GLE 400 Throttle Lag - frustration!
 

I love everything about my GLE400 except for the throttle response.

I understand that the car has an adaptive transmission and I've reset it a few times, but it still has an annoying delay between when I hit the gas and when the car gets moving.

It's only at low speeds (i.e. driving through a parking lot, etc.)....0-20mph..

Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a fix or is this something that I have to get used to?

Yeap! Even worse at highway speeds and you slow roll into the pedal. What exactly are you doing to "reset your throttle?"

I would mentioned to dealer.
If enough owners complain MB might reprogram and fix it if they have not already

Yes, an annoyance for any car, much less a $50,000 car!!
We shouldn't have to be re-setting our TCU's every week.

Resetting the adaptive transmission will allow the trans to adapt to your individual driving style with regards to determining shift points. I don't know if this will help you. What you're experiencing appears to be something altogether different.

thanks. I almost feel like I have to drive with a heavier foot for lack of a better term. It feels very unresponsive unless I really hit the accelerator.

Funny, I’m coming from a Mazda CX 5 that had no issued whatsoever.

It is all the result of the electronic "drive by wire" throttle, combined with a bit of turbo lag. My E400 is the poster child for unexpected lurches, especially when coasting to a near-stop in a parking lot and then rolling into the gas. It often feels like it takes several seconds to realize that I really do want it to go. Sometimes, in order to wake the beast up, I have to totally release the throttle, then step on it again.

I do find that this problem is lessened when driving in "Sport" mode, but then I'm into the turbo's lots more and can really impact fuel economy. . . to say nothing of scaring my passengers when the turbo hits at the fat part of the torque curve and the car lunges forward.

Of course, I could avoid the problem by driving like lots of the other boneheads around. They just never slow down to consider that there might be cross traffic. Had one of them make a left turn smack into the left side of one of my cars some years ago.

SteveE400 your description is exactly what I’m experiencing. This is my first MB and may be my last. It’s very frustrating. The problem is that I’m only 2 payments into my lease lol. Hopefully I’ll just forget all about it eventually.

I was just wondering if you test drove the car beforehand. If so, how long a test drive did you take? With my last car, they let me have a weekend-long test drive. They didn't come up with that idea. I did. I took the car home on a Friday, and brought it back Monday morning. There are some things you just won't notice in a ten minute test drive.

MB, just like any other brand, has good and bad. Individual models within the same brand can vary drastically in how they drive, handle and perform. I understand your frustration. Trust me. I've been there with other makes. But I had a lemon many years ago. Twelve years later I ended up buying a completely different model of the same brand. It was one of the most trouble free vehicles I've ever owned. My point is this. If you write off an entire brand because of one bad experience, you may be missing out on the future car of your dreams. You just never know. I know there are those who will call me a MB loyalist. If you read some of my past posts, you'll know that couldn't be further from the truth. I commend MB when they get things right, but I'm also not afraid to bash them when they don't. In fact, this is my first MB too. As of right now, I have no idea what my next vehicle will be. I'll decide that when the time comes. You have a right to be angry and dissatisfied. I don't blame you. But it might be wiser to reserve those emotions for your specific vehicle, not the entire brand. Just my thoughts.

GLE43sube - very well said. I think a lot of dealers should offer up 1-2 day test drives. Anyway, you're right, the rest of the car is gorgeous and I'm sure that I will get used to the throttle thing and not even think about it after a while.
Have a great weekend!

Sport mode makes a big difference, that is an option to try.

This is a well known issue with this transmission...there is NO fix...sorry to say,...I had it in my "13 ML63 and drove it for 5 years....you do learn to adapt but it will irk you for as long as you own it...I just got a new GLEs AMG '18 and that was the first thing I asked and tested...this tranny is a dream after owning that POS for so long...sorry to say...live with it or dump it

I think the original post was about "throttle lag", not rough shift points.

That's exactly what I'm referring to

SprintBooster eliminates most (if not all in the "red" mode) of the throttle lag.

Maybe. . . but only if your lag is due to not pressing on the pedal hard and fast enough. All the Sprint Booster does is act like a "lever" which presses the throttle farther than your foot does. It does not alter any other operating parameters of the car.

If your problem, like mine, is that the car goes "dead" no matter how hard or far you press the accelerator, then Sprint Booster won't help. The car will still act dead until it "wakes up" and then flies ahead.

As one of the others noted, you DO get used to it. I can't say just when, but some time ago I noticed that my car now seems to operate and shift really smoothly. I can only assume that I have learned how to drive it that way - the car hasn't learned how to be smooth with the way I drive it. The dead spots still sometimes happen, but when they do, I remind myself to not let up completely on the gas when I am coasting. That seems to help.

All in all, after about 3 1/2 years driving the car, I still love it. The 3.0l TTv6 has more power and torque than my last car (Lexus LS430 V8), and goes like crazy. I have managed to remedy almost all of the body flex noises and have learned how to operate the power train comfortably. Now, if only I could get the HK stereo to sound like the "augmented" system I had in the Lexus, I'd have it all.

Nope..actually makes it worse...I had one

Not in my experience. I had one in '14 ML550 and then transferred it to '15 ML63. Significant improvement to throttle delay issue in both. BTW, had/have SB in every MB except facelift '14 E550 and new '19 E450 (even my '15 SL550 has one). Whatever MB did with facelift W212 did not need it - throttle response was immediate in my former '14 E550 and '14 E350 I drove. Also, once MB went to dynamic select, all models I drove in S+ had an immediate throttle response.

I’ve had a few too...in my ZR1...in my ML63 and now in my GLEs 63 AMG needless to say luv the device....one or two are pedal box but essentially same thing...I’m had on in my Porsche TTS and have one ready for my new TTS when it arrives in 2 weeks...
anyways the hesitation as per my discussion with the Merc rep was due to the design of that tranny without a torque converter,,,,so no option of a fix

I find Sport mode all but eliminates the throttle lag. This type of throttle response is synonymous with all drive by wire vehicles I've ever driven. On my Lexus, an ECU tune significantly improved the throttle delay.

I'm not sure what this issue is being mentioned about the transmission? If it's transmission related it seems odd that switching to sport mode would make things so much better. I would be interested to hear more about this.

Sport mode changes the transmission shift map, as well as the fuel/spark map.

With Sport mode:
Downshifts on throttle application happen sooner and faster
Upshifts happen later and faster generally
Higher gears (6 and 7) are avoided or locked out to keep the rpms on the boil

I seem to recall some text on this in the owner's manual.

Get a tune and that should fix it :)

Apparently there is a GLE specific SB V3, p/n SBME1013S, not to be confused with "regular" SB V3 version (p/n SBME0013S). Since both are W166, not sure why GLE requires this new SBME1013S while ML (and many others) can do with SBME0013S.

1. If you put it in Sport mode, does that help?
2. Have you tried downshifting with the paddles?