Bamafan

OK, perhaps my headline is a bit over the top. But one of the key frustrations I have had with the GLE is how the transmission does not shift into "park" automatically when you turn the vehicle off. Now Consumer Reports is fighting back against these transmissions as well:

"We are also now deducting additional points from the Overall Score if a tested vehicle does not automatically return to Park or engage the parking brake when the engine is shut off."

On more than one occasion, I have the car off and stayed in it to finish a call or do some paperwork, only to look up and find myself starting to roll across the lot. When I bring it up to Mercedes, they look at me like I have three heads.

Tbone8771

Guess I've either shifted to park or opened the door prior to turning the vehicle off and never encountered it.
Good to know that it could happen though, especially on a sloped area. The potential exists for a serious injury.

pjw1967

Were you "in gear" when you shut the car off or in neutral?

GLE43_Sube

It sounds like you're used to your car automatically shifting into Park when you shut off the engine. Never having had a car that did that, I can't miss what I've never had. I instinctively keep my foot on the brake until I manually shift into Park. It's not something I have to think about or could ever forget, because I've been doing it since I first learned how to drive. Having the car shift into Neutral when you shut off the engine and Park when you open the door, are already two new features for me.

Having said that, I do agree that we should have this feature. Since the technology is already here, there's no reason not to implement this additional safety feature.

Bamafan

It shifts into neutral when the engine is shut off. It doesn't stay in gear.

Bamafan

I had the same habit in the "old days". There used to be a lockout that prevented you from removing the keys before the car was in park. There used to be a physical lever had to be manipulated into park at the end of the drive.

I'm sure part of my problem is that I have multiple cars, the Mercedes has the least intuitive system of any of them. I'm sure another part of the problem is that I have previously owned two other "keyless" cars that shifted into park when turned off, so that is the habit I developed. I'm sure a third part of the problem is that I'm getting older by the day.

nookie

Jeep (And some lawyers) can problably chip in here. the not so intuitive gear selector in some 14 and 15 models actually killed someone when it rolled back (crushing the StarTrek actor), forcing a rather large recall...

However...The GLE (On mine) Sets the parking brake when I turn the ignition off.

GLE43_Sube

I remember hearing about that case. Everything I've read said he got out of the car "momentarily", which to me implies the engine was still running. This is more common than you'd think. All you have to do is search on YouTube and you'll find dozens of videos of run-away cars.

That couldn't happen with MB because the car would shift into Park as soon as the door was opened.

Yours sets the parking brake? Does it also shift into Neutral if it was previously in Drive or Reverse?

baobay

my GLS applies the parking brake when I shift to park.

GLE43_Sube

If you turn the ignition off while still in Drive, what does it do?

baobay

haven't tried that yet. will try later today and report back.

nookie

My GLE puts it in Neutral and sets parking brake from "D" if I turn engine off.

RA112623

the warning about engine off and shift to neutral is in the manual. it would be interesting to understand why a shift to park doesn't occur. that said, i have owned standard trans vehicles all my life and it was always up to the driver to make sure the trans was locked down before you left the vehicle (as it was with auto trans before the electro-shift movement).

i think it shows that we are all starting to rely on tech more than we should. i'm trying to get my kids to use tech as a tool and not a be all, end all. right!

GLE43_Sube

Agreed. These types of safety features are designed as a "safety net" in the event one forgets to perform a required function.

pjw1967

I read my '14 ML manual last night and saw what you are referring to. I wanted to see what the parking brake would do and the manual refers you to that absolutely idiotic on board manual.......

RA112623

nothing wrong with that... unless you're trying to look up a problem because you can't get your car to power up

pls refer to above post

pjw1967

Not sure what you mean by refer to above post. In any event, I probably should have said there should be access to the onboard info from some place other than on board. To read about the parking brake, I had to get off my rump, get the wife's keys, open the garage, get in and start the car, back it out, put it in Park, and then I could access the onboard manual. If I had a pdf of that manual, no doubt I would have found that info well before I did in the car.
So I retract my statement that the onboard manual is idiotic, and replace it with not having access to the info other than in the car is idiotic.

sayhibob

"...not having access to the info other than in the car is idiotic."

You can download a pdf of all the manuals here:

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/servi...&class=M-Class

Hope this helps!

pjw1967

Thanks. But you cannot download the info that's on the iso disk that loads up into the onboard system. I have the pdf of the Owner's Manual and the COMAND manual. AFAICT, there is no pdf of the info contained on that iso disk. Another fun fact. There is a separate instruction manual for the voice control that is not part of the COMAND manual. That too is not available from MB as a pdf. Over 40 pages.

RA112623

mine, where i said too much current reliance on tech. nice and slick to have e-manuals, unless you can't get to the e-manual.

buy a new computer lately? no paper! all good as long as the thing fires up. else, hope you have the old pc to get a download of a manual for the new pc.

pjw1967

Amen.....

Bamafan

Just like the industry adopted standards with traditional automatic transmissions, they are all lining up with the new transmissions. The only exceptions I have experienced are with Mercedes and FCA vehicles. That lack of following the standard (shifting into park when the vehicle is turned off) is what will cause issues.

Again, I drive a lot of cars. I have 7 myself and travel a lot, so I'm in rentals all the time. So perhaps that is why the transmission in the GLE catches me off guard.

cadman_ks

I think what's not "intuitive" about the MB is that PARK initiation is a completely separate button. On conventional transmissions, it's all the same lever. I think if they had the option to push the lever up into a "further" up position (think cruise control) that would put it into park, that would at least be intuitive.

Ours has rolled a couple of times as well, when I forget to put it in park. Rolls until the door is opened...

RA112623

the problem, i think is with the self-centering stalk. Slick, but not wholly needed imho. a static 4 position stalk would avoid the owner's manual warning, and this thread. but then again it would block some of the cluster, etc. that said, has anyone driven a new MDX. NFW!

pjw1967

We have trained ourselves to consciously put our cars in Park when required. I understand that the MB system leaves something to be desired. However, we became aware of a few accidents where drivers stopped to let people out of the car with only their foot on the brake. Their foot slipped off the brake causing those exiting to fall. None of the accidents we heard about were serious. So my wife and I made a pact to put any car we drive in Park when we are loading or unloading passengers. That translated in always putting the car in Park. It's like fastening the seatbelt. You don't think twice about it.