Can't believe my wife did this .....

[paulfoel]

Had my C350 TD auto for about a year now. Its the late 2000 model so does'nt have tiptronic transmission.

However, if you're in Drive you can flick it right to 4, pull down to 3,2,1 etc.

My Mrs was driving the other day and I was passenger (which is pretty rare). I noticed that she had flicked the stick over to the right into 4 so I asked her why...

Apparently, shes been driving it like this all the time !!!!! She thought it was easier to stick into drive and then flick right 'out of the way'.

So it looks like shes been driving, probably about 2000-3000 miles in 4 not D !!!!

What it looks like it does is not stick it into 4th gear like a manual but restrict the auto box to changing higher than the gear you manually select. So, basically, fron stop the box will change up when it feels necessary but never changes higher than the gear you selected.

So, the Mrs has been drivingg down the motorway stuck in 4th gear !!! And I was wondering why the fuel consumption was so crap when she drove.

Thing is though the merc does 85-90 quite comfortably in 4th (apart from using higher revs !).

Aanybody want to guess at how much extra fuel is used doing 70 in 4th rather than 5th...

 

[sym]

On my car, you have to pull the lever towards you from D to 4 . . . so its certainly not out of the way !!! Are we talking about the same 5 speed auto shift pattern, or did they fit a LHD version to your car or something ?

S.

 

[RichardM]

Paul did say she flicked the stick over to the right.

 

[uumode]

at least she didn't stick it into 3.

Just wondering, what happens if you stick it into 2, will
A. the engine blow up
B. Maximum speed be limited (while cruising at the red line)
C. the auto gear box cut in and change up

probably B?

 

[paulfoel]

Paul did say she flicked the stick over to the right.

Yes. D is half way down.

You then need to flick to the right (towards driver) to get 4. Then pull back towards read for 3, 2, 1.

 

[paulfoel]

at least she didn't stick it into 3.

Just wondering, what happens if you stick it into 2, will
A. the engine blow up
B. Maximum speed be limited (while cruising at the red line)
C. the auto gear box cut in and change up

probably B?

Yeh. Don't know answer to your question. Perhaps it just wont let you pull the stick into that position....

 

[sym]

The link between the 4 3 2 & 1 positions and the transmission, is electronic, rather than mechanical . . . You can move the stick into any position at any speed, but hopefully no chance of the ECU allowing the engine to blow up !!

S.

 

[SilverSaloon]

The link between the 4 3 2 & 1 positions and the transmission, is electronic, rather than mechanical . . . You can move the stick into any position at any speed, but hopefully no chance of the ECU allowing the engine to blow up !!

S.

what happens if u push the lever from D into N and then into R.

?? would the stick allow you to do this or will it just not be able to move? bit worrying as its on the same path as N and D so i suppose quite easy to knock into R when in D by mistake?

 

[sym]

I think your foot has to be on the brake to move from N to R ..... but I'm not willing to experiment at high speed in order to test this theory !!!!

Any volunteers ???

S.

 

[paulfoel]

The link between the 4 3 2 & 1 positions and the transmission, is electronic, rather than mechanical . . . You can move the stick into any position at any speed, but hopefully no chance of the ECU allowing the engine to blow up !!

S.

It'll still let you 'cruise' along the motorway in 4th though !!!!!!

 

[Shude]

what happens if u push the lever from D into N and then into R.

?? would the stick allow you to do this or will it just not be able to move? bit worrying as its on the same path as N and D so i suppose quite easy to knock into R when in D by mistake?

You *can* do that, but if you remember, your foot has to be on the brake in order to move the lever between those selections.

 

[nickmann]

According to my info CD reverse and park are only selectable below 7kph. Perhaps it works off the same sensor that triggers the automatic door-locking?

 

[Ralph]

Slightly off topic / wrong forum section I know, but it triggered a train of thought following on from Nick's comment.

Can one utilise the automatic door locking trigger (in it's antithesis) to power up DIY front parking sensors when below the trigger speed?

If so, any pointers (W209 CLK).

If not is there another way to activate them without user intervention? Does the door lock trigger have an equivalent but oposite twin?

 

[portzy]

You *can* do that, but if you remember, your foot has to be on the brake in order to move the lever between those selections.

Err, I can go from N to D without footbrake is there something wrong? the fault display in the operating system never shows any faults when I check it (every day). Dont know about N to R though as its always been at lights. I definately need brake to get out of P though. Have I got a faulty box?

 

[Deleted member 2227]

I once heard of a Maidstone lady whose husbands 7 series let her select Reverse on an Auto box whilst doing 85mph on the M20. It simply shredded the gearbox and hearsay says the bill was about £4000.

 

[Satch]

I have found it is veerrrrryyyy easy to knock into and happily drive along in 4 with a Tiptronic. Tuesday morning and I only noticed when I got to the toll booth on the M25 Dartford river crossing. No idea how long that had been going on, maybe Stansted.

Anyway, not that much of a problem as 4 is the 1:1 ratio, 5 is a 0.83:1 overdrive and the overall gearing on an E320 Cdi is pretty lofty. Tad over 2000rpm gives 70 mph in 5th.

 

[Shude]

Dont know about N to R though as its always been at lights.

I think N to R is the one requiring the brake pedal, I can't remember. Of course, if you want to find out just jump in your car and start pushing the lever about! Let us know the results...

 

[guydewdney]

my manual states that it is possible to go from D to R to 'rock' the car out of a sticky situation, but suggests that one should allow the car to come to a complete halt before changing 'normally'

 

[PJH]

Had my C350 TD auto for about a year now. Its the late 2000 model so does'nt have tiptronic transmission.



Anybody want to guess at how much extra fuel is used doing 70 in 4th rather than 5th...

A C350 TD, :bannana: WOW ! MB kept that quiet... maybe it was just a typo..

Getting back to the original question, 7mpg worse.

 

[uumode]

According to my info CD reverse and park are only selectable below 7kph. Perhaps it works off the same sensor that triggers the automatic door-locking?

My Audi had a very clever system,
if the fuse to the brake lights had blown, it wouldn't allow me to move lever off 'P'!