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Hi everyone, I will try to provide as much info as I can to help make the issues as clear as possible
I recently picked up an 2007 E63 AMG (130k miles) from an auction sight unseen, and brought it home 750 miles one way.
Car had 21 codes when I plugged in a generic Obd2 scanner, luckily nothing too bad, system too lean at idle on both banks, system too lean both banks, trouble communicating with TCM, and a whole host of misfires.
Pulled off the intake to fix the bad corrosion that was causing idle issues and misfires, swapped out fuse #43 in the engine compartment which fixed the TCM issue. Checked cams and cam adjusters (both were in great shape). Then went on to change engine oil, changed transmission fluid/filter with the newer "blue" fluid as recommended by MB tech (oil filter was so old it would not stay in place which was the likely cause of slow gear engagements). Flushed the power steering fluid, and replaced the voltage regulator as alternator was not charging.
After clearing codes with my scanner all that was left were the permanent codes, which to my luck went away after about 20 miles of driving.
After driving the car peacefully and letting everything get up too temp and making sure everything is in working order it was time to see what this beast was capable, and ohh boy. It's definitely not a Ferrari 458 in any sense but it sure is something special. The power is awesome, shifts were nice and quick and the exhaust was just spectacular with all the pops and bangs and gurgles (previous owner had secondary cats and resonator deleted). In short I thought of this care as the perfect daily.
Now onto the issue, after completing my "acceleration tests" I put the transmission into comfort mode and made my way merrily home. I make a turn and begin to accelerate at about 30-50 percent throttle and as the car downshifts to 3rd from 5th, it jerks and goes right back to 5th. It almost felt as if the car didn't know what gear to pick, I thought it might have to do with my previous full throttle pulls messing with the adaptive shifting. A few minutes later I tried to pull from about 30 MPH, this time cars throws me into 2nd then 5th, then neutral and then into 6th and stayed there. It would not shift no matter what speed I was going, I pulled over put it into P then back into D and car started from 2nd no problem and made it the last few miles home. I decided to reset the adaptive shifting, and took it for a spin and it drove fine with no issues, I put in in Manual and did a few pulls with no problem, put it back into comfort and began to accelerate and same thing happened as before. Now stuck in 6th gear I pull over Shift into P then D and start from 2nd, only this time car wont shift from 2nd no matter the speed.
After making it home I decided to plug in my scanner even though no CEL light or warning light of any sort was present. And I found a pending P0730 (Incorrect Gear Ratio) and nothing more.
Engine stills runs perfectly, it's only the transmission acting up. From what I know it can just be a bad connection at the main plug that goes into the transmission or the conductor plate needs changing. I will most likely take it to a guy that has Star and see if I can figure anything out that way.
Has any one had this issue before or know of anyone that had something similar? Any insight or leads would be greatly appreciated.
Have you checked to see if the car needs a software update for the TCU? Dealer service but would solve the issue. Multiple posts on this over the years.
Alternatively, could be a failing conductor plate. That it only occurs in"comfort" mode inclines me towards software.
Just took the car for a spin after clearing codes, no issues while driving in comfort and letting everything warm up.
Switched it to manual mode and drove it hard for 20 minutes, did a bunch of highway pulls and launches from stop lights with no issues. Stayed in manual till I got home, checked codes and no codes.
It most likely is a software issue as bbirdwell stated, as there were zero issues with any gear shifts, up or down. I will call the dealer on Monday and see if my car needs a TCU update.
I too have a 2007 E63 and when I rebuilt the Engine/front end back in 2018, I made sure to verify what type/color Transmission Fluid I was supposed to use and it turns out the color was most definitely Red. Perhaps it was due to my cars being one of the earlier production (6/2006)?
As for the TCU Update, in 2020 I rebuilt from the Rear Main Seal and back (3.06 Rear Diff Gear Change with SLC, All new Rubber Bushings, Shocks, Brakes Rotors, Hubs) and being that the TCU is built into and mounted on top of the TCM (ie-VGS2/NAG2) which sits above the Transmission Valve Block, and is unfortunately NOT a separate unit ,that I understand can be “updated”, as it is in later years where it resides in the Passenger footwell, I’m afraid that for MY Production, I cannot have the TCM Updated as it cannot be connected to directly unless it is done by way of plugging into the Transmission Electrical Connection. For those of you wanting to know the details as to how I cleaned my Transmission Valve Body, which the TCM attaches to, of you do a search on this site, I posted it under “M156 Engine” with the acronym “DIY”.
I unfortunately also have recently developed a different issue which pertains to the TCM that I’ve concluded requires a rebuild of the TCU as it appears the Speed Sensors are the culprit of my trouble shifting. Tranny Codes 2766 & 2767:
Internal Speed Sensor - Y3/8N2
2766 - Excessive rpm’s have occurred at component Y3/8n2 (Internal speed sensor (VGS))
2767 - The signal from component Y3/8n2 (Internal speed sensor (VGS)) is not available
My issue usually occurs off and on whenever I use the paddle shifters before the trans/engine has not gotten warmed up enough, however after warmup it certainly can happen too! What happens is say I downshift once the car shifts to 6th gear at 40 mph (yes this too drives me crazy as this occurs in Sport Mode) to 5th, sometimes it will not downshift from 5th when I put on the brakes. As soon as that happens, I know I have to find a place to stop the car and completely turn off the engine and turn on again to allow the TCU to reset. Usually, as long I don’t use the paddle shifters, I’ll be ok, but whenever I use them afterwards, I have to be extra careful to watch the Display to see that the gear I’ve manually selected (lower readout) matches that of the Upper Readout. Once I realize that I changed gears but the display says otherwise, I know I have to restart again to reset, a real PITA! As long as I don’t manually put it Neutral and then attempt to put in gear again, whatever gear I’m in will usually allow for me to get to a spot to pull over and restart. But if I do that Neutral Shift, it will stay in Neutral!!!! Lesson learned!
I’m getting ready for my next phase of upgrades (American Racing Headers with double Cats, into the OEM Resonator, Stage 1 or 2 Camshafts, 63 Motorsport Camshaft Adjusters + Titanium Hardware, 82 mm Throttle Body, ECU Tune, Stereo Install) and during that, I’ll drain the Tranny Fluid and remove the TCU for rebuild. I just hope I don’t get stuck on the side of the road beforehand!
As for my issue of the TCU not remembering shift points (ie-shifting up to 7gear by 45 mph driving gently in Sport Mode!), I think perhaps it is built-in to the TCU as Mercedes must consider that SOME people who buy their AMG’s are fuel conscious and as such may not want it to have a higher rpm shift? Personally, I would rather it automatically shift at 3k RPM in Comfort Mode, 3.5k in Sport Mode and 4K in Aggressive Mode, but Not until the Coolant Temp reached 80*C. I was never able to get an educated answer to that question if say I installed a 3kRPM Torque Converter, only that it allows you to rev higher before engaging? If that’s similar to revving a manual clutch up to 3k rpm and throwing it into gear just for the sake of spinning the tires at take off, then no thanx. Perhaps an ECU Tune could solve that concern of mine, I guess I’ll find out soon!
Update, usually whenever I get to our main access road (35mph), the car hasn’t had enough time to get up to 80*C beforehand. Yesterday, however, I did and once I pulled out I gave it more gas to get ahead on oncoming traffic and voila! It shifted to a max of 5th gear and stayed in that gear once I took my foot off the gas at 45mph. Still one gear higher than I would like In Sport Mode, but a lot better than it automatically shifting up to 7. The lesson here is that it will seemingly shift to 6-7 if you are really babying the gas, which oftentimes I have to behind traffic.
12/14/22- I recently sent my TCM to Circuit Board Medics last week and they have already sent me an e-mail confirming its return to me!! I have installed it and the “Beast” is performing beautifully!
I recently picked up star and have been probing the car's brain to find the issue, so far it seems to be the selection range sensor on the conductor plate.
I was planning on replacing it when I read that dust can collect on the magnet that the sensor reads, and can cause intermittent faulty reading.
Sure enough my car's magnet was completely covered in dust, cleaned it and so far no luck.
I have a spare sensor off another car and will most likely have to unsolder the old one and solder in the new selection range sensor, but that is for a later date.
My symptoms also seem to be similar to yours(without the funky shift points), the gear icon on the top of the amg menu will also disappear and car will be stuck in gear, until I stop and restart the car and it magically re-appears. gear indicator circled(image pulled from google)
Thought I would wrap this issue up incase anyone had similiar issues.
Dropped the transmission pan, removed valve body, removed conductor plate, removed old selection range sensor, soldered on a used one off a 2008 s550, assembled back together and zero issues so far.
Codes are all gone, the car drives great no weird downshifts, and I can know launch it from a standstill in automatic mode without it cutting power.
To sum everything up if star says selection range sensor is bad, just replace it and forget it.
06-17-2022, 10:50 PM
). Then went on to change engine oil, changed transmission fluid/filter with the newer "blue" fluid as recommended by MB tech (oil filter was so old it would not stay in place which was the likely cause of slow gear engagements). Flushed the power steering fluid, and replaced the voltage regulator as alternator was not charging.
