No kick-down with Tiptronic?

[fwb44]

OK, I run the risk of making myself look even more of an idiot than usual, but ... is there a good reason why my E320 CDI Tiptronic won't kick down? Do I have to flip the gearshift every time I want to engage a lower gear? (First time of having Tiptronic as must be obvious ...) Or does this point to some more serious fault somewhere?

 

[Blobcat]

Hi Francis,

Your 320 is same as mine, mine kicks down no problem. The only time it didn't is when the MAS sensor failed. The car was very sluggish and did not want to accelerate beyond 3,000revs.
It will change up faster in 'S' than 'W' but with full throttle it should downshift in either.

 

[mr. shr]

I'm sure you are already doing this, but are you pushing your foot right to floor? I mean, beyond the resistance point? On my W208 if I push the pedal to the resistance point, it drops down one gear. If I push even harder, past this point, it drops down two gears.
Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs!!!

shr

 

[fwb44]

I'm sure you are already doing this, but are you pushing your foot right to floor? I mean, beyond the resistance point?

Yes, I'm doing this - and still no other reaction than a grudging drop-down to the next lowest gear & very poor pick-up. I'm getting stiffed by BMW 318s on the A414! My life isn't worth living! I do suspect duff air mass meter, notorious weak point on W210 range, & will get brilliant local indy to check for fault codes at next service next week - and let you know!

 

[television]

Yes, I'm doing this - and still no other reaction than a grudging drop-down to the next lowest gear & very poor pick-up. I'm getting stiffed by BMW 318s on the A414! My life isn't worth living! I do suspect duff air mass meter, notorious weak point on W210 range, & will get brilliant local indy to check for fault codes at next service next week - and let you know!

Should only be the MAF, cheaper to buy from bosch and fit into your plastic housing. fault codes do not always show up correctly for this.

Malcolm

 

[Alfie]

I gleaned this info from elsewhere but thought it would be useful to you;

There is a cheap way of fixing this problem.

Pierburg 7.22684.07.0 part is a direct replacement for the MB one and costs circa £45 from German Swedish French parts. The GSF part number is 18789C

Hope this helps.

Acknowledgment; S. Perry

 

[OlafMaxwell]

I just had the MAF replaced , last week. The symptoms were identical, low power and no kickdown. All is now perfect. Part cost €90 plus VAT, about £60 plus VAT, genuine MB part.

 

[davidsl500]

One other thing to check, Make sure your kickdown switch is actually all there. My SL was a bit sluggish (relatively speaking) on kickdown - would change down one gear only. A close inspection of the kickdown switch revealed that the top domed button was missing entirely and therefore wasnt working at all...

 

[fwb44]

Thanks a million guys, will bring all of your comments to the attention of local indy at next week's service & LYK the outcome

 

[fwb44]

£69 worth of air mass meter and the car is transformed. It goes like a rocket. I think if I had the ECU remapped (as I did on the old E300 TD) it would now be almost dangerous! I wouldn't have believed such an insignificant seeming thing could make such a difference. Thanks for your input folks.

 

[Blobcat]

Thats more like it, glad you have it sorted. I would hate to think of 320cdi's out there being overtaken :-o

 

[fwb44]

I would hate to think of 320cdi's out there being overtaken :-o

Absolutely. It ain't going to happen ! But now I'm thinking of debadging to deter the boy racers ...

 

[Blobcat]

Absolutely. It ain't going to happen ! But now I'm thinking of debadging to deter the boy racers ...

Debadging tends to encourage them, they think you have a smaller engine. Most debadging is to disguise the smaller power unit. You could always get 55 AMG badges off of ebay, but no one feels bad about getting creamed by an AMG. It is getting taken by a diesel that is a humiliation that some just cannot deal with
Put some E200 CDI badges on :-D :-D

 

[fwb44]

Debadging tends to encourage them, they think you have a smaller engine. Most debadging is to disguise the smaller power unit. It is getting taken by a diesel that is a humiliation that some just cannot deal with.

Maybe herein lies the origin of a new thread - to debadge or not to debadge? What does anyone think?

 

[television]

I have found that by having a badge showing a larger engine than you have, does not stop the boy racers from showing you how fast their car goes.

Malcolm

 

[Blobcat]

Agreed Malcolm, but that just shows they want to try and prove something against you. They are still trying and frankly not there yet (or even close).

I think SLinKyjoe should put a 200 badge on the back of his 55 and go hunting for M3's just for fun

 

[jberks]

Most people debadge the lower engined models as said. My E240 was debadged though I though the v6 was quite respectable really! I kept the 1.3L on the back of my escort when I popped an xr3 engine in. I left everything as standard. Uprated the tyres a little but kept the standard wheeltrims and sidewalls so it looked normal. It was funny watching their faces when I outran their 1.6's. Anyway, having had wrongly badged, debadged and normally badged, doesn't seem to make a difference. Even with a big badge, they just want to see how fast it is.

 

[Dom320]

I think I have got a MAS problem too. My symptoms sound exactly the same (won't kickdown, and won't go above 3000 RPM).
Initially when it started playing up the performance and kickdown was OK when the car was cold, but then played up after about 5 miles.
Did changing the MAS cure evryone elses problems?
Where is the best place to get one from?

Thanks.

Dom.

 

[fwb44]

Did changing the MAS cure everyone else's problems? Where is the best place to get one from?

Fixed mine a treat, indy got MAF insert from M-B for around £69 - you shouldn't need the whole unit complete with plastic housing which is more like £190. Earlier in this thread there's advice on getting the insert yourself from Bosch, I believe. HTH

 

[Dom320]

Many thanks.