Kick down not working w203 220cdi

[karle]

Looking for any ideas as to why my kick down has stopped working. Occasionally when the engine has warmed up I can get it to work, this will work only once, if you try again nothing happens.Thanks in advance for any clues

 

[Paul Goff]

Hi Karle,

I have a 2002 W203 CDi220, My car started doing this sort of thing, and more besides, when the gearbox electro plate/conductor plate needed to be replaced (about £450 at an independent), unfortunately the previous owner had let it go on too long with the plate fault and this messed up the gearbox! So a new electro plate did not cure it, I had to have a replacement gearbox fitted.
My car had done about 110.000 miles when the trouble started.

Get it diagnosed/fixed ASAP.

 

[karle]

Hi Karle,

I have a 2002 W203 CDi220, My car started doing this sort of thing, and more besides, when the gearbox electro plate/conductor plate needed to be replaced (about £450 at an independent), unfortunately the previous owner had let it go on too long with the plate fault and this messed up the gearbox! So a new electro plate did not cure it, I had to have a replacement gearbox fitted.
My car had done about 110.000 miles when the trouble started.

Get it diagnosed/fixed ASAP.

Thanks Paul, mine has done nearly 130,000, will get it checked after the holidays

 

[Chrishazle]

Just after I got my S203 C270, I found I could not get above 3k RPM and kickdown didn't work. Turned out the MAF had failed, had it replaced under warranty, problem solved.

 

[kid-jensen]

With a diesel engine, kickdown is all but useless anyway, puts the engine way past the power band....

It'll be quicker (and quieter) just to put your foot down 1/2 to 3/4....

 

[ajlsl600]

just had that ,no kickdown , issue on 170cdi. cant say i fully understand why ,but i put my star system on the car .cleared all the faults, there were MANY . since which i have done more that 50km ,kickdown working as should and so far no faults returned . as said, no idea why .but there it is .

 

[LostKiwi]

Andy makes a good point - get it read on STAR and go from there. Anything else is guesswork.

 

[karle]

Thanks for all the suggestions, found a good local indie and turned out it was needing a new maf sensor

 

[John Laidlaw]

^ is the right answer

 

[jp williams]

With a diesel engine, kickdown is all but useless anyway, puts the engine way past the power band....

It'll be quicker (and quieter) just to put your foot down 1/2 to 3/4....

I fully agree with this view.

 

[Noelmc]

Now and again I have this problem with the CL, but it’s due to the floor mat riding up close to the accelerator pedal, and stopping the full beans.............

 

[John Laidlaw]

Sometimes I get a strange smell from the passenger seat in mine when I use the kickdown

 

[Jim2]

On the subject of kick downs and automatic transmissions, still getting used to mine ( w212 E200) when I need to manual selection, I move the selector to the left, and it will select 1st gear, then move it to the right, and it will select 2nd,3rd, 4th, and back into drive again. The thing is, I have to be almost stopped to do this, as it will only select 1st, and not progressively 4th, 3rd etc. (The mind boggles at the thought of shifting from "D" to 1st at even 20klms per hour, never mind higher speeds ) Is this normal?
On a slightly different subject, the parking sensors are working fine, but is there anyway to increase the sound level when you get too close to an object ? Rear sensors seem very faint.
Thanksm and Best Regards,
Jim2

 

[John Laidlaw]

My brain is not able to compute the gearbox thing at the moment, I need to sit in a dark room later..
On the sensors, if your comand is similar to mine you can access the sound levels for parktronic in there IIRC

 

[Jim2]

My brain is not able to compute the gearbox thing at the moment, I need to sit in a dark room later..
On the sensors, if your comand is similar to mine you can access the sound levels for parktronic in there IIRC

Thanks John for your help... sorry if I made the gearbox question difficult to understand...basically, when you change gears in a manual box, IE; 6th down to 5th, etc. to slow down, going into a bend for example.....how to do the same thing in the Merc automatic transmission? When I move the selector out of "D", it goes straight into 1st. Is this the only option with this box? Or is it possible to move out of "D" and into 4th, then down into 3rd etc. ?
Thanks again, Jim2.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Thanks John for your help... sorry if I made the gearbox question difficult to understand...basically, when you change gears in a manual box, IE; 6th down to 5th, etc. to slow down, going into a bend for example.....how to do the same thing in the Merc automatic transmission? When I move the selector out of "D", it goes straight into 1st. Is this the only option with this box? Or is it possible to move out of "D" and into 4th, then down into 3rd etc. ?
Thanks again, Jim2.

No problem, wasn’t badly written I just was distracted by work rubbish so couldn’t concentrate!
So is your box the one where you have full auto mode on the gear lever but flick left or right to do manual shifts ?

 

[Jim2]

No problem, wasn’t badly written I just was distracted by work rubbish so couldn’t concentrate!
So is your box the one where you have full auto mode on the gear lever but flick left or right to do manual shifts ?

Yes John, see pic.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Ok if you are already running in D - Drive , and move the lever over to +/- (Manual) then it will pick up on the appropriate gear for your speed etc and shift to the next +/- as selected. If stationary it will always pick 1st understandably.
I’m sure it’s me this time but I’m not sure if I’m understanding correctly Jim but are you saying from a standing start you’d like to be able to select a high gear or are you saying- contrary to what I wrote earlier- that your box somehow selects 1st when you shift to manual regardless of what speed you’re doing?
If the latter then that’s a major fault it should never ever do that...

 

[umblecumbuz]

Sometimes I get a strange smell from the passenger seat in mine when I use the kickdown

And that's without your passengers trousers changing colour?

 

[Jim2]

Ok if you are already running in D - Drive , and move the lever over to +/- (Manual) then it will pick up on the appropriate gear for your speed etc and shift to the next +/- as selected. If stationary it will always pick 1st understandably.
I’m sure it’s me this time but I’m not sure if I’m understanding correctly Jim but are you saying from a standing start you’d like to be able to select a high gear or are you saying- contrary to what I wrote earlier- that your box somehow selects 1st when you shift to manual regardless of what speed you’re doing?
If the latter then that’s a major fault it should never ever do that...

You have hit the nail on the head, John. That explains everything. 99.9% of the time, its in full automatic mode. BUT on one of my daily drives, there is a steep hill, with 2 hairpin bends. These are no problem when climbing them, but on the way down, you have to practically stop..and that's when I select manual, and it goes straight into 1st ( as I now understand from your post ) then, as I progress downhill, I will move up the gears as needed to use the engine as a brake. I have never tried to switch from "D" to Manual at any kind of speed, as I was afraid that I would damage the box.......As I explained in my 1st post ( as newbie) I am new to Mercedes, and all things Merc. So I would prefer to ask first, than do something I would later regret. So apologies in advance for any future queries' and question's.
Your help is much appreciated, Thanks Jim2.