Hello,
How many of you have strange behavior with your 96-97 non turbo transmission? I had a mechanic tell me this transmission was first introduced in 96 and has been problamatic?? Does this make sense? If my wife or brother drive my car, they put their foot into the peddle and the engine wines and shifts at high rpms. The only thing it does is generate noise and performs like a toad. I could not imagine that someone would buy one of these off the factory floor after a test drive ( if this behavior is normal). I bought mine on the web without driving it. I have factory documented service with 65k miles on the car. I notice that when I drive the car performs much better. I seemed to have developed a relationship with this car, so I know how to throttle the car to get the transmission to shift in a much more effiecient manner. So, either this tranny design blows, or the driver has to learn how to work it. I also have found troublesome issues on my trip from AZ to CA. I can be on level ground traveling at 70mph on curse, and the tranny kicks down a gear for no reason. I normally move the shifter into that gear, and then back so it returns to the gear it should be in.Then if you have ever made this journey from LA to Phoenix, you come into the climb out of Indio. If I am motoring through the climbs the car is okay. If a truck pulls out into the passing lane, All of my throttle skills dont help me get back up to speed in a timely manner. Does anyone have these issues with a 96-97???
Thanks Bill

 

First off I would like to say that I am not that well versed in the operation of my 96 E300D transmission. With that said, I can only relate that my car, with 201k, does not exhibit any of the issues you describe. It is no hell burner off the line, but has ample acceleration to meet an average drivers needs. At highway speed, it has plenty of power to pass when needed, and does not drop down on its own. As you describe, I think when you own one of these cars, you do establish a "relationship" with it that is hard to describe to the general driving public. Just read some of the messages and you can feel the loyalty that most of the posters have towards their vehicles. As far as your transmission issues, I would suggest that you have it looked at by a competent mechanic to see if they can pinpoint the cause of the cars erratic behavior............good luck....