SL/R231: 2013 SL550 Transmission on E not shifting up
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
2004 SL500. 2013 SL550
2013 SL550 Transmission on E not shifting up
Hi everyone,
I have a 2013 SL550 with 59000 Miles
If I’m in E mode driving nearing to a stop sign I do manually downshift to 5 than 4 than 3 and the car stops.
The shifter sign on the dashboard shows 3 and stays there forever
After I take off the transmission shifts from 1 to 2 and to 3 and stays there it doesn’t shift anymore While I’m still on E mode
So I have to shift manually from 3 to 4 and 5 and 6
It does the same thing in S mode
I took it in to a Mercedes dealer and the shop manager drove the car as he was driving I explained to him what the transmission was doing
He said that this all normal ????
My son has the same car and his transmission shifts like butter.. in all modes and it shows on the dashboard which gear he is in automatically
Me and my son are driving the same year 2913 same model SL550 how come his transmission is different than mine ??
I thought maybe this was a sofwere issue
Now should I believe to the shop manager or should I take my car to an other dealer ?
Thanks for the advice !!!!
I have a 2013 SL550 with 59000 Miles
If I’m in E mode driving nearing to a stop sign I do manually downshift to 5 than 4 than 3 and the car stops.
The shifter sign on the dashboard shows 3 and stays there forever
After I take off the transmission shifts from 1 to 2 and to 3 and stays there it doesn’t shift anymore While I’m still on E mode
So I have to shift manually from 3 to 4 and 5 and 6
It does the same thing in S mode
I took it in to a Mercedes dealer and the shop manager drove the car as he was driving I explained to him what the transmission was doing
He said that this all normal ????
My son has the same car and his transmission shifts like butter.. in all modes and it shows on the dashboard which gear he is in automatically
Me and my son are driving the same year 2913 same model SL550 how come his transmission is different than mine ??
I thought maybe this was a sofwere issue
Now should I believe to the shop manager or should I take my car to an other dealer ?
Thanks for the advice !!!!
Member
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 96
Likes: 44
R231 SL500
If, for arguments sake, you're in 6th great and you manually change to 5th, then by doing it manually your telling the 'box that you don't want the car to go higher than 5th gear! If you just leave it in auto mode and DON'T change manually, the gearbox will work as designed.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 25
Likes: 15
From: York,PA
2013 Sl550, 2012 CTS-V coupe, 2015 Grand Cherokee, 2014 Ram 2500
Kujoe, “manual” shifting means exactly that. You are commanding when or if a shift occurs. The car will not automatically up or downshift once you have put it in manual mode. You are driving a “manual automatic” at that point. To return to auto shift you must command it back to auto mode. Simply hold either the up or downshift paddle for more than 2 seconds and the car will return to auto mode.
The question I would ask is why are you manually stirring the gears on the street? Certainly when on a spirited drive, particularly with twisty sections, I will row the paddles, or certainly if on the track, but why in normal driving? The algorithms in the trans and the adaptive learning that it does really mitigate any benefit from running in manual mode, unless you simply enjoy it.
cheers
Gordo
The question I would ask is why are you manually stirring the gears on the street? Certainly when on a spirited drive, particularly with twisty sections, I will row the paddles, or certainly if on the track, but why in normal driving? The algorithms in the trans and the adaptive learning that it does really mitigate any benefit from running in manual mode, unless you simply enjoy it.
cheers
Gordo
Super Moderator
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,557
Likes: 3,680
From: Land of 10,000 lakes
AMG GTC Roadster, E63s Ed.1, M8 Comp. Coupe
The shift paddles are more or less worthless on these transmissions due to the delays.
It would also make zero sense to manually downshift or upshift for that matter when driving in E. Not sure I understand why the OP is doing this.
Pre-facelift SL’s also don’t have a real manual shift option if memory serves. You can shift as you wish but when redlining, the shift will occur automatically.
It would also make zero sense to manually downshift or upshift for that matter when driving in E. Not sure I understand why the OP is doing this.
Pre-facelift SL’s also don’t have a real manual shift option if memory serves. You can shift as you wish but when redlining, the shift will occur automatically.
Last edited by Wolfman; Sep 16, 2022 at 08:15 AM.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 25
Likes: 15
From: York,PA
2013 Sl550, 2012 CTS-V coupe, 2015 Grand Cherokee, 2014 Ram 2500
Wolfman, you are spot on correct. Unless one has undertaken a TCM tune, which I’m not even sure is available, the trans will up shift when pushed near redline. And, YES, there is significant latency on the shift command to execution.
Gordo
Gordo
Super Moderator
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,557
Likes: 3,680
From: Land of 10,000 lakes
AMG GTC Roadster, E63s Ed.1, M8 Comp. Coupe
The facelift models with the 9G-Tronic (2017 US, 2016 UK), it will actually stay in gear in M. At least what I remember
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Super Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 693
Likes: 152
From: USA
m157 SL63
That's not the case for the pre-facelift SL63. It will not upshift in M, but will hit fuel cut at a high enough RPM.
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