W124 kickdown

[marty359]

So if I pull away gently in D with either 'E' or 'S' selected it pulls away in 2nd gear?

If I pull away briskly in D with 'S' selected it moves off rather sharpish in 1st gear and will pull nicely through the gears. Mr Trever in his bean can corsa was quite surprised

Say I leave a roundabout exit and floor it I can feel it kickdown and picks up speed pretty well but if im travelling at 40 to 50mph and want to overtake someone on a dual carriageway I floor it and it wont kickdown and ive got time to do a crossword before I can pull in again.

Does all this sound normal for an E220 ?

 

[carat 3.6]

Sounds normal to me.

Try this: With the car standing still and your left foot on the brake, pull the gear lever all the way back into 2, and then back into d. Now stand on the throttle and let the brakes off.

 

[marty359]

Sounds normal to me.

Well thats not very good for overtaking I found a new kickdown relay in the boot but it does kickdown at slow speeds.

Try this: With the car standing still and your left foot on the brake, pull the gear lever all the way back into 2, and then back into d. Now stand on the throttle and let the brakes off.

The wife uses it more than me, will she just sit there with the rears smoking

 

[carat 3.6]

The wife uses it more than me, will she just sit there with the rears smoking

With a bit of practice she could do that. It used to make for a hell of launch in my old 300.

 

[kth286]

at 40-50 it should kick down.

I did not know 220 started off in second gear - you sure ?

you are talking 124 cars here ?

 

[GP801]

Pulling away in 2nd is normal unless pedal pressed very firmly. It should certainly kick down at 40-50 in S mode. There is a notch at the end of the pedal travel. If you go beyond this it should kickdown even more fiercely. At least ours does. It has a very short think about it and then the nose rises and revs and speed build very rapidly. It can surprise quite a lot of more modern cars.

 

[marty359]

Yep a 94 W124, I read it somewhere after researching what the auto 2 and 3 positions are for.

 

[marty359]

It should certainly kick down at 40-50 in S mode. There is a notch at the end of the pedal travel. If you go beyond this it should kickdown even more fiercely. .

I always leave it in S mode and I can feel the kickdown switch click when fully depressed but no kickdown over about 20mph.

 

[GP801]

I think you have a problem. Probably the kickdown switch is faulty but I am no expert. It certainly should kick down when you get beyond the click.

 

[d w124]

I always leave it in S mode and I can feel the kickdown switch click when fully depressed but no kickdown over about 20mph.

Yes there is so as ^ you might have a problem

 

[Ian B Walker]

E220, M111 engine. Check the kickdown linkage under the throttle body. The 2 plastic pegs / levers should line up.

 

[Henry D]

Mine kicks down readily when in S mode, doesn't want to in E unless pedal floored, hence mine stays in S all the time.

 

[neilz]

I had that engine (170k or so when I sold the car in Oct, engine relatively knackered), you had to floor it but kickdown did lead to rapid acceleration for a few seconds

Edit: Econ mode always starts in second, S mode should usually start in 1st

 

[stwat]

Edit: Econ mode always starts in second, S mode should usually start in 1st

Nope, it's still a second gear start in 'S' but you can get a first gear start if you fully depress the go pedal.
You can still get a first gear start in 'E' but you need to click the kickdown switch and as soon as you release the switch the gearbox will change up.

 

[neilz]

Nope, it's still a second gear start in 'S' but you can get a first gear start if you fully depress the go pedal.
You can still get a first gear start in 'E' but you need to click the kickdown switch and as soon as you release the switch the gearbox will change up.

Sold mine but from what I remember my manual would disagree completely

 

[balge]

What the book says for my 230...

 

[neilz]

Mine was the facelift 220 coupe

 

[stwat]

Mine was the facelift 220 coupe

With the same gearbox as per instructions posted by balge above.

They always pull away in second gear no matter whether in S or E.

 

[BillyW124]

Also you will find that in S mode depending on the engine speed, you are able to 'soft kick' (thats what i call it) at almost 3/4 of the pedal being fully down. This is without having to even hit the switch with the pedal. Only will work at certain engine speed.

Then if you really want to rocket ship, lay off depressing the pedal after this moment for a a couple of seconds then floor it!

IMO if your 124 gearbox and kick down is working as it should, mastering how to use it to its full potential can be fun. It takes a little time to learn but once you get it, its surprising how quickly you can pick up speed in these. sometimes it shocks my passengers, and of course some twits that get brave sometimes!

I dont use kickdown too often as i usually use gear 3 in situations when i need to pick up engine speed more than it already is gear 3 works wonders when you know the exact time time to use it.

In regards to your issue - or not, might be advisable for somebody to drive the car who knows how the 124s drive. Will give you a better indication.

 

[marty359]

Check the kickdown linkage under the throttle body. The 2 plastic pegs / levers should line up.

Thanks for all the replies, i'll have a look at the linkage at the weekend.