sped

I have a 2001 CL600, when I start the car (after it sits over night), put it in drive the transmition thumps, jolting the car. I took it into the dealership and they said this is normal on cars with big engines. Anyone else have this problem? Anyone think this is a problem and not "normal"?
One more thing, if I let the car warm up for about 2 minutes this "thump" does not happen.
Ed

m_berman

Does'nt happen on the CLS 55.

Ask your dealer why you have the problem now and not at time of purchase? Curious about his reply (more BS).

tcesario

it sounds like you need to let it warm up a bit more the idle is higher at cold start ups causing harsh engagement ,normal when cold

whoover

That could also be a symptom of the flex discs starting to go. If you start getting the thump more often when you shift into or out of reverse, it's even more likely. When did you have them replaced last?

tirona

transmission is fine, just needs a couple of minutes to warm up. same thing happens to my cars, and to everybody else that has your transmission. my garage is cold, and if i wait a couple of minutes in the morning is fine. no worries.

sped

No work has been done to the transmition, car has 24500 miles on it.

whoover

I've owned 7 MBs, including four S-classes (two W220s) and my transmission has never thumped when it's cold. I have had to replace flex discs on every S-class I've owned for more than 60K miles.

The flex discs are not part of the transmission. They are the joints that connect the prop shaft (at front) to the transmission and (at rear) to the differential. They are rubber and should be replaced at 50K-60K or so, or when they start to degrade. The first sign of a bad flex disc can be a thump, sometimes when the car is cold and sometimes more often. Typically it's first noticed when you move from neutral to drive or reverse. They're not a big deal to replace -- nothing like transmission work.