Mercedes Newbie Questions

[Collaudatore]

Hi All,

I've just become the (very) proud owner of an AMG C36. My first Mercedes, first auto & first "fast" car I've ever owned (check my car history). 2 days in and I haven't stopped grinning yet (even made it through our monthly finance meeting with said grin).

I have a couple of questions I am hoping you kind folks can clear up for me.

Firstly, auto gears. If I'm stuck in traffic or waiting at traffic lights, should I be knocking it into neutral? Is sitting in drive with foot on the brake putting unneccessary strain on the gearbox?

When I move from neutral to drive, with foot hard on brake pedal I feel a (very slight but noticeable) shunt as the gearbox selects drive. Is this normal of auto boxes or is something wrong/seriously wrong? And if the latter, any ideas what it could be?

Also, the accelerator doesn't seem very progressive. It could quite easily be that I am taking bad to having run around in that flaming Almera for the past couple of months, but from launch i seem to depress to power - nothing, nothing, nothing, POOOOWWWWEEEEERRRR - it is always greeted with a sudden widening of the eyes and a wee lift off of the power. Is this normal?

First thing I intend to do is have some rust-proofing done. I can see it's had a little touching up already, but appears as though a decent job has been done (touch wood) and the seller swears it was to cover stone chips. I have no reason to disbelieve him - he pointed out the areas the work was carried out. I've had a preliminary peruse of the forums on that issue and I'll make it so as soon as the credit card recovers a little.

Also planning my first trip to the 'ring now that I finally have a car that I am confident would make it there and back and be able to have fun in whilst there. Other than the usual, anything anyone can advise before I go? I plan on take out some insurance as I know my insurer (elephant) specifically procludes cover for use of the car on the 'ring - again another forum debate.

Also, any other helpful advice you might offer a newbie to the MB ranks would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry if the above seem like very blonde questions, but I hadn't ever even considered an auto until I saw what great value this car was.

Thanks,
P

[Piginapoke]

Perfectly OK to keep in D, no need to shift to Neutral at the lights. The slight shunt is also a characteristic not a fault.

[NicDale]

Collaudatore said:

Also, the accelerator doesn't seem very progressive. It could quite easily be that I am taking bad to having run around in that flaming Almera for the past couple of months, but from launch i seem to depress to power - nothing, nothing, nothing, POOOOWWWWEEEEERRRR - it is always greeted with a sudden widening of the eyes and a wee lift off of the power. Is this normal?
P

Yeah pretty much, my E36 AMG is the same, it takes a lot of practice to get it right so you can pull away smoothly from stop, also try using E on the gearbox setting, it should move away in 2nd rather than 1st so its a little easier to modulate.

[r129sl]

It is piss poor driving practice to hold the car on the footbrake at traffic lights: your (very bright on a Merc) brake lights are shining in the eyes of the driver waiting behind. This is especially obnoxious at night.

The correct practice is to put the (foot operated) hand brake on and knock the transmission into neutral.

However, it will not harm the car to hold it on the footbrake and almost everyone else does it (does nobody take driving seriously these days?).

Accelerator: the throttle pedal has a long travel and is stiff. The engine also is peaky with most of its performance at the top end. It may be that the linkages need lubrication but I suspect it is normal and you will get used to it.

[Killwilly]

I read an article recently which said. When a car with automatic transmission is stationary at traffic lights, it should be left in drive, but apply the hand brake, this approach will help to prolong the life of the gearbox.

Sorry I can't comment on you other query, except that I drive a BMW with automatic transmission and get no snatch/shunt when putting the car into drive.

[74merc]

Check the tension on the accelerator cable. Adjust either way to see if it suits you better.

[Collaudatore]

Thanks for the response everyone.

NicDale said:

try using E on the gearbox setting

It's pretty much constantly on E unless I'm having a little fun. Not this, but thanks.

r129sl said:

It is piss poor driving practice to hold the car on the footbrake at traffic lights:

Thanks for the heads-up. Luckily it's been daytime so hopefully not too much distress caused. Point taken!

r129sl said:

most of its performance at the top end.

Noted, but it's whilst pulling away from standstill being as progressive as I (currently) possibly can.

r129sl said:

It may be that the linkages need lubrication

Nah not that, I've experienced that before. The pedal itself feels smooth, rather the response from the pedal feels dramatic from launch.

r129sl said:

it is normal and you will get used to it.

I expect this is the answer. 'Man-up' a little Paul and get used to the decent car!

74merc said:

Check the tension on the accelerator cable. Adjust either way to see if it suits you better.

But I'll give this a go too, thanks!

Thanks again to everyone.



Also, I assume I have TC?? Haven't yet found the button to turn it on/off (assuming there is one).

[toggs]

My gearbox seems lazy at times but having drove a manual for years guess it just takes a bit of getting used to.
I find my gearbox tends to be slow on the kick down is there any adjustment that can be made to it ?

[r129sl]

I had a w202 which refused to kick down and it turned out the throttle cable was insufficiently tensioned. However, until Merc started using the 722.6 transmission (about 1997), Merc autoboxes were all pretty reluctant to down change. On my 1986 500 SEC I tend to use the shift lever.

[74merc]

I've had both the 4 speed and the 5 speed auto boxes and found the 4 speed more eager to kickdown. The 5 speed can be reset as it is an adaptive box so will adapt to your driving style. I've forgotten how to reset it though, it might be in the user's manual.

[74merc]

Also check the condition of the auto transmission fluid. These boxes were designed to be sealed for life but the reality is that the ATF needs to be changed every 40K miles or so. I don't think there will be a dipstick so put something like a curtain wire down the filler pipe to check the colour of the ATF fluid. Red -> good, brown -> bad. There's lots more info on www.mbclub.co.uk.

[mickyveloce]

Hello and well done for your choice of car . I`ve had a C36 for getting on for three years and done plenty of research into the car .

Early road tests talk of an unprogressive throttle action , so this is normal although the car shouldn`t be difficult to pull away smoothly at the lights . Lubricate the throttle cable under the bonnet (quite accessible) and , if all else fails , replace the cable (shouldn`t cost much) .

The 4 speed gearbox has a mechanical feel to it ad is very tough . It can take more torque than the C36 pushes through it without incident . Having said that , take the precautionary measure of a fluid change if thi hasn`t been done in the past two years .

Depending on the year of the car , rust shouldn`t be an issue . Mine is a 1996 model , built prior to the cost cutting . Any rust you see on a W202 will be superficial and easy to fix (except boot locks) .

Try to run the car on the basis of it being a handbuilt machine . Always use the best oil , best tyres , super unleaded fuel etc and reap the rewards .

Dont hesitate to drop me an e-mail if you have any issues .

Micky Veloce

[woansleftpeg]

I don't know about your car, but my 04 SL350 has a function called SBC Hold whereby once you come to a stop, depressing the brake pedal hard invokes the brake without having to keep your foot on the pedal. I don't know whether it keeps the brake lights on though, I've never got out to look.