I have a 89 mercedes 300se .My friend has the same year and model.we just brought them 4 months ago.my has 90'000 his 119'000.both cars are in good condition. We both do not feel 4 gear shift. At 65mph the tach reads3000rpm's or a little more on both cars.is this normal? Should we feel the 4th gear shift? On my 90 honda automatic I feel all the gears shift. We are newbees to Mercedes ,but love these iron clad built cars.thanks for your help.new 02 sensor put in because of the miles according to the service manual.

 

I found out on the forum that these cars start off in 2nd gear. that is why I could not feel all 4 gears shift. at 3000 rpm runs about 60mph.I do not know why they did this, but life goes on.
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You're right, they do start in 2nd gear.