I was at the dealership recently for an oil service, when the shop manager noticed that the transmission shift mode switch was in the "W" position. He said that I should use the "Summer" position regularly, as using the "W" position too much would disrupt the shift software . The car is a 99E300D. According to the owner's manual, the difference between the two shift modes is only that in the "W" mode the transmission uses a second gear start, and has nothing to do with summer, winter, sport, wimp or any other factor. I asked him whether owners who lived in Quebec, which has many months of real winter, shold use the "S" mode to avoid software problems, or if the tranny somehow knew if it really was winter! He didn't have an answer.
My questions are; is the shop manager correct? Has anyone had problems with shifting after using the "W" mode? Should MB have labled the switch "N" for normal shifting, and "T" for temporary second gear start?
Steve

I have never heard this before. The difference is that the "W" mode starts in 2nd gear and utilizes earlier shift points. Personally, I drive in W 100% of the time. I like the early shift points and gear 2 has more acceleration than i need.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

I am reviving this old thread because I have the same issue/question on my C230. I prefer the W position, although I find it delays shifting which I don't necessarily like. My issue was that when coming to a stop I could never get the car stop brake completely smoothly, there was always a little "squawk" at the end. I finally determined that this was the torque of the engine in first gear trying to "go" while I was trying to stop. I find that in the W position, since it only goes to second, the torque is less and I can break easier. And I find I take off smooother also from second. (I don't drag race in my C230). Is there any problem with driving in the W position all the time?

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra