I've noticed a "flare" b/w 2nd and 3rd gears, only after the car has been parked for a few hours. It's more noticeable on a cold start but it happens in warmer temps as well. It occurs whether the car is in S or C mode. This has been going on for the past year when I bought the car but now that its getting colder, its getting more annoying. I've flashed the transmission a couple of times with no resolution. Any thoughts before I take it in? Thanks in advance.

What do you mean "flare"? Gears won't engage, hesitation?

Yes, a hesitation or hiccup, resulting in a brief but annoying jerk.

Our car all do that due to the electronic throttle control.if you want to eliminate that issue,I suggest you get the "Sprint Booster". My car does that too. On my clk,it also does that. So I got the sprint booster and the problem went away. You will feel a big difference with the booster installed. There's a vender doing a special promotion on the ecru upgrade/flash here so mabe you want to look into that instead because the sprint booster will set you back about $300-$400 compared to the ecru reflash. The ecu reflash claim to give you better gas milage and more power though?

Hmmm.... mine changes smoothly. I haven't noticed anything drastic like that...If its getting worse or more noticeable over time, I would go to the mechanic asap...

had similar problems on my previous S550. the dealer flashed ecu unit with upgraded programming and the problem went away.

If you give the gas pedal a fast sudden stomp it will hesitate before the car takes off?
You can also try and reset the trans ecu.
1-hold down gas pedal all the way while engine is off
2-turn ignition to acc (2 clicks. But don't turn engine on)
3-keep holding gas pedal for 20 sec.
Now let go and start the car normally and give it a test run..

Do the updated programs for the ECU have version numbers? In other words, how do I know if I already have the latest update? When I purchased the car last year, the supposedly did a flash update. In the meantime, I will try and reset the ECU myself. Thanks again for your help.

Phat- Thanks for the tip! I will try that and see if there is a difference in mine too...

Np Eric! Btw I still didn't get a chance to bring my car in yet because the dealer was booked Monday.so hopefully next Monday I'll bring it in and return your nav disc.

like I said when I had this problem they checked they trans, restored the shift points and told me that they have an update available. no charge. I think they do the update only when there is a problem. hope this helps.

The 7G in my C class does the same thing - first 2/3 shift on a cold start, the RPMs rise as 2nd is held a little longer then normal. I just ignore it now, it only happens one time.

Knock on wood, but the reset of the ECU seems to have resolved the problem. Thanks.

Spoke to soon. It's back and still annoying. Any other ideas?