Hi all, I need some feedback from people about when your MLs shift into first. Can you please add in your experiences and the build date of your ride? I am wondering if a spanking new one has the "fix" that doesn't allow the car to shift into first except at a complete stop?

 

I believe that mine does it at about 3 MPH but its very smooth and seamless. Mine was built in very late Aug and I took delivery on Sept 24th of last year. Car has been flawless to date.

 

MINE WAS BUILT IN NOVEMBER AND TOOK DELIVERY 12/31/05. It shifts at about 3mph I can feel it sometimes not evey time. Everything else has been perfect and I love the ML.

 

Do not believe the airmatic has any bearing on the trans shifting.

 

mine was built on march 2005...I believe it changes into first gear at around 5mph..sometimes it is a little harsh but most of the times it is not noticable

 

The reason why i asked about airmatic is that it has the auto / comfort / sport mode. I'm pretty sure that this button manipulates the airmatic ride and tranny character. I have no clue how the non-airmatics do.

I'm starting to worry that the DSB "fix" would not be good. there are times when I may want first gear without coming to a complete stop, like on a punch. The car acts fine under spirited driving. It is just rough under mild driving, which is how I mostly enjoy my V8s AND Benzes.

 

Could be wrong but I have been led to believe that the button is for airmatic ride selection only, not trans shifting. Mine does not seem to shift any differently in any of the modes, just the ride is different.

 

That is also what I heard from a technician, but I swear it feels like it does.

Hmmmm, perhaps some research is in order.

By the way, mine was a June '05 build and it also downshifts at about 5mph, with ocassional "harsh" shifts. Does anyone have a clue on how to duplicate that? Or is it stricktly an ecu memory thing?

Also, anyone know the truth about the airmatic setting??

 

The Adaptive Damping switch definitely only affects the suspension tuning. I have never read anything to the contrary nor observed it.

 

I think i get what it does. I did some searching and it seems that the ADS has 4 "stages" and the changes in the shock valves are related to the feedback of many things, including 3 sensors that monitor vehicle acceleration. the thresholds for when the car goes into which of 4 stages can be "tuned" by the airmatic modes (3 of them). It is this response that must be making me think the shifting is different in different ADS modes. Now, I am just curious as to which 7G-TRONIC shift mode the MLs are in, since the sedans with the same tranny have the sport, comfort, m/auto modes? Is the ML tranny just in auto mode?

Thanks for the education.