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I never paid too much attention to my transmission and now it's worrying me a bit. The car is shifting rougher, giving slight kicks during some upshifts.
I did a search, but didn't quite find answers that completely satisfied me. I just want to know, in order to check the transmission fluid, all I would need to buy is a OEM dipstick from the dealer? How much is this? I remember reading that these transmissions are notorious for shifting a little rough at times. Is there an issue or is it just usually the fluid (either low or old)?
I have 60k miles and I last changed my transmission fluid at 35k miles. No leaks anywhere.
trust me replace your ATF with royal purple ATF and your shifting will be better and no more rough shifting. i did it to my car and the shifting is better then when i bought it.
Royal purple is not an MB approved transmission fluid. If you want to take that gamble with a $5,000 transmission, thats you choice, but I would stick with the MB fluid.
I never paid too much attention to my transmission and now it's worrying me a bit. The car is shifting rougher, giving slight kicks during some upshifts.
I have 60k miles and I last changed my transmission fluid at 35k miles. No leaks anywhere.
After a software update my car does that in heavey stop and go situations at times but its a trade off for how well it shifts all other times since the update.
I was told that my valvebody haad some issues but I disregarded it as it hits all the gears perfectly, and went with the software instead.
I'm not sure if tranny fluid is the culprit in our caseunless you are using something ither than MB approved fluid. Anyhow, its worth the 90 bucks to have them take a quick look.
Is there a reason you change your tranny fluid so often? at 105K I know i'm due a good flush, but every 35K seems a bit much for a tranny.
I did a search, but didn't quite find answers that completely satisfied me. I just want to know, in order to check the transmission fluid, all I would need to buy is a OEM dipstick from the dealer? How much is this? I remember reading that these transmissions are notorious for shifting a little rough at times. Is there an issue or is it just usually the fluid (either low or old)?
Buy the OEM dipstick. You are going to break the little tab on the plug that's covering the transmission fill-tube in the engine bay.
The dipstick should be about $30.00 or so, I don't recall exactly.
Make sure the transmission is warmed up before you do this, and the car has to be running.
Also try reseting the transmission adaptations like this:
- Turn the ignition key to the "on" position.
- Press the gas pedal to the WOT position (do not click though) and hold it for 5 seconds.
- Now turn the key to the off position but don't remove the key.
- Release the throttle.
- Wait 2 minutes
- Start Car / Drive
After a software update my car does that in heavey stop and go situations at times but its a trade off for how well it shifts all other times since the update.
What exactly do you mean by "software update" ?
Did the dealer flash your TCU for you when you brought it for service or was this an after market setup of some kind?
When you flash the TCU at the dealer or anywhere else, that resets the learned adaptations to your driving style and may produce "rough" or "quick" shifts initially, but once the computer discovers your driving style it will become smoother.
Did the dealer flash your TCU for you when you brought it for service or was this an after market setup of some kind?
When you flash the TCU at the dealer or anywhere else, that resets the learned adaptations to your driving style and may produce "rough" or "quick" shifts initially, but once the computer discovers your driving style it will become smoother.
Nope there is actually a program upload that you can do with a new or different version of software for the 7 speed tranny. It's not a TCU flash. My car was shifting all over the place before I took it in and I was constantly forcing it into a more agresive mode. So out of curiosity, I asked the SA if there was a campaign or software update that applied to my car and sure enough there was..
After the new program, my shiftpoints were quite aggressive most of the time and really made the car a lot more responsive to my pedal movements on the highway.. It's not like I needed to readapt or anything, this felt completely different.
The only drawback ( if you wanna call it that ) as I stated earlier is that in heavy traffic it still wants to hard shift on me (sometimes). but that's cool as I am rarely in that situation.
I was trying to find the ticket so I can tell you what it is called but I will try to call my SA tomorrow and get the correct definition but it ran me 90 bucks for the upload.
Oxygen I think I saw a post by you in the past about an aftermarket dipstick with magnets I could be wrong. My dealer quoted me $75.00 for the tool and said its just that use to check fluid then put cap back on.
REgarding that dipstick "tool" - it is a one-size-fits all device. You bottom it out and about a foot of it still sticks out of the tube. That is - the handle never bottoms out on the tube, so you cannot leave it in permanently. It looks rather silly, but does measure the level. It is almost impossible to drain all the fluid out, so no matter what you do there are still a couple of quarts of dirty older fluid in there to mix with whatever you put in next. Which makes me fearful of using any other fluid than the original.
Well that's true, you als have the oil cooler and the circuit for it. I guess if you're crazy you can flush it out maybe, but as you said, it's unnecessary.
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
W220 S55 "Learning" Transmission Reset
Originally Posted by Oxygen
Buy the OEM dipstick. You are going to break the little tab on the plug that's covering the transmission fill-tube in the engine bay.
The dipstick should be about $30.00 or so, I don't recall exactly.
Make sure the transmission is warmed up before you do this, and the car has to be running.
Also try reseting the transmission adaptations like this:
- Turn the ignition key to the "on" position. - Press the gas pedal to the WOT position (do not click though) and hold it for 5 seconds. - Now turn the key to the off position but don't remove the key. - Release the throttle. - Wait 2 minutes - Start Car / Drive
Oxygen, thanks for the information here. Can you confirm that this also works for the W220 S55? I suspect it does as they share the 722.6 5-Speed transmission. Also, is the wide open throttle where the pedal meets stiff resistance, or where it cannot go any further? Also, what do you mean by "do not click"? And finally, do I have to drive the car after this, or simply start it and the transmission "re-learns" beginning with the next drive. Mine has been sitting for a few days while I've been traveling, so I think this is a good time to reset the transmission. I'm also thinking of flushing and refilling the fluid, so I'm considering this as well. My dealer seems shy about it and rather insists that the normal adaptive programming will "eventually" catch up to my customized style. This "advice" is not surprising -- these guys seem more in awe of an S55 than they actually seem to know what to do with them -- but it is unhelpful and disappointing. Thanks in advance. Best regards,
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Originally Posted by Gondon
Actually you have to push the pedal all the way down to the click.
Got it. Thanks. I did it last night, just pushed the pedal to where it wouldn't go any more and counted to 10, then gave the thing plenty of time to reset. This morning, it's no longer grandpa's transmission, and the flush and fill should clear out all remnants of the prior owner. She's already running better than when I brought her in off the streets (think Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman"). Thanks for the advice.
2000 S500 new owner, Should I get a OEM stick as well. as I am reading thoroughly through the sticky..i'm realzing there is so much I dont' know about Benzino..(my car of course).
Oh that's right you guys are running the 7 speed tranny... whole different animal.
Is that a good thing or bad? I just bought a well cared for 05 S500 w 62k miles. Trans is a little quirky on downshifts .. up nice a smooth all the way to 70mph. Guy told me beware of dreaded rear main seal on old car w low miles.
If the transmission does not shift smoothly, the first step is always to check the oil level
Observe the Mercedes MB236.12 or MB236.14 oil standard
Find your standard on the Bevu website
Oils you can use can be found on Bevo. You don't have to buy an original Mercedes - it's no better than others that have the same standard. Buy the cheapest oil with the standard MB 236.14 - it will not be worse than the most expensive.
The list of oils that Mercedes has approved is on Bevo 236.14 or here: Bevo 236.14
It's a good idea to change the oil where they have an oil flush - only then will you have a good change. Otherwise you will have old oil in Wandler and cooler + piping = 3-4 l of old oil.
Always replace the filter and the electrical socket + seal. We buy it in a set - I don't know how in the USA - the manufacturer Vaico
You can buy an oil dipstick on Wish or ebay. If the transmission did not shift smoothly, reset the transmission control unit
link to oil dipstick Oil dipstick
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