MBStar

I am having the following trouble with my 7G transmission, any suggestions?:

After my normal city traffic driving, it adopts a tendency to delayed shifting, which can be both anoying and dangerous. It is like a turbo lag without the turbo.
When I tap the lever to the left, it goes straight to the "optimal" and having "sensed" the accellerator pedal being depressed it usally goes to 3rd gear first and THEN, by itself now, even further down to the second of even first gear, which overrevs the car in the middle of city traffic. In other words it is late dowshifting and when it does it "overddoes it" by two gears.
MY 2003 SL 5 speed was smooth and effective as was the one in my E500.
Tapping to the left produced a sequential downshift while holding the lever to the left led to the "optimal"
Tha set up was soooo much better!!!

I am very frustrated. My wizzard mechanic tells me this is N. American programming "map" and that he does not know how to reprogam it to EURO specs. This is apparently true (the dealer spec sheet lists a "CAN" set up for the 7G).

Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Has anyone else noted this problem?

MBStar

MBStar

Geeeez, am I the only one to notice this annoying problem?
Does anybody out there actually SHIFT this gearbox?
Or is everybody in this forum so enchanted with their toys that any shortcomings simply get swept under the car?
And what about the A/C off button that does NOT turn off the A/C?
No one noticed that you freeze your face off coming back home on a cool night (after a hot day made you turn on the A/C on the way to work)?

C'mon guys this surely is not a "worship thy Mercedes" Forum!!!

Scotsman

Hi MBStar,

Nup, haven't had any problems with 7G or a/c. Haven't shifted manually much though but haven't noticed any problems. Aircon switches off OK though takes a few minutes for the colder air to disperse. Not that you need a/c much in Scotland!

ldye

Had a '04 500 for 8 weeks. Did notice a couple times the ac would not turn off unless I hit the off button. I now have a '04 55 and it has done the same thing. Sometimes just hitting the ac off/on will not turn it off. Have not gone to dealer yet.
Didn't notice any problems with the 7 sp during the time I had it.

Gsqrd

As my thread earlier stated, I had the turbine speed sensor fail in my 7sp 04SL. Shifting was slow just before final outage(limp mode). My tranny has not demonstrated any of your traits otherwise. In fact, pretty spectacular performance.

MBStar

Thanks for the comments. I hope the 7G-tronic is fixable,
otherwise I am in for a different car, becasuse I can't live with the current situation.....
Interesting that in Europe the A/C does turn off. My 2003 E500 had similar
problem, but the dealer was able to reprogram A/C to Euro specs and
it did shut off after that. They explained that for N.A. the A/C OFF switch
was programmed to allow the compressor to cycle but at a reduced rate,
40% I think, so that the windshield would not fogg up.
Unfortunately in 2004, this programming option was not possible.

RJC

What you're describing in the original post is truly normal although a pain; it is due in part to the adaptive transmissions MB uses, even the 5 speeds do this. It should get better and go away once your driving style is learned by the computer.

tiggerfink

Have the dealer check if you have the most updated software.

This lady had problems and it got fix.

http://www.mbnz.org/forums/forums/th...posts=5&fid=22

MBStar

Thank you all for your suggestions. While in Germany last week,
I went to a large corporate dealer, and quizzed the technicians
on the problems I had. They went checked in their intranet TIPPS program
and there it was: Sounds like some other Germans complained about the
"disagreeable" downshifting. MB states there that indeed they implemented
a New Concept (read new software program, algorithm if you will) which
makes the "tap to the left" result in a downshift dependent on the throttle position, not by one gear.

So if you depress the throttle 1/2 way in, and THEN tap to the left,
you might get a downshift to as low as the FIRST gear, with the concomitant overreving
and roaring of the Eisenmann Exhaust.

The Altes Konzept (the way it was in 2003 5 speed):
Tap to the left was not throttle dependednt, with the downshift
by only one gear no matter what.. and THAT was better in my opinion.

Unfortunately this NEUES KONZEPT is the way Mother MB wants to go. So we are stuck...

blueSL

No experience of the 7 speed box but I do question the benefit of it. If you have an engine with a broad torque band, there is considerable latitude over what engine speed you run at for a given road speed. It may be that the 7 speed confers some economy benefit but depending on the program, it's going to be shifting more often and you're going to feel them.

Gunther

Actually Blue....I've had my 7G for a little over 6 months now...at first
it was incredibly smooth compared to my '01 E430. We were amazed.

...but 6 months down the road it's gotten even smoother. Driving around with the top down the other day...in stop and go traffic ranging from 5pmh to 40 mph between stop lights...the only way to tell the car was shifting was to listen to it.

MBStar

I have been posting about the unpleasant dowmshifts for a while now,
and somehow get the feeling that noone else out here really experiences the
same nonsense. Even those who graciously replied, sound rather tentative
about this. At my dealer, most of the salesmen, and the service manager, all
have noted the absence of "manual" and quietly changed their comapny cars
for the six cyllinder models which thankfully this year still ahve the old 5 speed
and the old programming. They could not stand the transmission behaving like a cow
(no reponse to throttle, untill you either stopmp on it or tap to the left, whereupon
the SL would dowshift way too low, overrev and takeoff like a electro prodded cow)
So why is issue this such a dud here in this forum?

Well I must conclude that this forum is really not for enthusiasts but rather for
rich city slickers who never actulaly shift or drive their SLs with spirit.....
If there is a a real driver out there, I'd like to hear from you on this issue....

vraa

Do not get blueSL started.. whatever you do..

colin@mckenzie.

hi - I wonder if you ever got this problem resolved? I have been driving a CLK280 for three months and have taken it back to the dealer threee times because of the gear change - it clunks badly into 1st gear when cold, but even when warmed up it cannot decide which gear it wants to be in and can change up or down randomly and not very smoothly. I have had the software upgrade but it still has a problem at slow speed when cold. Dod you finally solve your problem and if so how ?

LovinMercedes

The 7 speed feels way more powerful than the five speed, especially off the line. No comparrison once you have driven both.

hbluthi

That is a rediculous statement, and you can not back it up.

blueSL

I can certainly imagine it makes the SL500 more lively off the mark (much needed), though since the engine power is unchanged, any performance improvement is achieved by keeping the engine speed higher for longer and reducing torque converter slip.

Personally, I'd take a more powerful engine, thanks, which rules out the 7 speed anyway.

LovinMercedes

It won't be pretty, it never is.

tiggerfink

I really never experienced what you are experiencing with your transmission. If I had those problems, I would be complaining on this forum. I took my car to the track two times and drove it hard in the salmon course to get the best times. I even had a better time than the instructor.

I do know that one member in our Mercedes club had the problems that you are experiencing and he got rid of his SL. I even experience the stale/lag when I drove around with him. His 2004 SL was a lemon, and he swore he would never purchase another Mercedes again. He kept telling the dealer that there was a problem with his transmission. But our dealer cannot a fix a light bulb, so how do you expect the dealer to fix the transmission problem.

There maybe a problem with your transmission. When I tap to the left, I go down one gear. If I tap again, it goes down another gear.

v8plus4

The salmon course?

tiggerfink

It is the nick name for the auto-cross.

MBStar

Hey guys, guess what...I got rid of my problems by getting rid of the car. I drove a 2006 CLS500 and noticed that
the 7 speed transmission behaved differently. So, sometime later, when I saw a stock CLS (indium silver) loaded with
enough options to pay for a brand new Subaru Impreza, I offered to take it off their hands even trade.
It took two weeks of back and forth to make a deal (I insisted on my favourite tires too) and here i am
several months later a happy customer. The car is stunning!! I get way more attention than with the CLS, positive
comments from everyone: old, young,
commuters at gas stations, policemen... you name it.
I love the seating position and the transmission
is much more responsive, so there in fact is no need to shift much and when I do, it works intuitively well.

Problems?: Keyless Go driver's door handle went bad with the first rain/ice
SRS light went on about the same time, the glove box sticks, the downshifts suddenly became more abrupt
when coming to a stop. 6 weeks later still waiting for the handle and the SRS light part still on back order.
Downshifts still being investigated...

Overall I love the car and I thank my lucky stars for getting rid of that lemon...SL500

Cheers and New Year's wishes to all

LovinMercedes

So how long have you had the CLS? It is great when you can talk yourself into anything.

Congratualtions and enjoy the car.

Vik888

I wonder if there is a service where you can report the VIN # of a possible lemon. I'd hate to buy your old SL500.