I'm past questioning whether or not the transmission is flawed...it is. I am shocked this vehicle was released with this clunky, abrupt, spurty and sometimes "asleep / slippy / dead spot" power-train. I am not confusing sporty, snappy shift points associated with performance vehicles. I have had the vehicle to service numerous times- reset, re-programmed shift points etc. and while improved, the transmission is just not acceptable.

Has anyone been successful in having their transmission replaced by MBNA and did that help / fix the transmissions problems??

Thanks.

 

I have noticed this as well on my 2019 S63. I think it is the nature of a double clutch, no torque converter transmission. It is more noticeable when the car is cold. Not sure what the solution is, I just had the 30K service done at 18K miles as it was at the 3 year mark and this included the transmission flush but that did nothing to improve the performance of the transmission.

 

Transmissions are one of MB's many weak points. Weak in the sense of not well-executed.

 

Your particular box might be faulty, but outside of that the 9-speed MCT is a great transmission. I love the same transmission in my 2019 C63S Coupe. It's not a dual clutch, but it's also not a normal AT. It doesn't have a torque converter, instead it has a wet clutch, so that by itself will result in more feedback from the transmission due to the solid connection and depending on what you do, the clutch can trip over itself. It helps to be aware that there's a computer controlled clutch and feather it out with the throttle input much like when driving a manual transmission. It's debatable whether this transmission is suitable for an S Class, but it certainly is bang on for most other AMGs outside of the GT which has a 7 speed dual clutch. I've had a few ECU/TCU updates since I had the car and it took a bit of time for it to adapt in the first place. For example it used to always downshift to 1st gear when slowing down to a stop, which was jerky, but after a while it adapted and now it stays in 2nd gear until I have come to a complete stop before it downshifts to 1st. Didn't do anything special. I just let it learn my driving style.

One thing I've brought up before is that I always use manual mode unless I'm in Comfort. I don't use S+ or Race and let the transmission shift on its own. My theory is that the adaptation gets confused otherwise between my moderate and my spirited driving, so I do all my spirited driving in manual mode, that way the transmission only had to adapt to my moderate driving.

At the end of the day it is a performance transmission and I actually prefer it over a dual clutch, because as opposed to dual clutch transmissions, the MCT can skip gears w/o losing a beat. It drops 5 gears in a fraction of a second when using kickdown for example and if you brake spirited it automatically skips gears while coming to a stop and you can manually skip gears by double clicking the downshift paddle. Sometimes that can surprise with more than expect engine braking when it drops from 5th to 3rd directly instead of 4th and then 3rd.

 

I call it "personality". Every one of my AMGs, current and prior, have had nuances and the transmission was always part of it. My S63 shifts different than my GL63, and both are different than my E63. No two are alike.

 

Thanks all- your info is helpful in framing this issue for me.

Superwiss- how long did it take to get the Gear Box to learn to hold the shift to first gear until stopped? That would be a good. And is that only in C mode since you shift manual at all other times?

Thanks all

 

It took about 7000 miles, but let me give you some background. I did very little city driving for the first 6000 miles. I did European Delivery. Picked the car up in Germany and travelled around Europe for 2 months, mostly highway driving and especially high speed German Autobahn driving and a visit to the Nürburgring. It wasn't until the car arrived in the USA and I started to do some of my typical driving around here with more city/town driving. It eventually simply adapted to this new style of driving. I still do a lot of highway driving and I hit up the canyons here in California, but city/town driving is sufficiently smooth now for a car like this.

It is not just in Comfort mode. It's the same when I drive in manual mode. In manual mode the transmission also automatically downshifts if I let the revs drop too much, but when I come to a brief stop I can hold it in second gear (think California/Rolling stop). It doesn't automatically drop to 1st unless I come to a complete stop. It often jolts a bit, though if I let it drop to first on its own in M and anything other than Comfort mode, so usually as I come off the highway where I typically drive in Individual with the powertrain set to the same setting as S+ and transmission in M, I switch back to Comfort as I'm coming to a stop and enter city traffic.

One thing the instructors at the AMG Driving academy told us was not to use S and S+ around town. Those modes are not made for it. They are made for faster and more spirited driving. Going to S+ as soon as you enter a highway is fine, but don't try to use it around town.

 

Thanks....interesting on around town recommendation for S and S+

I drove a Portofino this past summer for a day. It seemed smoother which surprised me (even my wife agreed who is not focused on driving )...but granted, it was a limited experience.

Just thought this gear box would be smoother in general operation (not noticable when switching from D to P or slowing down for Stop signs or entering/leaving driveway...and snappy / high-performance in S or S+ mode.

The Gear Box was never part of my experience in an S class like it is in the AMG...just surprised

Thanks and Happy Holidays all!