Cyber GS

On the 2011 ML I find the paddles very useful merging onto highways, IMO it makes a big difference.

300DTurbo

Sluggish and sloppy shifts, non-responsive. Maybe to keep it in 1st while crawling over curbs or what not. I find it a waste of plastic.

12ML350

I rather MB use the paddle as wiper switchs for the front and back instead which I use more often.

jkaetz

The paddles aren't meant to turn your M class into a sports car with a double clutch gearbox. They're meant to give drivers the ability to downshift early in advance of a hill climb or highway merge instead of waiting for the transmission to sense the load and then have to play catchup. They can also be used to engine brake while approaching a red light or slow traffic. Someone who likes to actually drive their vehicles can use the paddles for a smoother more efficient ride.

That said, the average person doesn't care about any of that so they aren't used very often.

NickTH

Since I see many more applications of paddle shifters on race cars & sports cars than on 18-wheelers, I assume these are made for more fun spirited drives around corners & curves, rather than up & down hills. I personally haven't touched them after the first few days of buying the SUV to playing around with them. It wasn't very effective, IMHO.

I would more useful to me if they reprogram it into changing my radio stations up & down instead. Or even more useful if they reprogram it into a warning light system to let other drivers know that someone if driving & texting...

2012MLBlue

One pull on the left paddle drops the tranny to 1st gear while at a stop for faster takeoff. Good if sitting in a merge lane or beside a guy in a Civic Si who needs a lesson.

If towing a trailer you can drop the gear to keep the rpms in a higher range to have more power and prevent gear hunting on a hilly road. Probably never good to be towing a heavy load in 7th gear.

Cyber GS

- I agree

EagleJBW

I have an even more basic question. OK, I'll admit to being dumb AND stupid. Have a new (3 weeks) 2013 ML-350 4Matic, and no M-B experience. I'm an OF, age 65. I'm not wondering whether I should the paddle shifters or not, I'm just wondering HOW to use them. Reading the manual doesn't help. I'm almost afraid to touch them. How do I use them??

spikethedog

While driving at, say, 40 just pull on the left paddle and you'll drop from 7 to 4th.
You can then upshift a gear at a time.
The car knows not to throw it into 1st from 7th, so you don't have to worry about seeing a piston come flying up through the hood.

EagleJBW

THANKS! So . . . if I do that -- say, on a twisty mountain road -- and downshift manually to 4th, does it stay in that gear until I do something else? Then, how do I get it back to automatic "D"?

spikethedog

Yes, it will stay in 4th until you manually shift up.
When you get to 7th it will shift automatically through the gears.
(Maybe perform other shifts while manually in lower gears, too. Not sure.)

I burned out the brakes in the Black Forest once in a Volvo, and then it was nice to have the engine.

I have to say that brakes are a lot cheaper than engines, however, so I don't do much manual shifting except on snow or ice.

Most of my driving is 20-30 or 70-90, on the level, so there's not much reason to shift it myself. I've only had it at 125 for short periods, but it's happy there.

The 550 has plenty of power once you put your foot in it.
18 mpg pretty much all the time.

I love the V-8 after having had the E320 3.2 wagon, but I only drive about 8000 miles a year so it's not a big deal to lose the gas mileage.

But I just love to stomp the beast and hold on tight.

EagleJBW

Again, thanks! If you had an opportunity to burn out Volvo brakes in the Black Forest, I'm guessing you were stationed in Germany, either Army or Air Force. Is that a good guess?

jprescott

I use them on our GL 450 once a year by mistake when I hit them unknowingly. Feels like the car starts to limp and then I realize the mistake. If you hold them down for a few seconds they disengage. I wish they were not there

Shrdlu

The paddles are used to set the upper range of the transmission. If you use the paddles to select, for example, 4th gear, the transmission will not shift above 4th gear during normal driving. Once in 4th, use the paddles to select 3rd gear and the transmission downshifts to 3rd. Useful for engine braking on mountain roads.

Think of the system as akin to the old D1 and D2 on automatic transmissions. Selecting D2 sets the upper range at 2nd gear.

The MB approach is unlike BMW or Porsche, where you can select a specific gear. Mercedes' approach is like having a 1950s transmission with D1, D2, D3 . . . on up to D7.

EagleJBW

Thanks! The car is much smarter than I am, so the learning curve for me is verticle!

spikethedog

No, actually I was just coming off doing a film in South Africa and India and was trying out my new factory-bought Volvo 6.
What a POS!

Brakes - gone after 500 miles.
Engine - blown after 1500 miles.
Finish - peeled off after 2500 miles.

Worst piece of crap ever......but that was 1969.

After that, German only and by that I mean one BMW and 10 M-B's and that's enough for me to stay with M-B.

fabbrisd1

Unfortunately most MB salesmen, and the the manual as a manual isn't clear in telling you...

PASSING GEAR... at speed, let's say highway 70 mph, to going into passing gear you put the "pedal to the metal" - right ? You push the accelerator down hard and far - wait for the engine RPM's to dramatically zoom up - then with audible/vibratory announcement the tranny shifts to a lower gear to power down and pass..... everybody in your truck takes notice..

Wrong MB's kiddo's... at speed, to pass, smoothly maintain speed and RPM's... hold the left paddle down for 2-3 sec, 7G+ tranny shifts to passing gear (often so smoothly you won't notice till you see the tach jump a notch... then accelerate from there and as necessary either upshift from there right paddle-one-click-at-a-time - or to return to auto hold right paddle down 2 -3 sec.

Smoother, quieter, and frankly faster compared to the "old way" much less cabin drama.

Been built into the MB trannies since the 722.6 from the late 90's - with the super smooth 7G+ tranny it's really slick.

Frankly - it takes a few practice trials in varying conditions to become comfortable with it - and when you do, it becomes habit that ads to luxury driving.

Same procedure can be used coming off downhill/into a curve - the advantage in adding engine braking power is that the less power required from the brakes, the more steering control you have with the front end..

NEVER intended to be a click-back-and-forth-manual-sport-shift - you can click back-in-forth if you are into such things - but never intended for that - intended to add additional luxury smoothness and comfort for the driver and passengers and it is of particular impact with MB's SUV's and larger sedans... no more "what's going on Dad from the kids/grandkids ifrom the back seat(s)..

Now you know more about that... give it a whirl...adopt and adapt...have at it .....

spikethedog

Great info, Fabb, .....thanks.....
No wonder it seemed more like an annoyance than a help.
I'm off to shift.

frtdog

Isn't it true that if you use the paddles to select a lower gear and red line it, it will shift up?

iankayem

If you set it in say D4 with the paddles, it may shift up if it is actually in a lower gear than D4. But it will not shift into D5. The engine will only rev up to max rpm and not go any faster.

The speed is therefore restricted according to the gear ratio you select. The engine will not over rev.

jkaetz

Paddle functions:

• Hold right paddle = Transmission goes back to full auto mode
• Click right paddle = Transmission will add one gear to its maximum shift range. If at D6 already, it will go to full auto mode. While in full auto mode it will also cause an upshift if possible but will not indicate anything.
• Hold left paddle = Transmission selects the best gear for max acceleration and will not upshift until the right paddle is clicked or held
• Click left paddle = Transmission selects one gear lower than current and will not upshift past it until the right paddle is clicked or held.

For the most part, the car won't let you do anything damaging, you can click the left paddle all you want at 60 but it won't shift back to a gear that would damage the engine or transmission. It might be possible to over-rev if you were in a low gear going down a mountain being pushed by a heavy trailer but that's quite a rare circumstance. The transmission will also automatically downshift in any mode if needed.

frtdog

Thanks guys. I remember using the downshift click, button or what ever it was on my '06 and it would shift as I approached the red line. I wasn't sure if my '13 would do the same.