300 E sluggish up hills & on overtaking

[Andy Brereton]

We have just bought a 300 E auto diesel estate 1997 and whilst it goes fine along the flat - it won't accelerate quickly to overtake and will hardly go above 40mph on a steep hill. We have taken it to a Merc garage who have run a diagnostic test for £75 but it failed to bring up a fault - however the mechanic agreed the car is not right - any thoughts?

 

[spanners]

Poor performance

When you are going up hills, does the gearbox change down?

If not, I would check the cable that goes from the throttle linkage to the gearbox. It is responsible for the timing of gear changes relative to throttle position.

It could just need adjusting.