Rovel

Dear forum members,

I know this question has been discussed many times in many threads, and I searched, but couldn't find what I needed. Most of what I found was from E55 owners, and they have 5 speed tranny.

I am a new owner of 2007 E63. It has 47K miles on it. My transmission, feels jerky when it is cold when shifting from 2nd to 3rd. But seems to be fairly smooth when it warms up. Today I had a little active driving, nothing crazy, just couple of accelerations from 20-70. And that is when I noticed each time I was going at, let's say 40 miles an hour in 5th gear, and pushed the accelerator down an inch it shifted down to 4th before taking off - quickly, but with some jerkiness.
Transmission service was done in may of 2015 by the first owner when the car had 39K miles on it. It was done in MB dealership. I called them, they said they replaced fluid and filter - didn't flush. The car currently has 47K.
I will take the car for diagnostics on Monday and hope it is something like incorrect fluid level or software update needed.

But I want to get your input. Have you experienced something similar in E63? What would you recommend? Should I do the tranny service again even though it was done 7K miles ago (but in 2015 which is almost 3 years ago)?

cfmistry

Common things being common, your transmission and/or engine mounts could be worn and contributing to the rough shifts. Another common issue is the conductor plate needing replacement.

Rovel

Your point about engine mount is an interesting one. Didn't know that could affect shifting. I think my engine mounts aren't in best shape. I feel some vibration coming into the cabin when idling sometimes. I opened the hood, pushed the brakes down, raised RPMs to 2000-ish first in D, then in R. The engine was moving up about an inch or two when in D. I thought that was too much, but wasn't sure. Jumped up less when in R. The mounts aren't that expensive, but not sure how much the dealer will charge for replacing them.

cfmistry

My experience has been a good indy costing around $1100 (for all 3 mounts with OE Benz parts). Hope that helps. I believe the conductor plate fix is slightly less.

Rovel

If I understand you correctly, you had a jerky transmission and replacing mounts fixed it. Is that correct? Or are you saying that conductor plate change was necessary?

hachiroku

check fluid level...proceed with transmission adaptations. report back. my transmission had wonky shifting and missed shifting when it was low on fluid. had the radiator replaced and they didn't top off the transmission level.

Rovel

Honestly harder shifts when cold doesn't bother me that much, as it isn't a really hard shifting; and it goes away when the car has warmed up.

What I am worried about is the jerkiness when going fast. I described above that when I was going 40 miles an hour in 5th gear, and pushing the accelerator down an inch it shifted down to 4th somehow rough. Today I was driving in M mode. When the car was in 3rd gear, each time I lifted my foot off of the accelerator for a second, let it roll, and then pushed it down again, I felt like a kick in the back.
I guess the best way to describe it is this: it feels like if something was disengaged, and engaged again as soon as I accelerated, but there was some play, hence engagement felt like a kick. I don't know if I make any sense

Dublinoh

Rovel

The car is in the shop as of now. They will be checking the transmission for fluid level, software updates, etc.

But they already called me and said that engine mounts needed to be replaced. They also recommended replacing all 3 mounts including tranny mounts. The quote is $1000
Plus $300 for brake fluid and coolant flush.

hachiroku

liquid filled mounts

Strigoi

FWIW, my mechanic did my engine mounts as a side job in a little over an hour and that included dropping the exhaust. I bought mounts online for $130 for the pair.

Rovel

Yeah I know that prices for mounts are cheap. OEM ones are 120 each, Corteco and Lemfoerder are like 130 for a pair. I called 6-7 independent Mercedes shops in MA and all gave me a quote of 1000-ish.
In case anybody here knows any mechanics, that will be appreciated.

Rovel

Hi All,

Here is an update on the tranny service.

I took the car in for check-up to one of the authorized Mercedes service centers here in MA. I told them how the tranny could be a bit jerky when cold. 2 days ago I got a call from the advisor who said that the fluid level was correct and that fluid sample looked clean. Regarding software updates they told me that there was at least one update available but in order to install them they would need to update the engine ECU as well. I said it was OK and they could proceed.

I called them today to find out and here is what the technician told me: "Honestly, I don't want you to spend money on the update. And I am hesitant to update, as in the past these updates have made shifting much worse for our customers, and the customers ended up replacing the valve body." He also said that the only working solution for their customers was updated valve body. I think he mentioned something like 3rd generation valve body or something. He said that I should drive the car and if it gets worse, then we should invest into replacing the valve body with an updated one. He also said that once updated, the software could not be rolled back.

On one hand I liked how they approached the problem and didn't want to apply a software that could make it worse. On the other hand, one would assume a newer software from MB should improve things.

What do you guys think?

Dublinoh

Rovel

That is exactly what I am experiencing: shifts from 2-3 can be abrupt when cold. The next step for me is to replace the mounts and see if it makes any difference.
The software update has made me wonder though. There are folks in other threads saying the update made a huge difference. But my tech said it made it worse for 3 customers that he could remember.

hachiroku

fyi...when really cold mine shifts hard from 2nd to 3rd when not driving on a flat surface. once warmed up its all gravy baby.

Rovel

Rovel

The shop that I mentioned reset all adaptations today, and warned me that it might act weird while it is learning. It is been worse today, but hope it will adapt to my driving style and then become smooth (at least as smooth as it was before resetting.)

w204_racing