C230 question

[blackc230]

Hi guys..

I bought my 1997 C230 about 6 mnths ago and I'm loving every bit of it.
Several questions I need to ask:

1. When the car is in 5th gear, I found it difficult to overtake due to the lack of torque. I can usually feel the tranny downshifts to 4th..but still not enough to propell the car forward. So what I usually do is I manually downshift it by moving the gear stick to 3rd gear. Then I get the torque I need. My question is...is this okay? what harm does it do to the mechanical parts?

2. My second question is regarding the left rear window. When the auto up is pressed, the window closes then winds back down about 5cm. But when the switch is held, it will close. Has any1 here had the same problem?

well..I hope I can get the information I need from u guys..

thanks in advance

[Proven Guilty]

3rd gear is acceptable. in fact with my C230K it will not allow you to downshift to 2nd if your RPM range is too high. The TCU will only allow you to grab gears within the safety limits of the rev limiter.

However, you may notice if you press the gas pedal down firmly, you can feel the transmission "kick down" button. If it doesn't downshift to the gear you would like it to (and you have a lead foot like mine) make sure you're using the "S" mode shift mode and not "W".

If all else fails, you might want to try clearing out the adaptive shifting parameters. These cars basically "learn" how your driving style is, and downshift / select the next gear based upon it's rolling metrics of your driving style. If your car has high miles, it might be in grandpa mode, but as far as I know the adaptive shifting comes from a rolling period of measurements.

[xvvvz]

As P.G. mentioned, you should have a kickdown switch located behind your gas pedal. In reading through a number of forums, it seems pretty common for these switches to fail over time. You might want to check your's out to see if it is working. It seems to be a DIY repair.

In regard to the window, have you gone through the window resetting procedure to try to cure it? The instructions should be in your manual or you will probably find it on this site via search.

[ncd]

Originally posted by xvvvz
As P.G. mentioned, you should have a kickdown switch located behind your gas pedal. In reading through a number of forums, it seems pretty common for these switches to fail over time. You might want to check your's out to see if it is working. It seems to be a DIY repair.

In regard to the window, have you gone through the window resetting procedure to try to cure it? The instructions should be in your manual or you will probably find it on this site via search.

that switch is the work of the devil every time ive ever pressed it .. I have to admit I got a little scared hahaa ..well on my car its effects are well crazy! ... and I dont drive like grandpa!.. ;)

what would happen if you weighted it down and drove off normally :D

what is grandpa mode??

[iwhocorrupts]

grandma mode is when your adaptive trans adapted to the driving of a slow person -- ie. you bought the car from someones grandpa who drove slow

[Abuimad]

when i first got my car it used to shift at like 4500 rpm, drove me up the walls, and it was on S mode, then i realised that my tranny had learned the settings of some really booring person, so i reseted it....and its back to normal..

[iwhocorrupts]

How do you reset it?

[davis449]

Originally posted by iwhocorrupts
How do you reset it?

Take it to your dealer and ask them to reset it, they should do it for no charge or you can leave the negative battery cable disconnected overnight. There's also some convoluted rolling and stopping procedure you can execute in a deserted parking lot that supposedly resets it, but I would just as soon do either of the two methods mentioned in the first sentence than attempt that.

[xvvvz]

Man, you have a great dealer if they will do it for free!

Here is an interesting thread on resetting learned data:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r170-slk-class/1225800-resetting-adaptive-driving-parameters.html

[blackc230]

thanks guys..

i'll give mine a thorough check later on this week.

[illusionaryline]

i used the benzworld link and i drove before and after and i noticed a big difference the car is a little more responsive and the gear changes totally different than before.