2013 E220 with no kickdown or manual change

[karllap]

Hi, I have bought a 2013 E220 which doesn't seem to have any kickdown or if I put it in manual mode the I can't manually change the gears. It also doesn't really feel any different in sports mode though because I have only had the car a few weeks I don't know how much of a difference it should make.
I know this sounds weird but it also feels like it should change gears more readily than it should. When I have had auto's before you can normally manipulate the accelerator to change up or accelerator a little to change down but it doesn't and lastly it doesn't like going into 7th. I have to do over 80mph before it drops in to 7th

What is really bizarre is today I was just about to pull of from the lights when everything just went of for a second and the radio / sat-nav screen went purple (as though everything just reset) but the gears started working ok!
It only lasted for about 5 minutes though then back to not working.

The car comes with a receipt for work done to the EGR and DPF so not sure if this could have anything to do with it or could be a complete red herring

The car drives lovely but just weird issues with gears

 

[Sprint-Man]

Hello karllap and welcome to MBCUK,

Now I'm no expert but I have used the procedure in the link below and 'reset' the adaptive control that monitors your driving style, no doubt that a qualified club member may assist you more professionally but it's worth a try and it's free?

Good luck, hope it's of use to you

You are being redirected...

 

[karllap]

Hi Sprint-Man, thanks for your info. I have give it a go but no luck. Thanks anyway it was worth a try

 

[CJD]

That doesn't sound right to me.
Did you buy it from a garage? If so get it back to them to be checked over.

 

[karllap]

Unfortunately not, it was a private sale and to be fair the guy I bought it of seems genuine enough.
I really like the car so am hoping to get it sorted between us without throwing it back at him and us both losing out

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Have a code read . its possibly something as simple as the exhaust back pressure sensor. Common fault and a £50 fix.

 

[karllap]

Bit more info after today's drive.
I think that the reason its happening is because its falling into some kind of semi limp mode. If I turn the car off and restart it runs fine.
On the motorway today it was fine for about 60 miles but when I come of and start to put some load on through the gears (not giving it beans) it drops into this limp mode and won't change gear properly again and isn't as powerful.
Again, if I just turn the engine off and restart it goes back to normal

 

[Flyinspanner]

You need to get the codes read to see what’s stored in there.

Get in on a MB specific OBD reader like an icarsoft, or get to a local MB specialist Independant garage who has a STAR system.
General garages with generic readers won’t be able to interrogate the codes to the same depth, and may lead to swapping out parts that are actually perfectly serviceable.

Hope it’s some simple sensor

 

[karllap]

You need to get the codes read to see what’s stored in there.

Get in on a MB specific OBD reader like an icarsoft, or get to a local MB specialist Independant garage who has a STAR system.
General garages with generic readers won’t be able to interrogate the codes to the same depth, and may lead to swapping out parts that are actually perfectly serviceable.

Hope it’s some simple sensor

I will be getting it booked in as soon as I can "work commitments". I was just seeing if anyone has any experience of similar issues to help me pin point or try simple things in the mean time

 

[Flyinspanner]

There will be similar issues, trouble is there will also be differing causes, just didn’t want you to start throwing money at a wild goose chase.

 

[karllap]

Would anyone have a part number for the EGR valve? I'm just trying to get as much information as I can together whilst I am waiting to get the diags done on my car.
I just have a sneaky feeling it is either this or the MAF thats causing the problem based on some reading I have been doing. And, the fact that the EGR has been "serviced" recently makes me think it was causing a problem and has probably be cleaned which may have temporarily fixed it but the fault has now come back

 

[OneForTheRoad]

I have and I did.

 

[karllap]

There will be similar issues, trouble is there will also be differing causes, just didn’t want you to start throwing money at a wild goose chase.

Appreciate that mate, and as I say I will be taking your advice as I know its the only sure way. Its just that it will be a week or so so was just seeing what I can do in the meantime

 

[karllap]

I have and I did.

Sorry mate, you've lost me (it doesn't take much)

 

[OneForTheRoad]

I've had similar problems and it was fixed by replacing the exhaust back pressure sensor. I own an icarsoft mb2 scanner . and if you're keeping this car for any length of time I'd advise you buy one. What you are experiencing can be caused by many factors and the fault codes can be like a domino effect. One part can fail causing another part to not receive a signal or an incorrect signal. This is when the guessing games begin. People blame the gearbox when intact its the turbo in limp mode . so in response to your original question without a scan first . no there's nothing you can do really unless you have a donor car using the same parts you can swap over. Or just buy parts for the hell of it in the hopes you hit lucky. Please report back with your findings though as it all helps others with future issues.

 

[karllap]

Ok, The car is booked in on Wednesday for a diagnostic with MBtech. But I'm still fetling around to see if there is anything obvious.

One thing I have noticed is that there seems to be a constant hiss type noise coming from the EGR area but its very hard to pinpoint where. It doesn't seem to change pitch or anything like that and I'm not sure if its usually there as the car is new to me.

It does it at tick over and stays pretty constant even when revving

Does anyone else know if this is usual?

 

[lordlee]

We’ve had similar with our E350 and it’s a bit of a nightmare. I don’t think it’s the gearbox - it’s more likely the engine having an issue and giving the gearbox TCU false readings. We took ours to a reputable independent but there were no codes so we’ve just carried on driving it. It’s intermittent which is more annoying!! I did check all of the seals around the top of the engine and turbo and replaced them all as they were quite tired. Worth checking though.