semi auto box????

[jordanofolano]

Hi wonder if anyone could advise if there are any problems,pluses minuses of semi auto box or should i keep looking for just auto?Its a coupe evo pan 220 cdi on an 03 plate at £11995 with 74000 on clock.thanks

 

[psmart]

I've posted a few times on our C220cdi with semi-auto, but I'll summarise:

1) Not for hard drivers or boy racers. If you drive eloquently, there nice smooth and silky, but if you drive hard (ie. the type of person who thrashes a manual gearbox) then it will annoy you. I tend to drive it manually, but the folks drive it in Auto, no complaints.
2) Economical, far more than automatics and same as manual. We've had 66mpg out of it and its regular mpg is in the 50's.
3) The designers havent quite perfected the software, so it will try to hang onto 2nd gear instead of dropping to first when pottering about, which may lead to clutch wear.
4) Seems reliable enough, no problems to report on, albeit Sprint'N'Go has had issues, but he's in a heavily loaded van and long distancer and he's had major issues with just about every part of the his van (monday or friday build?).

Personally, I like it. My ML is an auto but I cant see any major reason why I wouldnt have a semi-auto in the ML if it were available (it would give me more speed and economy )

Best bet, test drive it yourself and see if it matches your way of driving.

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Don't get me started....

I was going to start another thread but this one will do.

I have been into Mercedes this afternoon to tell them that the clutch action is still awful.

To summarise -

Noticed a minor judder at around 80-90k which then developed until Merc reprogrammed clutch at 100k.

Problem continued to worsen until eventually became almost undriveable at around 104k (lots of snatching and violent juddering). Clutch replaced complete with flywheel and slave cylinder/bearing. Still an almost indiscernible judder even after new bits (could I be imagining it?)

After a few 1000 miles there is a definite judder at take off which was mentioned to Mercedes. Clutch action reprogrammed, fluid levels checked.

110k - serious reprogramming session resulting in a near perfect clutch. I also changed engine mounts for peace of mind at my own expense (£17 + vat each) which may also have made a minor improvement. After a week of lovely driving, clutch action suddenly deteriorated after a 300+ mile trip.

111+K - yesterday Merc technician came to my house and reset clutch with me driving to see if it was my driving style.

Today, nearly at 112k clutch action gone bad again after a trip from Manchester to Crystal Palace and Warrington then back to M/cr.

Van is now out of warranty by nearly a week but is still being dealt with as an existing problem. God knows what the next step is but I reckon that the clutch is going to have to come out again.

Besides the clutch problem my sprintshift box was also replaced at 90k due to a selector pack fault so I have to say that in my experience the system doesn't work and now Mercedes have dropped it I think we can summarise it wasn't such a good idea after all. The technician that came to my house admitted they had been having loads of trouble with the sprintshift boxes. Whenever I visit the dealer they always have at least one Ocado/waitrose home delivery van in the yard and guess which box they have according to the tech turned informant!

The only thing is, despite all the problems, when it is working well, it is a fantastic box. Far better than having to change a manual for 500 miles a day and better than a traditional auto for efficiency and a tiptronic as well.

My final recommendation would be to be very cautious but don't dismiss it entirely.

 

[jon_harley]

1) Not for hard drivers or boy racers. If you drive eloquently, there nice smooth and silky, but if you drive hard (ie. the type of person who thrashes a manual gearbox) then it will annoy you.

I dunno, I drove mine hard sometimes (for fun) and it never annoyed me. Agree with all the rest of your comment.s

I really liked the box and would unhesitatingly choose it again if I could. I kind of miss it in my CLK. Having more power to use is a compensation.