those that want to see for themselves, perhaps an easier way is to try this (if you have the button):

1. Put it in C mode.
2. Set the transmission gear limiter to 2nd.
3. Give it a little more than 1/4 throttle so the needle jumps to over 2,500 rpm. Any less throttle input and the tranny may upshift before you notice it. I don't know the shift and throttle parameters of the GL550 so I'm not sure if this would help or not.

If it does not upshift then it started out in 2nd. If it does upshift then it started out in 1st and the C/S button does not control the transmission.

Stoneseller

I have one last question on this subject for 550 owners.
As I understand, the 550 has a push button simply labeled C/S?
Or, does it have a 3 position rocker type switch?

My ORP 450 has the rocker style switch, complete with an icon of an air shock in the center.

Nevada Jack

The 550 has the same switch as you have on the ORP 450.

Wolfgang

Yes. As you discussed the offroaders do not have the same C/S switch as the passenger cars to switch the transmission between comfort and sport mode.

Instead in the offroaders without the ORP offroad program the "offroad mode switch" shown below selects between the normal onroad transmission characteristic and the off-road transmission characteristic mode.

Some of this is covered in the online manual for the M-Class:
http://www4.mercedes-benz.com/e/cars...56.html#N1BC15