Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 1,194 total)
  • So I’ve got this Mercedes and I have questions
  • WorldClassAccident
    Free Member

    I tried the secret reset. Basically it sets the gear box to default vanilla settings and then adapts to how you drive. Try it.

    Put the car in comfort gearbox setting and drive like Miss Daisy for a few hundred miles and it will make the changes so smooth you won’t notice.
    Put the car in Sports mode and drive it like you stoile it and the gear box will up and down shift like a race car.

    It is really noticeable as I discovered after I was advised to do so by the garage after this little bill which followed my gearbox getting a bit lumpy. Notice that this was a 2nd hand gearbox rather than the ££££££ new replacement

    WorldClassAccident
    Free Member

    Oh, did I mention that you should just relax and enjoy the car, nothing is likely to go wrong.

    Rubber_Buccaneer
    Full Member

    hopefully you still have a gearbox, dipstick

    I know molgrips asks a lot of inane questions but this seems a bit rude 😉

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    prettygreenparrot
    Full Member

    @worldclassaccident nice bill. £100 for the replacement gearbox oil (+VAT?) seems like a bargain compared to what I remember of the compulsory gearbox oil change on several MBs at ~2 years in. I assumed it was synthesised from unicorn parts and then matured in oak for many years.

    Daffy
    Full Member

    30 section tyres have no place on a car in the UK, but for some reason there’s a certain proportion of the population that like big, heavy, expensive, easily damaged, uncomfortable wheels with a sliver of rubber around the outside.

    Check what the minimum size wheel that can be fitted is. It’ll likely show you in the manual with winter tyre spec.

    I think that if you’re large wheels and good tyres are in good condition, you should be able to ebay them and buy a smaller, equally good condition set of wheels and (hopefully non-runflat) tyres and actually MAKE Money.

    kerley
    Free Member

    30 section tyres have no place on a car in the UK, but for some reason there’s a certain proportion of the population that like big, heavy, expensive, easily damaged, uncomfortable wheels with a sliver of rubber around the outside.

    But they look good and that is all that matters I guess. Nobody driving on the road actually needs massive wheels, massive discs, 30 section 300+ wide tyres. How are all those things helping when the maximum speed you can do is 60mph?

    Nobody really needs a car with over 100bhp for same reasons so not really sure what people are doing with their 500bhp cars either.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    Modern cars are much better than older cars. They drive better despite being bigger and heavier because of things like low profile tyres, big brakes. Big brakes are not for stopping power but brake fade. When was the last time you had to manage brake temps in a car. I remember my first car and having to manage brake temps but these days just not a problem. Also traction control, ESP and clever diffs all use brakes so you need the capacity to manage all that and braking.

    Mate of mine had an MB a while back and took his to a MB commercial van/truck dealer for servicing and repairs. A lot cheaper than car dealers and all authorised MB work. They helped diagnose a gearbox issue for several hundred pounds instead of several thousand that the car dealership wanted. Unfortunately the gearbox was knackered but saved a lot in establishing that.

    kerley
    Free Member

    Big brakes are not for stopping power but brake fade.

    Seriously, brake fade driving around on the road. Again what exactly are you doing to get brake fade?
    I hardly ever use my brakes (backed up by how often I need to replace pads) as I drive at correct distance behind cars and stick to speeds around the speed limit.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Last time I got brake fade was descending Hardknott Pass in an early 1990s Fiat Regatta. The fact that I’ve not had it since kind-of proves wobbliscott’s point.

    OP – Is there any possibility of returning the vehicle and exchanging for something else, if it’s a relatively recent purchase? Perhaps paying a “restocking fee” or something?

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Bigger brakes (rotors) also give better stopping power. Bigger rotors also allows for bigger callipers and more (and bigger) pistons, which allows for bigger pads which means less heat.

    kerley
    Free Member

    Okay, whatever. You all seem sure that you need you massive brakes and wheels and I will leave it at that as not something I will ever understand as I hardly ever touch my brakes.

    uwe-r
    Free Member

    I suspect the previous owner had a large boat and spent the last 8 years towing it around hence your shagged gear box / engine / suspension. Nice looking car though – am sure you will get your money back.

    How many miles? How much did you pay for it?

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Okay, whatever. You all seem sure that you need you massive brakes and wheels and I will leave it at that as not something I will ever understand as I hardly ever touch my brakes.

    The heavier the car the bigger the brakes you need to stop it in an emergency. My i3 electric BMW is 1.4t and has teeny tiny brakes (due to regenerative braking), but if you have to stop in an emergency, especially if you’ve just been accelerating, they are quite scary. My 330 touring on the other hand almost has the ability to upend itself if you stomp on the brakes .

    fooman
    Full Member

    Brake size needed less to do with weight more to do with engine power output. Most average brakes will stop a car once from 70mph but twice in a row? Three times? More engine power potential means more need to repeatably dissipate energy. A small car with big power still needs big brakes.

    Back on topic there’s an extended diag tool you can get for Mercedes ‘iCarsoft MB V2’ slightly more than info than a standard OBD reader, cost about £126. Will get error codes from various modules which can be generated before engine light comes on. Not quite the same as the dealership system but I still used it to diagnose, replace and reset a sensor issue. Can read gearbox module I believe.

    I agree gearbox should be smooth and responsive. Cars with stop-start system recommend oil changes at very low 40K intervals – this is about the only job I won’t take on and had an indy do for me.

    doomanic
    Full Member

    It sounds shagged, reject it.

    kerley
    Free Member

    Most average brakes will stop a car once from 70mph but twice in a row? Three times? More engine power potential means more need to repeatably dissipate energy. A small car with big
    power still needs big brakes.

    That is the part I am not getting but guess I don’t drive like you. Why are you stopping from 70mph three times in a row to the point that brake fade becomes an issue? Drive at correct distance and you never need to slam on brakes unless some sort of emergency, having to stop in quick succession for 3 emergencies is never going to happen is it?
    Drive at 70mph, deer runs out ahead of you. Quickly get back up to 70mph, another deer runs out ahead of you. Quickly get back up to 70mph and jeez, where the hell are all these deer coming from.

    Daffy
    Full Member

    More engine power potential means more need to repeatably dissipate energy

    More weight means more need to repeatably dissipate energy. Yes there are situations, like on a race track where acceleration leads to a significant increase in KE and a more powerful car will increase its KE faster, but weight is a more determining factor for most road cars. Repeatedly slowing from 70mph on a motorway is going to cause a far greater buildup in heat from a heavier car than from simply having more power.

    wzzzz
    Free Member

    Hi @molgrips I have a 2011 C350 estate AMG Sport which although a class down (yours based on the E class chassis) has many similarities.

    The AMG bit is just trim, body kit and wheels. The Sport bit gives you “sporty” suspension.

    1. Wheels. When I got my 911, I changed from 17 to 18. The difference in ride quality was massive. My Merc runs 18, Next time it needs tyres I will look out for a set of the 17 wheels.

    2. Um mine is not at all rattly or creaky.

    3. I think you have the same 7G gearbox as mine with paddle shift and sport mode. I absolutely HATED the gearbox at first (coming from a manual 911). I always though it was in the wrong gear and wouldn’t go when I wanted it to! However the more I go used to it the better it got, and I actually think it matches the car perfectly now. I never use the paddles, just the sport mode. I’ve stopped trying to drive it like a manual 911. After 18 months I think the gear box is the best bit of the car!

    4. Probably brand of tyre or alignment. I run Bridgestones.

    5. Hmmmm

    6. Hmmm tried a different phone?

    7. Can’t help with that

    8. I’d say no, mine hasn’t missed a beat except rear blind spot radar sensors failing. This generation they got the quality back up. You’ll have random electrical failings for sure.

    snotrag
    Full Member

    @molgrips I appreciate that this car was a bit of a distress purchase but I think you’ve probably bought the wrong car for what you want.

    CLS is the ‘sporty’ version of the E-class for a starter. Anything ‘AMG Sport’ or similar badged, other than a proper AMG version, means big wheels, bodykit, and usually measly engine spec. Hence it bangs and rattles and has made the interior start to rattle.

    I’m not sure whether CLS shooting brake is on coils or Airmatic at the rear – all E- estates are Airmatic.

    Gearbox is the 7g-tronic, it should be absolutely excellent. Perform the gearbox adaptation/reset procedure as detailed above.

    You may also have run flats, as I don’t beleive CLS has a spare wheel well like the full size W212/W213 E-Class. As you are complaining about Tyre Roar/Noise I’d bet they are rock hard Continentals are Bridgestone. You want something nice and soft and comfy and quiet, Dunlop/Goodyear or Rainsport 5’s

    Regards Bluetooth, you need to check what version software you have, it’ll ne NTG version XXX.
    NTG 5 and above (IIRC) should have full Bluetooth A2DP streaming from your phone.

    Is it a liability? Kind of depends on the condition and how its been looked after.

    Again, I remember the story and how it was a distress purchase but if you wanted a Mercedes of that generation (and you should) you should have bought a W212/W213 ‘Kombi T-model (estate). Its all about the specs, as two cars of the same platform (which yours, and mine, fundamentally are underneath) can feel very very different.

    E Class

    6 cylinder engine. And not an AMG line, in fact as un-sporty as possible. I have an actual sports car for that. Mine took some finding but had the right engine (not a rattyl 4 pot), Avantgarde not AMG-lite so 17s, square setup too so can be rotated front/rear unlike the 18 and 19 options. Spare wheel. Comfort Seats. Airmatic. Its fast, very torquey, incredibly comfy and quiet. And MASSIVE inside! A facelift W213 model would have been similar price to the CLS.

    johnners
    Free Member

    You may also have run flats

    It’s pretty easy to check tbh, it’ll say on the tyre!

    Daffy
    Full Member

    It’s pretty easy to check tbh, it’ll say on the tyre!

    Yeah, but only in code such as SSR, ROF, EMT, DSST, Etc.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    6. I can’t get Bluetooth audio to work from my Samsung phone. It plays but then seems to keep jumping back to the start of the track after 6 seconds. Anyone else have this?

    Gonna need more detail than that. What music player app are you using? Have you tried a different one? Does it do it with all of them? What about streaming?

    8. Is it a liability with expensive failures waiting to happen?

    To keep you in the manner to which you’ve become accustomed? (-:

    One thing I will add which I don’t think has been mentioned yet: you have a 30-day right to reject the car if it’s bought from a dealer / trade. If you are considering rejecting it, I’d be very wary of having someone else work on it first as they could argue that you were implicitly accepting the car in doing so.

    big_n_daft
    Free Member

    Seriously, brake fade driving around on the road. Again what exactly are you doing to get brake fade?

    Making progress in true STW style

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Well we’re on holiday now so it’ll have to wait til we get back. I’m not sure about it. I mean there are things to like – it’s a big estate which is handy, it is good to drive and it has auto levelling rear suspension. Most of the miles will be motorway so it’d be good for that.

    However I just drove 15 miles, 5 on lanes and 10 on A road and got 35mpg. Ok so there are roof bars on but that’s still crap. It got 50 coming back from the dealer.

    I might just hand it back. I need to get a specialist to look at it and if there are mechanical issues that would help I might get them fixed under warranty. If the dealer says ‘they’re all like that’ then I’ll be less impressed. It was 13k with 80k miles on, and if there’s no advantage to the premium nature then I could do better elsewhere.

    I thought it was expensive but the plushness would be worth it, but I’m not seeing it.

    The tyre noise seems better now I’ve got the alignment done (which took 3 goes at Kwik Fit).

    the-muffin-man
    Free Member

    …I dream of 35mpg! 🙂

    johndoh
    Free Member

    However I just drove 15 miles, 5 on lanes and 10 on A road and got 35mpg. Ok so there are roof bars on but that’s still crap. It got 50 coming back from the dealer

    Is that with passengers and a load of holiday gubbins too?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Seriously, brake fade driving around on the road.

    If you are getting brake fade on public roads you’re driving like a complete **** and are a public menace.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Is that with passengers and a load of holiday gubbins too?

    Two adults, two kids, nothing else. I’d have expected 45 in the Passat at least on that trip.

    If you are getting brake fade on public roads you’re driving like a complete **** and are a public menace.

    Or going down a big hill loaded up.

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Or going down a big hill loaded up.

    Just like on a MTB – Don’t drag your brakes. Let it speed up, brake, let it speed up, brake. That way they can cool between hits.

    I’ve only ever experienced brake fade on a track with a heavy car and crap single piston brakes (I’m looking at you e92 M3!) trying to keep up with others.

    tonyg2003
    Full Member

    As posted above, smaller alloys / bigger side wall tyres / non run flat’s will help the ride. Yours will be an AMG line and may have harder suspension.

    The gearbox may be a G-tronic 7 or 7+ and should be fairly smooth and quick shifting, however gearbox oil changes are optional on service plans (I had mine done on my E350 cdi) and I bet yours hasn’t had a change. The 7+ gearboxes were definitely a bit smoother though.

    The good news is that the 250cdi engine is meant to be very reliable. One of the taxi drivers that I used to take to the airport – when I used to get on airplanes – had a E250cdi S212 with over 400K on it.

    They are big heavy cruising sort of cars and should be comfy / smooth not crashy. It depends on models though, I never found the S212 seats that comfy.

    Sandwich
    Full Member

    Seriously, brake fade driving around on the road. Again what exactly are you doing to get brake fade?

    Have you ever crossed roundabout city (Milton Keynes)? Brake fade can happen at legal speeds around 3 junctions from the end.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    Two adults, two kids, nothing else. I’d have expected 45 in the Passat at least on that trip.

    But it is a very different car – you can’t compare the two. A fully-laden 200bhp vehicle (twin turbo too I believe) was always going to use more fuel than your old Passat.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    If you are getting brake fade on public roads you’re driving like a complete **** and are a public menace.

    Hang on a second before you get your knickers in a twist, was anyone actually getting brake fade?

    I thought someone just said modern cars have bigger discs than old ones – and that’s why we don’t get it.

    This place sometimes.

    binners
    Full Member

    Mate… have you ever bought a car that wasn’t a dog?

    Maybe you should allow another member of the Molls household to do the vehicle purchasing?

    One of the kids, perhaps?

    Still… the ‘what’s wrong with it now?’ threads should keep us all entertained until you get rid of it and buy your next stinker 🙂

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Most average brakes will stop a car once from 70mph but twice in a row? Three times

    Ah it’s safety feature for driving like a twit.

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    I was avoiding saying what binners has eloquently put just now…

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Mate… have you ever bought a car that wasn’t a dog?

    Yes.

    Anyway just did about 40 miles in mostly A roads and on the way back from town I got 42mpg which is more like what I’d expect. I did the reset procedure (without removing the key) and it’s a bit better but I am not sure if it’s just better roads or what. I will try again with removing the key to see if that makes a difference. Apparently it varies between models. The car seems to be getting smoother, and it’s fairly likeable on the open twisty roads now. Although it wasn’t one of these cars where you end up going faster than you think – I ended up doing 50-55 but it was still enjoyable. Its the first time I drove it at speed without the boot full since I got the alignment sorted and it seemed quieter and better generally.

    One thing I did notice was slught kangaroo-ing whilst trundling around a car park in 1st.

    Anither thing I noticed doing a couple of overtakes is that it doesn’t feel as quick as I thought it would. It’s meant to be over 2 seconds quicker than the Passat so I’d expect to be a little more impressed. These things might point to an engine problem rather than a gearbox one. If for example there’s a small boost leak it might explain those symptoms, but I wouldn’t see smoke because it has a DPF.

    johnners
    Free Member

    Yeah, but only in code such as SSR, ROF, EMT, DSST, Etc.

    True, but it’s still not Rocket Surgery

    binners
    Full Member

    Have you any plans to take it all apart yet?

    Or will you wait a few weeks before setting off down that route?

    Don’t forget to take plenty of photo’s and keep us all updated 🙂

    sharkbait
    Free Member

    Brakes are a safety feature – who would want a less effective safety feature?
    That’s like having airbags that don’t inflate very quickly!

    My car is rated to tow 3.5 tons (and I actually tow 2.5 tons) – the brakes need to be sized so that they can stop that kinetic energy.

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