Is the 7g gearbox really that bad?

[Creepy coupe]

Is the 7G adaptive or more too the point is the ECU in cars fitted with them?

 

[Mr E]

Is the 7G adaptive or more too the point is the ECU in cars fitted with them?

Yes

 

[fredT]

I think its adaptive but not 100% sure. Mine was very snatchy 2nd to 1st when i first got it but now much better. Not sure if it's because it has adapted or i have learnt to drive around the problem.

ALso never rolls back even on very steep declines (2006 model).

I think i am in the 5g camp..

 

[Londonscottish]

My driving is a mixture of urban crawl and fast dual carriageways/motorways with a bit or rural thrown in. I liked the 5 speed boxes on both on my C43's and also like the 7G on my E500.

The 5 speeds were more prone to clonk down into 1st very soon after a cold start (by this I mean in the first few hundred yards, no doubt when the engine is still on its enrichment cycle). The 7G did used to do this occasionally but I haven't noticed it for a couple of years.

1-0 7G

It was very occasionally possible to confuse a 5 speed by throttling on and off in quick succession three or four times. I've never managed to catch the 7G out.

2-0 7G

I preferred the way the 5 speed holds on hill but after a while figured out SBC hold on my E500. It's still a little annoying to have to go through the extra step of engaging SBC Hold

2-1 7G

0ther than those minor anomalies both boxes do what they are supposed to do extremely well - change up and down seamlessly and adapt to my driving style.

So a win for the 7G from me.

 

[jaymanek]

I love the 7G Box and am convinced that many of the problems are down to poor servicing... Even the dealers dont change the fluid properly.

Give the box a good change of fluid every 40K and change ALL of the fluid and it will last a long time..

Its a very smooth box and light years ahead of the old 5G boxes.

We think parts are expensive for these, try buying parts for a BMW or Jaguar, you need to remortgage the house everytime you need an oil filter.

 

[Creepy coupe]

I've not tried the 5G but find the 7G very smooth, both up and down shifting. Ours has definitely smoothed out since putting a couple of thousand miles on the (new) car.

If I had any pointers for improvement, it would be. Downshifts too many gears at a time, when just wanting one lower gear for the time when you just want to pass something. And when downshifting it's a little ponderous when not using the paddles. Oh and I'd like it to display the gear I'm in, even in full auto mode.

 

[st4]

I love the 7G Box and am convinced that many of the problems are down to poor servicing... Even the dealers dont change the fluid properly.

Give the box a good change of fluid every 40K and change ALL of the fluid and it will last a long time..

Its a very smooth box and light years ahead of the old 5G boxes.

We think parts are expensive for these, try buying parts for a BMW or Jaguar, you need to remortgage the house everytime you need an oil filter.

The car I sold you had two dealer ATF changes. These are both partial changes. A local indie did the full drain and did the TC by disconnecting the pipes.

Made no difference. 1st to 2nd still flared when cold. The other changes were slow and awkward. The 5g in the car you sold me is so much better.

 

[portal_96]

I've been driving the c250 cdi with 7G for 3 months now and I've had little trouble. I test drove the same car in a manual before ordering and thought the manual box was very loose and reminisent of an old punto I had year ago. Certainly not a sport box and not up to the standards of similar manual Audis and BMWs I've driven.

Not driven a 7G petrol though, so cant comment on that i guess...

The only niggle with the 7G I've got is that it pulls away in 2nd (In Economy mode, unsure about sport) it can be a bit embarassing when you need a quick exit from a junction and there's no power, but its easily solved by manually shifting the stick/paddle down on the odd occasion you need to do this.

 

[Creepy coupe]

I'
The only niggle with the 7G I've got is that it pulls away in 2nd (In Economy mode, unsure about sport) it can be a bit embarassing when you need a quick exit from a junction and there's no power, but its easily solved by manually shifting the stick/paddle down on the odd occasion you need to do this.

I'd forgotten about the 2nd gear nonsense. That explains why when I prod the gas to nip out of a round about junction, it kicks down and revs in T@ts off.

 

[V12]

The only niggle with the 7G I've got is that it pulls away in 2nd (In Economy mode, unsure about sport) it can be a bit embarassing when you need a quick exit from a junction and there's no power, but its easily solved by manually shifting the stick/paddle down on the odd occasion you need to do this.

Same with every merc auto, not just 7G

 

[Deleted member 65149]

If I had any pointers for improvement, it would be. Downshifts too many gears at a time, when just wanting one lower gear for the time when you just want to pass something. And when downshifting it's a little ponderous when not using the paddles. Oh and I'd like it to display the gear I'm in, even in full auto mode.

IMO, how many gears it downshifts is dependent on how hard you press the throttle and what gear you were in. Possibly it's outthinking you on these occasions so you'd be better off using the paddles to select the appropriate gear in advance (such as when overtaking).

As for displaying the gear, I thought that at first but then realised that we have a rec counter to give the information we really need. If you've been using the paddles and forget to change up to 7th when cruising, you'll notice the higher revs if you bother to use that dial.

Not driven a 7G petrol though, so cant comment on that i guess...

The only niggle with the 7G I've got is that it pulls away in 2nd (In Economy mode, unsure about sport) it can be a bit embarassing when you need a quick exit from a junction and there's no power, but its easily solved by manually shifting the stick/paddle down on the odd occasion you need to do this.

I have a 7G petrol and I'm delighted to report that it's silky smooth.

And one of the many advantages of a large petrol engine is that pulling away in 2nd is still easily fast enough for just about every occasion . But flick on the Sport switch and press the pedal to the metal for a joy to behold, especially with boy racers next to you at the lights .

 

[steve333]

I think its adaptive but not 100% sure. Mine was very snatchy 2nd to 1st when i first got it but now much better. Not sure if it's because it has adapted or i have learnt to drive around the problem.

ALso never rolls back even on very steep declines (2006 model).

I think i am in the 5g camp..

Try doing the gearbox reset(do a search of the forum someone has put a step by step up).

 

[steve333]

The car I sold you had two dealer ATF changes. These are both partial changes. A local indie did the full drain and did the TC by disconnecting the pipes.

Made no difference. 1st to 2nd still flared when cold. The other changes were slow and awkward. The 5g in the car you sold me is so much better.

Maybe the 2 main dealer part fluid changes we're to blame Steve,hence the 3rd indie full drain etc making no difference?

 

[steve333]

I've been driving the c250 cdi with 7G for 3 months now and I've had little trouble. I test drove the same car in a manual before ordering and thought the manual box was very loose and reminisent of an old punto I had year ago. Certainly not a sport box and not up to the standards of similar manual Audis and BMWs I've driven.

Not driven a 7G petrol though, so cant comment on that i guess...

The only niggle with the 7G I've got is that it pulls away in 2nd (In Economy mode, unsure about sport) it can be a bit embarassing when you need a quick exit from a junction and there's no power, but its easily solved by manually shifting the stick/paddle down on the odd occasion you need to do this.

If you select sport mode the car will pull away in 1st.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

As we're comparing 7G to 5G here, I should add that I very much prefer my current 7G, although I've only had the car just over 6 months. For the ten years immediately before that I had a CLK230K with the 5G. It's not truly fair to compare a 12 year old 2.3 litre 4-pot driving a 5G box, with a brand new 3.5 litre 6-pot driving a 7G box, but the 7G is waaaaay better. Every change in every gear is barely noticeable, if at all. And that's the opinion of this VERY fussy driver who paid a lot extra for a V6 petrol instead of smaller and/or diesel engines that aren't anywhere near as smooth. I might even suggest that perhaps I'm even more discerning than Steve who is still fighting the case for the 5G (have to admire his persistence if not his reasoning!).

 

[st4]

Maybe the 2 main dealer part fluid changes we're to blame Steve,hence the 3rd indie full drain etc making no difference?

10k miles CLS grand edition 59reg had the same flaring shift issue and bad 2 into 1 shifts. Awful.

 

[Creepy coupe]

IMO, how many gears it downshifts is dependent on how hard you press the throttle and what gear you were in. Possibly it's outthinking you on these occasions so you'd be better off using the paddles to select the appropriate gear in advance (such as when overtaking).

As for displaying the gear, I thought that at first but then realised that we have a rec counter to give the information we really need. If you've been using the paddles and forget to change up to 7th when cruising, you'll notice the higher revs if you bother to use that dial.

.

I expect it's because I've been used to driving an M3 with a 7 speed DCT. Which still told you the gear you were in, even in auto. Because it had many different modes, Auto, sport, M Sport and then 6 different levels of ferocity, looking at the tech needed the computing power of a mathematician. I just looked at the gear indicator and made a decision from it.

 

[steve333]

10k miles CLS grand edition 59reg had the same flaring shift issue and bad 2 into 1 shifts. Awful.

Petrol or diesel?

 

[st4]

Petrol or diesel?

Diesel.

And I tried an E500 coupe with 7g. Better gear spacing but it was really jolty but the car was so fast I didn't care.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I expect it's because I've been used to driving an M3 with a 7 speed DCT. Which still told you the gear you were in, even in auto. Because it had many different modes, Auto, sport, M Sport and then 6 different levels of ferocity, looking at the tech needed the computing power of a mathematician. I just looked at the gear indicator and made a decision from it.

I drove a few of those and never managed to work out the most suitable settings. It all came down to guess work in the end!!