Hello All,
New owner of a 04 E55 (80Kmi), it’s in pristine condition and well maintained (purchased from a family friend). But, it’s the wife’s daily driver and we’re new to the AMG so it’s difficult for me to determine a good-baseline for normal. She’s complained from the start with how jerky it is at accelerating and decelerating. It’s difficult to explain, but at low speeds during initial acceleration, it seems to “pause” or “hesitate” just a bit. Also, during deceleration, at low speeds, it seems to surge. It’s completely smooth 25mph+. I’m thinking it’s related to the supercharger dynamics/operation (kinda like turbo lag)? It’s all original (no mod’s), no warning lights and it starts and runs very smooth with only a slight engine rumble. I hate to take it in for something like this. What do you all think? Normal or Not?

Likely normal. If the car is all stock you can do a couple things to help. Have a dealership update the engine software to the newest version, and also raise the base idle speed in gear to the max limit. These cars are a bit "clunky" with the supercharger clutch.

I have the SAME EXACT issues, the "slight hesitation" jerking on acceleration is the SUpercharger clutch kicking on - I had the same issue, made a Post about it here etc etc, turns out it normal on these cars, I even drove my buddies car and it was the SAME way.

The Surge when coming to a stop is also normal from what ive been reading around here.

Wow, thanks a bunch for the quick replies! Great site!

If you are ever in Houston, bring it by and I will take a look at it and tell you if it is normal

shardul is the man

I'll take you up on that and keep an eye out for any future H-Town group gatherings (cant make the one this weekend-Mom-Day).
Uptown, Midtown & Galleria spots are certainly close enough.

Will keep you posted.

Shardul,

Will the new fixed pulley eliminate this?

Thanks

Don't forget when the bypass valve closes and opens you can experience the same type of jerkiness, it can affect the engine load a great deal very quickly.

You can eliminate the noticable kick-in of the SC by adding a new pulley (with fresh full thickness clutch material backed on) and buying sharduls belt wrap kit.

Other problems with jerkyness is the clutch in the torque converter. Known problem which got never solved by MB. Have it aswell as all 55K cars (SL55, E55, S55, CL55) i had test driven before i bought mine.
The clutch in the converter engages to harsh and disenganges to late when on a roll, producing slight slippage internally and the whole car feels like stuttering, wobbling multiple times per second... I hate it!
Only a new Torque converter and a manipulation (raise bore IIRC) in a certain "valve" of the conductor plate inside the gearbox helps successfully - as proven by some members in german MB Forums.

Strange this well know issue, even by ATF fluid makers, is never as widely discussed here in International MB Forums as it is for instance in Germany. It seems that if 100.000 of people have that issue with the 5 Speed 722.6 box. And its worse in the AMG versions in which the torque converter clutch starts locking as low as in the first gear.

New e55 owner here (2wks old, to be exact!) I had been experiencing the same thing even under mild acceleration, seemed most pronounced in the 1-2 & 2-3 shifts. I was getting worried I was having tranny issues but mind you the car has 35k mi & doesn't appear to have been beaten on. It's almost a bit embarrassing to passengers who might think I'm letting off the gas a tad during shifts or something wrong with the car because it doesn't shift "luxury car smooth", maybe I'm just being too sensitive to it because I'm driving I like firm decisive shifts. I just had a g37x for a few months & it had a completely different feel (but you couldn't pay me to give up the e55 & go back to it!) Funny though it seems I can drive my Mustang Cobra 5 spd smoother then this car sometimes!

I found this not to be the case. New smaller SC pulley and belt wrap kit is much more jerky than the old, stock '06 clutch w/out wrap kit.

You probably just need new transmission mounts. Not an expensive item to fix. I reckon 35-100 $ it should fix the smoothness.

.

Wow, you all are certainly a great help! After reading these details and driving, I can easily confirm the issue. She's altered her driving style (accelerating past the "zone" a bit quicker) and it's much better; especially knowing it's mechanically sound. Thanks again

So you solved it?

It's still noticeable but not a big concern anymore. I'm in touch with Shardul. Thanks for checking.

OP-
Tell her to drive in 'C' mode. I've noticed (at least in my car) that this eliminates the jerky feeling because the tranny starts in 2nd gear, not 1st ... also, the beast isn't in prounce mode (like driving in 'S') but normal, granny driving.

Thanks Armo, just now starting to figure this car out. Driving in C mode helps a bunch! ...but I'm really surprised how the wife has turned into somewhat of a Speed-Demon, so the jerkiness is not much of an issue anymore

My 2006 E55 had the same jerkiness that you describe. It was bone-stock and even in "C" (Comfort Mode) I'd occasionally get a small surge or hesitation under light throttle, and the shifts would sometimes seem vague as well.

A "stock" tune file from Eurocharged (with no other modifications) really helped smooth out those part-throttle issues... In fact, even though the tune supposedly added about 30HP to the car, my favorite part of the tune was the improved driveability around town at light/part throttle.... it was a really pleasant surprise.

I've seen a lot of guys here comment that if you are thoughtful about your mods, you can actually make the car MORE driveable and pleasant that when it was 100% stock. I feel that way about my new MBH headers (and EC retune). The car is more fun to drive but still behaves politely around town when I want it to.

-G

Thanks Greg! ..just the excuse I needed to delve into the first mod
So far, the car is hers Monday~Thursday, but Friday peaks around and it's all mine! It really is fun to drive..I literally "killed" a new Camaro with it 2 weeks ago..at the next light, the punk said "no way that thing is stock, you've modded the heck out of it, I've got over 400hp in this baby" I just smiled and said don't worry, I won't tell anyone you got owned by a sedan with massaging seats