Strange quote of service manual for a w124 automatic

[karakan08]

quote of official Service Manual

Program Selector switch
'S' Standard. (Push Switch forward - 'S' becomes visible). In selector lever positions 'D' and "3" the vehicle will start off in 2nd gear when accelerating gently. The Vehicle will set off in 1st gear when accelerating briskly.

'E' Economy. (Push switch to the rear - 'E' becomes visible). In selector lever positions 'D' and '3' the vehicle will start off in 2nd gear even with full throttle. and Even with high throttle, changes up and down will take palce at driving speeds and engine speeds lower than in position 's'.

Is this true? Because I never noticed this with my car, my car allways start in first gear (i know this because the first gear is tear out - time to do a revision).

 

[The G.F.P]

yes mine is a 4 speed auto

if i want to go off quickly and enjor the roar then its S & 2, or to pull off normally its D or 3

ive not noticed that S/E making much difference on fast pull off

i have in going slowly as in E it will change gear very low down but in S it will make the limit almost

 

[Uberwagon]

S - Starts in second, less throttle needed for automatic kickdown, revs round to 6300.

E - Starts in second, more throttle needed before kickdown occurs, revs round to 6000.

The only time I really mess about with it is when having a fun drive, then I put it into 3rd and S so I get better engine braking as it doesn't want to constantly shift to 4th.

The only way I can get it to start in 1st, which imo is pointless on my car, is by selecting B (I think, not seen the car in 6 months ).

Dave!

 

[Frank O' Phile]

quote of official Service Manual

Program Selector switch
'S' Standard. (Push Switch forward - 'S' becomes visible). In selector lever positions 'D' and "3" the vehicle will start off in 2nd gear when accelerating gently. The Vehicle will set off in 1st gear when accelerating briskly.

'E' Economy. (Push switch to the rear - 'E' becomes visible). In selector lever positions 'D' and '3' the vehicle will start off in 2nd gear even with full throttle. and Even with high throttle, changes up and down will take palce at driving speeds and engine speeds lower than in position 's'.

Is this true? Because I never noticed this with my car, my car allways start in first gear (i know this because the first gear is tear out - time to do a revision).

This is exactly how mine works. First gear will not engage while in 'E'.

While in 'S' it will start in 2nd and if a heavy foot is applied it will kick down into 1st. Unless you draw the lever all the back to 2nd and then back to 'D' in which case it will start immediately in 1st for even more rapid getaways.

If you don't notice any difference between the two settings then you may have a faulty switch. This problem has been well covered here and a quick search will show you the way.

 

[Dave Lewis]

W124s with the 4-cylinder M111 multivalve engines, and 6-cylinder M104 280s and 320s, all start in first gear in both S and E. As do the multivalve diesels.

 

[kth286]

The estate may be different because of heavier loads possibility.

You probably have the 722.4 gearbox whereas 'we' have the 722.3 gearboxes.

 

[Dave Lewis]

The estate may be different because of heavier loads possibility.

You probably have the 722.4 gearbox whereas 'we' have the 722.3 gearboxes.

Ah that would explain it. All my 124s have been estates. Maybe the 4-cylinder cabriolets also start in 1st because they're relatively heavy?