7G Tronic - manual gear shifting

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eng622

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Dec 27, 2010
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Had a test drive in a SLK which had the paddle shift. When using the paddles on upshifting I could see the gear display going up 1,2,3 etc but on getting to 6 the next paddle operation displayed D. I was also watching the rev counter and in addition feeling the slight surge when shifting, however on pressing the paddle when 6 was displayed there was no reduction in the rpm and could not detect the shift when moving to D. So am I missing something as no experience with this auto box or is something vere very wrong as there appeared to be no 7th gear? Also when downshifting from D the next gear displayed was 5, not 6. Is this also normal/abnormal. The owner of the car could not comment as had only used the car in the auto mode.
 
When you go from 6 up the car will always show D, as all the gears 7 and below are available. 6 for instance means that the car will not go above 6.

There should be a button next to the gear lever which will toggle between S, W and M for manual. From memory if it's on M, it will then show 7 in the cluster when selected.

The gearbox is (or should be) very smooth, and it will not change-up if it feels that it would not be a good idea...

I would not worry...
 
Something I've noticed in mine is you have to be going pretty quick to get 7th gear...
 
As above, it is nothing to worry about and all normal.
 
Not to digress, but I am curious re the 7G box in my E350.

If I press the paddles while in D, it locks the box in that gear and displays it, for example D3. The paddles then workm it up and down the range.

When I want to put it back into full auto though, is there a way of doing it without having to press the selector button to S to M and back to C?
 
Not to digress, but I am curious re the 7G box in my E350.

If I press the paddles while in D, it locks the box in that gear and displays it, for example D3. The paddles then workm it up and down the range.

When I want to put it back into full auto though, is there a way of doing it without having to press the selector button to S to M and back to C?

Hold the up paddle for over a second and it should drop back into D.

I'm sure others know this, but for anyone reading that doesn't... if you're in D and hold the down paddle for a second instead of just going down one cog the box will select the right gear to give you maximum torque/power for acceleration. Holding the up paddle for a second, as I said, will drop the box back into D no matter what gear you were in.

Regards,
 
Hold the up paddle for over a second and it should drop back into D.

I'm sure others know this, but for anyone reading that doesn't... if you're in D and hold the down paddle for a second instead of just going down one cog the box will select the right gear to give you maximum torque/power for acceleration. Holding the up paddle for a second, as I said, will drop the box back into D no matter what gear you were in.

Regards,

Thanks for the reply. Useful info.
 
Something I've noticed in mine is you have to be going pretty quick to get 7th gear...

Yes, sometimes, but it will depend on the recent history within the 'box and also the throttle position and load.
If the car has been driven gently in can hold 7th gear down to 1000 rpm (about 40mph in an E320), but if you stop and start off again it may take the car to exceed about 65mph before it will upshift to 7th, whereas it may have upshifted to 7th at 50mph previously. The upshifts are clearly 'gated' by a whole host of parameters.
The gearing in the ML is about 15% shorter than my CLS but shares the same type of engine and gearbox. All the above observations are true of this car too, but at slightly lower road speeds.
It's not a fault....just a feature:eek:
 
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So for those of you with the 7sp box, would you give it the thumbs up? I know there have been software issues, and I am someone who enjoys the thrust of a 5 litre engine pushing a 5sp box from 5th to 3rd, and then taking off! I worry that the 7 speed would bridge that gap too smoothly, losing the sensation of harsh acceleration?
 
Ignoring the hesitation from stand still (which isn't present in S and to be honest I don't notice any more) the 7G seems very good indeed.

Changes are smooth in all conditions and it can happily sit at 70mph in 7th at barely 1k revs.

If I want harsh acceleration then I can get it no problem at all.

My only complaint would be that when slowing and turning a corner, it can be a it slow to select the lower gear needed to then pull away smoothly. This could be that the box has remembered that I drove it like a nun for the first month or just a side-effect of coupling an auto box to a diesel engine.

No complaints though so to speak.
 
Its learned you already. A gently driven C class 320cdi will take 7th at 60mph.

"Gently driven". If I wanted to do that I'd have got a C200.
 
So for those of you with the 7sp box, would you give it the thumbs up? I know there have been software issues, and I am someone who enjoys the thrust of a 5 litre engine pushing a 5sp box from 5th to 3rd, and then taking off! I worry that the 7 speed would bridge that gap too smoothly, losing the sensation of harsh acceleration?

So far so good, it can thunk a little on the way down into 1st if provoked but otherwise it's as smooth as the 5sp and gives a wonderful range of ratios.
 
So for those of you with the 7sp box, would you give it the thumbs up? I know there have been software issues, and I am someone who enjoys the thrust of a 5 litre engine pushing a 5sp box from 5th to 3rd, and then taking off! I worry that the 7 speed would bridge that gap too smoothly, losing the sensation of harsh acceleration?

Definite thumbs up:thumb:

Power delivery is seamless if you leave it to its own mind, or you can paddle shift if you want to get the most fun. All in all an excellent device that makes the older boxes seem dated. Try it, I don't think it will disappoint.
 
"Gently driven". If I wanted to do that I'd have got a C200.

Where you'll like it is after say overtaking someone, it will hold onto the lower gear for you for about 15secs, handy if you need to have another lunge to get past someone else.

In terms of shift speed both down and up, I felt the 5speed was quicker and for B roads the 3rd gear gave you a nice span of available speed, between 50-75mph. The 7g shifts unti 4th just below 70mph in my car, so B road progress is hampered with a shift.
 
Where you'll like it is after say overtaking someone, it will hold onto the lower gear for you for about 15secs, handy if you need to have another lunge to get past someone else.

In terms of shift speed both down and up, I felt the 5speed was quicker and for B roads the 3rd gear gave you a nice span of available speed, between 50-75mph. The 7g shifts unti 4th just below 70mph in my car, so B road progress is hampered with a shift.

But with the hoooge wave of turbo torque on the V6 diesel you can short shift, if I'm in manual mode I'm finding 3500 the point to hit the up paddle.

Fourth is the gear of choice for B roading though.
 
But with the hoooge wave of turbo torque on the V6 diesel you can short shift, if I'm in manual mode I'm finding 3500 the point to hit the up paddle.

Very true, in a 204 its a fair bit quicker than a 211. I've tried both.

Fourth is the gear of choice for B roading though.

Probably but I like the stronger engine braking effect of 3rd. I will try holding 4th, but I fear it may be off the boil when trying to power out the bend...
 

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