Gear 3 when going down the hill, is it ok?

[ibestriker]

Hi experts.

I have a question. Will there be any bad effect to the gear auto transmission if I shift the gear to 3 (instead of 'D') when going down the hill?

Hope to hear from you guys.

Thanks in advance :)

[ncd]

I think you will find that shifting to 3 is considered ok..
Ive herd of guys doing it to make more power to pass some one on the motorway..

me.. Ive never needed such a thing.. and considering the fact the trany might explode I would not do it at high speed..

which has me going the US 202's seamed more common to fail, well I was sort of solidly believing that, and had not seen 1 UK example, until I dropped into my friendly transmission expert Waver Tree Automatics and the guy mentioned it but that was a older 95 and some of thinks they (Benz) sneakley fixed it on later models.

Not sure where your from but.. just be advised.

[RemoLexi]

ive done it before at a race once ... the light was red i let off the gas it suddenly turns green and u have to floor the car, wait for the RPM's to raise and then it downshifts ... or just toss it into third and get pushed back into your seat !

[Proven Guilty]

i always run it through the gears, even day to day driving. i miss having a stick shift, and if you're a "rookie" so to speak, this car won't allow you to downshift if it's going to over-rev the engine. for example, if you're doing 65 mph, and try to downshift into 2nd, you'll grab 3rd at best until you decellerate enough to where the car can downshift, and will automatically drop into 2nd.

[RemoLexi]

yea if you look on a 97' C230 or the newer "Smart trans." you can see the from 4th - 2nd its in a row so it allows you to safely downshit, it will only downshift if you RPM's are approx. 3000. if you notice 1st gear is a little to the right - that means you should never downshift it into first because of the back tires locking up for a second can make you lose control at a turn or if your that blonde even on a straight road.

ive done a few good drifts in the rian by throwing it into first while going into a turn you will loose grip and hit the gas and your in drift mode! haha but do not attemp this as the W202 isnt very light and it isnt that easy to regain your control you have to really feel the car and know what its about to do. basically what im saying is dont do it, unless your like me who gets bored and has a closed parking lot to do this kind of stunt.

also keep in mind that constant downshifting in normal daily driving puts more stress on your tranny as well as the rubber parts such as Flex disks and mounts. downshift wisely!
:)

[ibestriker]

Thanks for your reply.

But I think you guys misunderstood me, :)

Actually the reason I use Gear 3 is not to speed up.

My house is on the hill. Therefore when going down the hill, I use Gear 3 (i don't press the fuel pedal), so that the car won't speed up. This way, I can 'save' the brake because Gear 3 won't allow your car to go too fast if the fuel pedal is not pressed.

This is because, if use Gear 'D', even if I don't press the pedal, the car will speed up when going down the hill, thus I need to press the brake pedal all the time, which will affect the brake.

But I am not sure whether it will affect the auto transmission if I use Gear 3 when going down the hill. Because I felt like my car want to go faster, but it is resisted by the Gear 3.

I am not sure whether you guys understand my question, but I tried my best to explain, :)

Hope some comments.

Thanks experts :)

[xvvvz]

>>also keep in mind that constant downshifting in normal daily driving puts more stress on your tranny as well as the rubber parts such as Flex disks and mounts.<<

As they say, remember that brake pads are cheaper to replace than transmissions!

Re: shift gate - does anyone know why they changed the gate pattern from the old one where each gear had its own notch/"jog" that made it hard to mis-shift? My guess is that the liability managers put an end to it or that with five speed transmissions it just made for too many "jogs" in the gate pattern? Too bad.

After 5 days with a soul-less overpriced Camry clone (also known as a 2006 w203 C230) and its always "hunting" 6 speed transmission with a joke of a touch shifter mode, I was really happy to get my w202 back today!

[ncd]

a little nudge on the already depress pedal will down give me a down shift :) at the right speeds, Ive actually got used to making my car shift sort of when I want.. with the accellerator pedal.

[RemoLexi]

ibestriker -

I fully understand your question, you dont want to overheat your brakes, I know in a manual car your supposed to do that.

I dont see why you cant do that, you may want to read the owners manual for the answer of the dealer will tell you.

but as xvvvz said, Id rather my brakes then my transmission!

[Proven Guilty]

Originally posted by ibestriker
Thanks for your reply.

But I think you guys misunderstood me, :)

Actually the reason I use Gear 3 is not to speed up.

My house is on the hill. Therefore when going down the hill, I use Gear 3 (i don't press the fuel pedal), so that the car won't speed up. This way, I can 'save' the brake because Gear 3 won't allow your car to go too fast if the fuel pedal is not pressed.

This is because, if use Gear 'D', even if I don't press the pedal, the car will speed up when going down the hill, thus I need to press the brake pedal all the time, which will affect the brake.

But I am not sure whether it will affect the auto transmission if I use Gear 3 when going down the hill. Because I felt like my car want to go faster, but it is resisted by the Gear 3.

I am not sure whether you guys understand my question, but I tried my best to explain, :)

Hope some comments.

Thanks experts :)

No, I understood you perfectly, I just wanted to give you a visual scenario of how the transmissions shift on the newer models.

Test it for yourself - put your car into cruise control, and go down a steep hill, it will downshift into 3rd for you to trim off excessive speed by "engine braking". this is perfectly safe for the transmission, as it's done quite a bit on stick shift cars as well.

[ibestriker]

Originally posted by Proven Guilty
No, I understood you perfectly, I just wanted to give you a visual scenario of how the transmissions shift on the newer models.

Test it for yourself - put your car into cruise control, and go down a steep hill, it will downshift into 3rd for you to trim off excessive speed by "engine braking". this is perfectly safe for the transmission, as it's done quite a bit on stick shift cars as well.

sorry, dont really understand...:) do u mean, its good to shift to 3rd gear?

[kameraguy]

AFAIK it's ok to shift an automatic into 3rd to take advantage of engine braking. All my cars have been automatic and all the owner's manuals have mentioned this is OK. I do not recall reading otherwise for the w202. It's a very common thing to do in order to control your speed on a decent.

But I have read excessive downshifting for engine braking does cause more wear on the tranny. It's probably not a good idea to do it every chance you get, especially considering the potential problems the 722.6 5sp auto seems to have.

Basically, you may or may not have problems, and it's common practice to do this *when it makes sense* but it does cause more wear on your tranny.

Here's a similar thread on mercedesshop:

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=132598&highlight=engine+braking

[ibestriker]

Thanks guys..for ur kind replies.

So in conclusion, better we use brake to slow down the car when going down the hill, not to use 3rd gear as it will affect the tranny.

But I have another question. When parking our car on a steep hill, even though we have used the 'hand' brake, the car will still move downward because of the steepness of the hill.

So in order to stop the car, I have to shift my gear to 'P'. Will this cause a bad effect to the tranny as it seems that I am using the tranny to stop the car from moving downwards.

Hope to hear from you experts ! :)

Thanks.

[RemoLexi]

id say have a mechanic look at you rear brakes because its not supposed to do that - mine doesnt ! ... even if I leave the car in neutral

my house has a steep driveway, everytime I park it I hold the foot brake, put the tranny in Park - press the E-brake all the way down and then let go of the foot brake that way the car doesnt roll back on the transmission > ive heard its not good for the tranny so Im taking extra care.

[ibestriker]

Originally posted by RemoLexi
id say have a mechanic look at you rear brakes because its not supposed to do that - mine doesnt ! ... even if I leave the car in neutral


So you mean, if u leave ur car in 'neutral' on the very steep hill, u dont press your foot brake, but just use the E-brake, the car will not move downwards? Mine, still moving, but very slowly..


Originally posted by RemoLexi
my house has a steep driveway, everytime I park it I hold the foot brake, put the tranny in Park - press the E-brake all the way down and then let go of the foot brake that way the car doesnt roll back on the transmission > ive heard its not good for the tranny so Im taking extra care. [/B]

What is not good for the tranny? mind to explain? :)

Thanks..

[stox]

Originally posted by ibestriker
So you mean, if u leave ur car in 'neutral' on the very steep hill, u dont press your foot brake, but just use the E-brake, the car will not move downwards? Mine, still moving, but very slowly..



What is not good for the tranny? mind to explain? :)

Thanks..

If your car moves at all when the E-brake is applied, there is something wrong. It should able to stop your car if the hydraulic brakes fail, not just slow the car down.

As far as park and your transmission, you do not want to leave a load on the parking gear. In some circumstances you may not be able to shift out of park if you do. Apply the emergency brake and then shift into park.

If you need to shift into park to keep the car from moving, you need to have the emergency brakes repaired, pronto!

[RemoLexi]

I think stox pretty much explained it, but agian you know when you put the car in PARK, let go of the brake and the car rolls back like 2 inches and stops ? well thats putting a load (your car weight) on the parking gear of the transmission, you should apply the Ebrake all the way before shifting out of driving gear so that the cars load weight sits on the rear brakes and not your trans.

[taimyshukah]

Originally posted by RemoLexi
I think stox pretty much explained it, but agian you know when you put the car in PARK, let go of the brake and the car rolls back like 2 inches and stops ? well thats putting a load (your car weight) on the parking gear of the transmission, you should apply the Ebrake all the way before shifting out of driving gear so that the cars load weight sits on the rear brakes and not your trans.

I never knew I had to do that. I always thought nothing of it when my car rolls back an inch or two after parking. Thanks for the tip!

[benzofanatic]

a little nudge on the already depress pedal will down give me a down shift at the right speeds, Ive actually got used to making my car shift sort of when I want.. with the accellerator pedal.

ya i know what you mean NCD, i have learned to do this to. you can feel when the car is about to shift into a different gear and by letting go/pressing on the pedal you can affect te shifting.

i dont know how old this post is, i just came across it but i had a question, lets say im on the highway doing 60. i want to pass some one so i shift over to 3rd or 4th and the car shoots off. this is correct shifting right, and it does not put excessive strain on the tranny? (I have only drivin automatics so i dont have much experience with shifting)

[RemoLexi]

I drove for work ALOT up to 150 miles in the city per day, yea I also feel the shifting point with the pedal and when accelerating I kno how much to push down so it would downshift and at what times. its kinda slow I hate it.

benzofanatic, to answer your question, putting the pedal to the floor and having the car downshift on its own, or you can drop it into 3 and have it down faster. you pick which one you want and yes it puts strain but its not somthing that would kill your trans. unless you do that every other mile.

[benzofanatic]

ya good point RemoLexi, also one more question. for faster acceleration is it better to slam the pedal and let the computer do the work for shifting or is it better to manualy shift through the gears - start in 1st then up to 4th until ur going fast. or no difference?

[RemoLexi]

I wouldnt start from first and go up to four, its seems to put ALOT of strees because at the redline you have to let go of the gas and switch to second, you will feel that its not good for the bushings at least, not mentioning the internals of the transmission.

[benzofanatic]

true, ya i guess our cars really arnt ment to be consistantly raced, just cruzed but it is nice to let it strech its legs once and a while. thanks for you imput

[benzboy]

Ive gotten into the evidently bad habit of shifting all the time, I miss driving manuals too, haha

[RemoLexi]

I try to avoid gears below 3rd.

but there are a few nice turns around town where I like to cruize up - all the way down to 1st gear, hit the gas turn - countersteer > let off the gas, 2nd, and watch the smoke as it settles behind you :)