MY OWNERS MANUAL SAYS 4 SPEED AUTOMATIC

but MY CAR SHIFTS TWICE FROM A STOP SIGN UP TO 65 miles per hour. So, 0 to 65 : start in first, shifts to second and then third--- but never to 4th ?? whats the problem??? No sliping no nothing --shifts good. Please anyone help!! shifts fine manually from S to L to D.

The automatic transmission always starts in 2nd gear. So it shifts from 2 to 3 to 4. That's it. 1st gear is only used if you smash the pedal to the floor from a complete stop.

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1999 E300 Turbo - 112K miles
1987 300D Turbo - 89K miles
1984 190D 5spd - 152K miles
1969 220D Auto - 170K miles

Not so sure about the 240D....

The 81 240D auto I owned for years behaved in the following manner:

At rest, in gear, the trans will be in second gear.

As soon as you accelerate, the trans will drop into 1st, and then almost immediately shift into second, then 3rd, then 4th.

Try this trick:

While at a complete stop, move the shift lever back to "L".
Then, while still stopped, move it back to "D".

Now floor it as you release the brakes and count the shifts.

I'll bet you count 3 shifts....

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles