Hi all. My new 2020 S560 4matic seems to downshift very hard into 2nd when in sport mode - the car lurches as I'm coming to a stop - to the extent that I can't drive it around the city in sport. It's smooth in comfort, though. Is this normal?

For reference, I did have a 2015 S560 which I routinely drove in sport mode but I don't recall ever having had this issue. I recognize that the engine and transmission are new in the 2018+ models.

Thanks!

 

I don't really notice that on my 2018. Maybe next time your in for service put in a warranty claim on it.

 

I actually just picked up a s560 coupe 2019, and I experience the same exact issues in sport+. In congested traffic I cannot drive in sport because of the lurching/lunge forward. Took it to MB service and they said it’s normal.

 

I have a similar, but less severe issue with my 2020 S560. I virtually always drive in Curve mode, but I feel inappropriate 3-2 downshift harshness, almost all the time. I will be taking it into the dealer to have it checked out, but am concerned that they too, will say it is normal. Since the 2018 S560 I had before this did not behave at all in the same manner, it will be interesting to see how they respond.

I STRONGLY suggest that anyone experiencing this uncomfortable downshifting, who has also been “shined on” by their dealer, to IMMEDIATELY contact MBUSA by phone and open a case with them. If there are enough complaints, MB will come up with a fix, which is, most likely, a software issue. That said, another member here actually had MB buy his car back from him, because they said they could not fix the problem. Unfortunately, since I cannot replace my 2020 with a similarly equipped 2020 or 2021 model, I REALLY do not want them buying my car back.

I hope anyone who has had a similar problem and has seen their dealer actually fix it, will post their experience here, in detail. Thanks.

 

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON 10-24-2019 BY S W222

FINALLY fixed the common TRANSMISSION rough up/down shifting in W222!!!!!!!

As you know, this has become a common problem and many of you might even have it without knowing it. The W222 should shifts way smoother than it currently shifts for almost all of us.

I took my car last weekend to the dealership and said, I think my car shifting is rough especially from 2-3 or 3-2 and between 5th and 4th gear. Luckily I ended up with a smart engineer how had something other than the standard response (this is how it's designed, normal). This time, he agreed that yes it should be smoother, I have a solution, give me 1-2 days.

He called 2 days later and said, hey your car is ready. it's day and night difference now. The car shifts much smoother than before, even smoother than when it had 0 miles on it, an believe it or not just as smooth as the new S560 with it's new transmission. According to the engineer, what he did is that he installed two customized software, one for the transmission system in general, and the second is by connecting a computer to the car as it's being driven and a computer would adjust the shifts points to an optimum values (rather than a pre-adjusted values).

Conclusion, I knew from the beginning that the rough shifting the all 2014-2017 W222 cars are seeing is not due to a hardware or design issue, it was due to a software and wrong pre-adjusted shift points. Apparently, if you end up with a smart service manager who can connect your car to a computer that can automatically adjust the shifting points of your transmission to whatever is optimum for your car along with the new transmission software then this is all what it takes to change this very common problem. Just go to the dealer and try to skip service advisors and talk to the engineers directly (they might tell that's not possible, but just ask them to get you in touch with their most senior service engineer). Service advisors may not be the right person to talk to.

Update: here is a screenshot of the service comments (the detailed feedback i wrote above is based on discussion but it's summarized in the service comments below).


https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ting-w222.html

S W222 started this thread in October 2019 resulting in nearly 100 posts and 19,479 views. It was a similar issue on the W222 7-speed transmission that eventually resulted in Mercedes offering a solution. It was a long battle with the usual dealer comment "Cannot Duplicate Condition" or other similar responses going on for years. This was not the first thread on this particular issue but the perseverance of forum members eventually paid off and we got our transmission issue fixed. Open a file with MBUSA and if other W222 owners are experiencing a similar 9-speed transmission issue keep this thread alive. As KONIGSTER wrote in the last post of that thread, "Well it seems the ball is rolling ...and why, because informed owners are raising questions supported by accurate, correct info provided here."

 

Correct, I was the only who posted/started that thread, and maybe as an update now, it has been almost more than a year now, and the car still drives and shifts very very smoothly!. I really recommend everyone to do the same steps described in my original threads... I tried everything i can, but then finally with the new software update, and what's called 'manual shift point adaptation" per the mechanic, that was the end of the rough downshifting on my W222. There was more detail in my original thread as to what kind of topic or service number needs to be done.
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ng-w222-5.html