722.6 Autobox Reset Procedure.

[ALFIEBEARD]

Hi Chaps,
As most of you are aware I have been pestering Malcolm (televison) and a few others concerning late changes etc on my E211 2004 5 speed Autobox, Malcolm kindly sent me a link from a guy in Seattle who had the following information on how to Reset the gearbox to Crisp mode as he called it, I followed his advice to the letter and can confirm my car now changes gear perfectly and at the correct engine revs, its worked brilliantly for me so here is the procedure should you want to give it a go:-

(1) switch OFF the climate control and radio.
(2) close ALL doors.
(3)Turn Ignition key to all dash lights ON position(not as far as start though)
(4) Press and hold the accelerator to the floor for 20 seconds.
(5)with Accelerator still to the floor, turn the key to the OFF position DONT REMOVE IT YET.
(6) Slowly lift your foot off the accelerator.
(7) Sit for 2 minutes DONT TOUCH ANY SWITCHES.
(8) Remove the ignition key and exit the car.
I left the car overnight then drove it the next morning but this is,nt nessesary you can get in and try it after a couple of minutes.
I can honestly say this works and has set the shift points to the perfect settings.
Hope this helps someone else as it has helped me, and Thanks Malcolm once again for the link.
Alfie B

 

[alindsay81]

Hi Chaps,
As most of you are aware I have been pestering Malcolm (televison) and a few others concerning late changes etc on my E211 2004 5 speed Autobox, Malcolm kindly sent me a link from a guy in Seattle who had the following information on how to Reset the gearbox to Crisp mode as he called it, I followed his advice to the letter and can confirm my car now changes gear perfectly and at the correct engine revs, its worked brilliantly for me so here is the procedure should you want to give it a go:-

(1) switch OFF the climate control and radio.
(2) close ALL doors.
(3)Turn Ignition key to all dash lights ON position(not as far as start though)
(4) Press and hold the accelerator to the floor for 20 seconds.
(5)with Accelerator still to the floor, turn the key to the OFF position DONT REMOVE IT YET.
(6) Slowly lift your foot off the accelerator.
(7) Sit for 2 minutes DONT TOUCH ANY SWITCHES.
(8) Remove the ignition key and exit the car.
I left the car overnight then drove it the next morning but this is,nt nessesary you can get in and try it after a couple of minutes.
I can honestly say this works and has set the shift points to the perfect settings.
Hope this helps someone else as it has helped me, and Thanks Malcolm once again for the link.
Alfie B

My shift points annoy me, perhaps this is the solution!

cheers/

 

[television]

My shift points annoy me, perhaps this is the solution!

cheers/

What do you have to lose

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

What do you have to lose

Exactly and it only took 10 mins, live dangerously, give it a go.
Alfie B

 

[alindsay81]

just done this and went for a short spin, it has defiantly changed something. Wont know if i like it or not till the drive home tonight...

 

[PJayUK]

Does this "really" work or is it just a placebo effect? I asked the senior technician at my local MB indipendant and he reckons that its just an urban myth (for the gullible yanks as he diplomatically put it!) but it would be great to know if there is any truth here.

I did this on my SClass and indeed it felt a little different to drive, but then it also does after its been cleaned & waxed too!

Perhaps one of the forum guru's could offer any advice (Ollie??)

I am sure most people would like to know what exactly (if anything) this procedure really does!

 

[Cole@MBS]

Both Olly and myself had said before it cant be done.

Only way to reset anything is to flash it using star, you can adjusted the fill times etc while going along using star, that would change the changes going up and down through the box but to press the pedal down while the ign is on?? thats not gonna change anything! well maybe the way you feel, i dont know!

 

[television]

Both Olly and myself had said before it cant be done.

Only way to reset anything is to flash it using star, you can adjusted the fill times etc while going along using star, that would change the changes going up and down through the box but to press the pedal down while the ign is on?? thats not gonna change anything! well maybe the way you feel, i dont know!

I have said the same thing as well,for years

 

[BlackC55]

It cant be done.

I have done this "re-set" before and checked the Star for any changes in adaption data and it was all the same.

It is just a placebo effect.

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

Well Chaps,
I dont know if I have been conned by my own mind but it must have been coincidence that after doing this the car now changes gear below 2300rpm on light throttle when cold!!, as said before it had to be doing at least 3000rpm to do the 1st gearchange of the day, very strange eh, all I know is I am now satisfied with my gearchanges which is the most important thing.
Regards
Alfie B

 

[television]

Well Chaps,
I dont know if I have been conned by my own mind but it must have been coincidence that after doing this the car now changes gear below 2300rpm on light throttle when cold!!, as said before it had to be doing at least 3000rpm to do the 1st gearchange of the day, very strange eh, all I know is I am now satisfied with my gearchanges which is the most important thing.
Regards
Alfie B

You being happy is the sole aim on the forum, and that is what counts

 

[alindsay81]

drove home from work last night and back to work this morning, its so hard to tell if anything has changed.
I don't think the car held onto the first gears when cold this morning like normally does??

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

You being happy is the sole aim on the forum, and that is what counts

Thats so true Malcolm,
I honestly believe my car drives better and thats all I wanted.
I am a member of a few forums, mainly because of my interests in Vintage Cars and Motorbikes etc, and I really enjoy reading and where possible helping other members, Since I joined you guys I have had brilliant information and help from you all.:-D
I reckon this site is the best I have had the pleasure of using for both technical information and banter.:-D
keep it up lads.

Alfie B

 

[Cole@MBS]

Thats so true Malcolm,
I honestly believe my car drives better and thats all I wanted.
I am a member of a few forums, mainly because of my interests in Vintage Cars and Motorbikes etc, and I really enjoy reading and where possible helping other members, Since I joined you guys I have had brilliant information and help from you all.:-D
I reckon this site is the best I have had the pleasure of using for both technical information and banter.:-D
keep it up lads.

Alfie B

We try

 

[Razoo]

It cant be done.

I have done this "re-set" before and checked the Star for any changes in adaption data and it was all the same.

It is just a placebo effect.

When I first owned my 2004 E320 CDi, I felt the gear changes were less than ideal, so I did some research on the internet (including this forum).

AIUI, the 722.6 transmission is adaptive - that is, it adapts the gear changes to suit your driving style over a period of time. Consequently, it should be possible to reset the transmission back to the factory default settings. Whether this requires STAR diagnostics or not, I don't know, but it shouldn't do.

Because I was a new owner, it seemed like a good idea to reset the transmission to factory default and then let the transmission adapt to my driving style, rather than expect it to re-adapt from the previous owner's driving style.

I found the following transmission reset procedure, which I tried and which I am convinced did work as the gear changes were much improved after reset:

Applicable to Mercedes W211 E320 CDi (2003-2006)

Reset Adaptive Gearbox/Throttle Settings:

This ECU reset procedure only erases the ADAPTIVE transmission & throttle settings. It does not erase any of the fuel/timing or other programming.

1. Put the key into the ignition and turn it clockwise to position 1 (first position).

2. Press the throttle pedal to the floor and hold for five seconds.

3. Turn the ignition key anti-clockwise to position 0 (Off), then release the throttle pedal. DO NOT remove the ignition key.

4. Wait at least two minutes for ECU to reset.​

Maybe I'll try it again to see if I was conned by the placebo effect

Razoo

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

Hi Razoo,
Like you I am sure it has worked with my car, the car changes gear at far lower revs than it did before I done this, another thing is the last owner only done town work it was a very low mileage car and he only travelled 2 mls a day to work, so it seemed that the adaptation the box had programmed itself to was town driving ie long gearchanges and hanging onto the revs, and after doing this proceedure it changes gear impersceptably,:-D
I do understand everyones response about the placebo effect though because when I wash and polish it it seems to run better he he.
Regards
Alfie B

 

[Axcontrols]

I'm not sure why a gearbox would want to be 'that' adaptive. All week I drove round carefully with a load of eggs, mother-in-laws and diverse old ladies in the boot but today I'm tear-ar*sing it round on a track day - Today I wouldn't want yesterday's behavior to influence my gear changes.

So are you sure that 'Adaptive' means that it knows my driving style over a longer period of time ?

Is it not just possible that 'adaptive' means that it just looks at my current throttle position right at this moment and decides whether to change up or hold a bit longer.

So basically 'adaptive' might just be doing what auto boxes have been doing for years and 'Adaptive' is a term invented by some sales guy looking for a new buzz word ?

What I'm saying is that there is no doubt that computers 'could' learn and adapt - but I don't think I'd want it to. I want my 'box' to look at what I'm doing right this second, road speed, engine speed, throttle position and changed based on that information only. What I did yesterday or last week should not influence how the box changes today.

Having said that there probably is some way to permanently adjust the change speeds. Fool the box into thinking the throttle position is different to what it really is. On the end of the throttle cable is the throttle position sensor. Any way to adjust the information picked up by that sensor ? or anything else like that ?

 

[television]

I'm not sure why a gearbox would want to be 'that' adaptive. All week I drove round carefully with a load of eggs, mother-in-laws and diverse old ladies in the boot but today I'm tear-ar*sing it round on a track day - Today I wouldn't want yesterday's behavior to influence my gear changes.

So are you sure that 'Adaptive' means that it knows my driving style over a longer period of time ?

Is it not just possible that 'adaptive' means that it just looks at my current throttle position right at this moment and decides whether to change up or hold a bit longer.

So basically 'adaptive' might just be doing what auto boxes have been doing for years and 'Adaptive' is a term invented by some sales guy looking for a new buzz word ?

What I'm saying is that there is no doubt that computers 'could' learn and adapt - but I don't think I'd want it to. I want my 'box' to look at what I'm doing right this second, road speed, engine speed, throttle position and changed based on that information only. What I did yesterday or last week should not influence how the box changes today.

Having said that there probably is some way to permanently adjust the change speeds. Fool the box into thinking the throttle position is different to what it really is. On the end of the throttle cable is the throttle position sensor. Any way to adjust the information picked up by that sensor ? or anything else like that ?

Gear boxes have small memories,, these do talk to the engine ECU they do work and it is the same principle as used on ZF boxes.

The simple test is to belt the car onto a motor way, and engage CC when you reset the CC the car will accelerate quickly to regain the set speed even changing down to do so.
Enter the motor way in a leisurely manner and engage CC when resumed,,the car will accelerate slowly without changing down

 

[vitoblack]

HNY everyone

Just tried this reset on my vito auto. It didn't seem to do anything different. There again I don't think it has change much since new.

I followed this thread because I've noticed the autobox hanginging onto the lower gears in the cold weather. Is this normal to protect the box, engine etc? I have also noticed it needs quite a bit of throttle to move on a very cold morning; is this normal?

I might be getting twitchy but my warrenty runs out soon!

Rich

 

[steve_k243]

HNY everyone

Just tried this reset on my vito auto. It didn't seem to do anything different. There again I don't think it has change much since new.

I followed this thread because I've noticed the autobox hanginging onto the lower gears in the cold weather. Is this normal to protect the box, engine etc? I have also noticed it needs quite a bit of throttle to move on a very cold morning; is this normal?

I might be getting twitchy but my warrenty runs out soon!

Rich

I thought the autobox hung onto 1st / 2nd because of the need to warm the cat converter to operating temperature.