GeoE63

All,

I'm a new owner of an E63. I have always been a fan of BMWs and now have moved over to MB. I really like the E63, however, I have run into a major issue with the car after driving it for only 50 miles. I have search the forums and have not found anyone with a similar issue. If someone can help, please let me know.

After two short days of blissful driving, the E63 is back at the dealership. Here is what happened ... While driving the car at 35mph, I switched the transmission selector from C to S to pass another car and accelerated. I pressed the accelerator slightly, the engine rev'ed quickly, the transmission dropped a couple of gears (I think), the revs increased quickly (I don't think that I was near the red line). Man this car is quick ... Then the car lost power. The engine was running fine, it just seemed like I lost the power in the transmission. I didn't hit the accelerator hard. I had my wife and two kids in the car and was trying to take it easy during the break in period. Since the car felt that it was in neutral, I had to coast safely to the shoulder of the road. I turned off the car and restarted. The transmission selector lights (C, S, S+ ..) were off and the yellow engine light was on. I could shift to Drive, but the car would not move. I shut off the car again and waited 10 mins. When I started the car, the Yellow engine light was still on, but the transmission lights (C, S, S+..) were "on". I placed the car in Drive, the car moved, then it felt that I dropped out of gear to neutral after only 100 feet of driving. The transmission light were off. The car had to be towed and I now at the dealership for testing. The odd thing is that when they unloaded the car from the tow truck, everything seemed to be fine.

This happen another time when I changed the transmission selector to "S". That time, I just had to restart the car.

Does the car run like mad when you change the selector to "S"? Mine seems to go out of control with rapid revs then shuts down.

Has anyone had a similar experience? I hope not, but I would like to know what the problem is ...

Jime60

I switch back and forth from C to S constantly with no problem-totally seamless. Sounds like you have an electrical/software problem.

Vic55

No issues here either- including constantly flipping ESC off and on for better dig launches.

GeoE63

I got a call from the dealership and they said that they were able to reproduce the problem repeatably with hard acceleration. They tracked down the problem to a faulty throttle body. They ordered a new part and hopefully it will solve the problem. I will find out in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I have a C class loner

KonradE63

I recall reading in the manual that Mercedes recommends only changing the modes while the car is in park. This is not the way the dealer demonstrated the use of the control, but I believe this is what is in the manual. I will search for it tomorrow and repost.

GeoE63

I think that only applies to switching to "M" and "RS". You may want to double check that in the manual.

GeoE63

Correction ... it is an issue with the Valve Body that controls the transmission. They should have the car fixed after the part arrives.

From http://www.familycar.com/transmission.htm

Valve Body
The valve body is the control center of the automatic transmission. It contains a maze of channels and passages that direct hydraulic fluid to the numerous valves which then activate the appropriate clutch pack or band servo to smoothly shift to the appropriate gear for each driving situation. Each of the many valves in the valve body has a specific purpose and is named for that function. For example the 2-3 shift valve activates the 2nd gear to 3rd gear up-shift or the 3-2 shift timing valve which determines when a downshift should occur.
The most important valve, and the one that you have direct control over is the manual valve. The manual valve is directly connected to the gear shift handle and covers and uncovers various passages depending on what position the gear shift is placed in. When you place the gear shift in Drive, for instance, the manual valve directs fluid to the clutch pack(s) that activates 1st gear. it also sets up to monitor vehicle speed and throttle position so that it can determine the optimal time and the force for the 1 - 2 shift. On computer controlled transmissions, you will also have electrical solenoids that are mounted in the valve body to direct fluid to the appropriate clutch packs or bands under computer control to more precisely control shift points.

GeoE63

Sorry for the frequent updates. MB service just called and they found a loose connector to the Valve Body. They said that it probably came loose during acceleration. They reconnected it and hopefully that will solve the problem

E-Ridium 63

These are helpful updates. I've experienced an odd transmission event a few weeks back but not as severe as yours. good to know what other members are experiencing with their cars so we can be prepared if it happens to ours.

Cheers

Racing Dad

yeah, good to know. Although, i'm sorry ou have to deal with this.

Ridium what kind of issues you having? I get wired shifts. sometimes i feel like it doesn't know which gear it wants to be in and keeps shifting up and down.

after my tune, i feel like sometimes it's too powerful for the transmission to handle, some gear shifts are much harsher.

sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread.

E-Ridium 63

i get the odd shift here and there as well but nothing I can't live with. The car is a bit Jekyll and Hyde; sometimes the downshifts are smooth and then sometimes they are jerky (talking about when I'm coming to a stop). Downshifting on the go is usually smooth.

The odd issue I had is posted here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...led-light.html

I've only had the event happen to me once thus far. I;m hoping it was a one time anomaly.

Racing Dad

@Ridium Yeah, i remember that issue you had when stalling. i had a similiar issue once or twice. But nothing like what you said.

interesting that you have any problems with the shifting as well. Mine is mostly up shifts. The downshifts are relatively smooth for me though.