tkelley.EClass

Mercedes-Benz of Warwick, SA is Joe Dias.

OnlyGerman

Was this verified by a tech with some internal documentation? I hope all dealers will be aware of this.

tkelley.EClass

Probably not. He showed me the email from corporate. It said "release the car back to the customer and have them come back in January, we'll have an updated software by then."

OnlyGerman

Interesting..Did the dealer get HQ involved or did you complain? I am trying to figure out the best approach..OP said his car was updated but they should of waited till Jan if the update is indeed being developed.

tkelley.EClass

They went to HQ on their own accord. I was just inquisitive and polite but no complaining really.

greasykid

F Y I . As a previous owner of 35 MB's over 40 years I have experienced jerky transmissions. 4 yrs ago I switched to Audi. Have bought 5 Audi's since. All have had ZF transmissions that are silky smooth. Obviously I was a diehard MB driver,but it was a time for a change. There were several reasons for my decision.

OnlyGerman

Could not agree more...I have partially made the move to BMW and not looking back... ZF trans are awesome when everything is functioning properly!

S_W222

.

S_W222

That's weird!!! I have the software update installed for over 10 days now and the car works just great and shifts smooth!!!!.........

JohnDoeMB

5 Years for a software update? I wonder if they will make a TSB about it or if it will be updated by "complaint only".

S_W222

It's updated by "complaint only" cause not every car has this issue. some members had already mentioned that their car is driving okay, however many owners reported this issue, after all what is important to me is that the software is available and works fine based on my experience.

OnlyGerman

Spoke with my dealer. Car is going in a few weeks, I feel confident they will be able to address the issue after speaking with the tech.

S_W222

can you at least share a summary of what they told you so others can benefit from it?

OnlyGerman

It was verbal...Car is going in to dealer in next week and I’ll post back after.

OnlyGerman

Got it back, they updated TCM and performed shift adaptations. I will see how it improves. No mention by dealer for any software to be released in Jan as stated by others though...

S_W222

UPDATE:
it has been almost 4 weeks now since I updated the software and performed the manual shift points adaptations.

• So far, the car is still shifting very smooth and even better than when it had 0 miles on it.
• The only exception is when car is cold, it tend to shift hard from 2-3 but then it starts shifting smooth once temperature reaches 170 or more.

S_W222

can u share a copy of your service sheet (service description) for that visit?

S_W222

can u share a copy of your service sheet (service description) for that visit?
@OnlyGerman

S_W222

UPDATE:
2 months since I updated the new software and performed the manual shift points adaptations:

• Car is still shifting very smooth. Not even a single rough shift.
• The only exception is when car is cold only sometimes, it tends to shift hard from 2-3 but then it starts shifting soooo smooth as soon as engine temperature reaches 160 or more.

tkelley.EClass

Thanks for the update, I had the same thing done with less desirable results. Will report back here in mid-January when then give me the alleged 2020 update that was referenced a few months ago.

S_W222

i hardly doubt that it’s about a newer software version. You just need to find a good service engine who knows what manual adaptation means. The software they use would suggest some values but the mechanic/service engineer would adjust those further manually. The guy I dealt with is very well familiar with the issue so he knows what he was doing (different than just pushing bottoms and let the software do it).

tkelley.EClass

My service tech showed me the email from HQ saying the newest W222 transmission fix was coming in January 2020. This was my third visit about the issue and he seemed embarrassed thus the "please, come read this email". I'm not saying anyone is wrong or right here but this was my experience. I live in RI and all the millionaires in Newport shop here so I'm confident there staff is competent. However, I'm not a benz tech so we shall see what happens in January.

S_W222

I agree with you. Hopefully the new software next year will fix this issue without the need for someone to do it manually as in my case. it's just a matter of luck, sometimes u find the right guy who went through this experience and sometimes u just have to wait until HQ sends some instructions.

tkelley.EClass

In all reality, its a nuisance once or twice per 20-30 minute drive. It happens, I look down, and I'm in 4th. Then I shrug and say "hope they fix that". That being said, I'm still blessed and happy with the car minus that fault. Happy holidays to the folks on the forum for the next couple days reading threads. Life is good, especially in a W222.

S_W222

It's crazy how MB wasn't able to make this fix happen with a simple software update for years now. I still can't get it why not all MB service departments can fix it. I was able to successfully resolve the problem forever now but it's only cause I was lucky enough to deal with one smart service engineer who fixed it for me by 1st installing the latest software but also doing a ((""MANUAL") shifting normalization. The trick according to him was not to allow the software to just automatically chose the new shift points, but to "MANUALLY" adjust them while driving the car around and adjust them for values that the software has chosen based on his judgement on where they need to be to make shifting smoother for my case. It has been two months now and the car shift soooo smooth, can't even tell when it shifts up or down if am just accelerating slowly.