M-Class (W166) Produced 2012-2015

Rough downshift when accelerating

Old Jan 24, 2026 | 04:07 PM
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2015 ML 350
Rough downshift when accelerating

I have a 2015 ML350 and when accelerating up a hill the car will have a rough shift from 5th to 4th gear. At no other shift is it rough. Has anyone else experienced this?
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Old Jan 24, 2026 | 07:38 PM
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Originally Posted by MB2015.2
I have a 2015 ML350 and when accelerating up a hill the car will have a rough shift from 5th to 4th gear.
At no other shift is it rough.
Has anyone else experienced this?
You can do all sorts of necessary services and still get this.
  • Fresh tranny service
  • 722.9 fresh adaptations
  • Fresh engine oil service

Then you'll have to get creative.
These trannies shift extremely fast when the ECU let them.

Banging shifts are the opposite of best: delayed sloppy shifts ie. "best effort" shifts - Look outside of the box for solutions.
Do you recognize you gears are always shifted too early. Like 30mph in 5th gear ? That's the ECU throttle not tranny.
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Old Jan 25, 2026 | 03:34 AM
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Does it happen in all driving modes? Try a tranny adaption reset and then drive it how you normally would for a few days and it should re learn your driving habits. They learn very quickly, I can notice the difference in mine if someone else has been driving it. Mine downshifts pretty hard but it has the quick shift transmission.
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Old Jan 29, 2026 | 06:19 PM
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Transmission fluid change is essential for keeping these gearboxes shifting correctly. Change the fluid often. Around every 40k miles or so for normal driving conditions.
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