Triptronic transmission
 

Can anybody help?
I just bought a Mercedes 220 CDI yr 2002 in Germany and the dang owner's manual is in German.
What does the 'w' and 's' stand for on the triptronic gear box??

Ok you can call me dumb now...

My guess would be W for Winter and S for Summer.:p

Aint got a Triptonic system on my Merc ... so cant say for sure.

Isn't the triptronic gear box designed for standard shifing if you choose or automatic if you choose that option.

Find someone who speaks German and English and problem solved.

K

I drove tiptronic Passat. You can keep the shifter to one side and essentially its automatic. In the middle of the shift range you should have a slot that allows you to move shifter completely to one side (probably right). Now you have 2 options move shifter up (forward) or down (backwards). The shifter WILL NOT stay in the new position, because now it acts as a manual. I believe the forward is a downshift, and backward is upshift. if you forget to downshift while slowing down the car will stay in the selected gear untill you drive at about 15 mph. at this point tranni will automatically shift to first. if you stop it will shift to neutral. However, it will not upshift during acceleration, so you will be stuck in first untill you upshift.

The system is officially called "Touch Shift", it was introduced to the US market in 2000.
The S is "Standard", the W is "Winter". In W the transmission starts out in 2nd gear nstead of first, it helps reduce wheel spin.
W also can help you maintain position (no roll back) if stopped while going up hill, although MB doesn't advertise this, just something I noticed.

Gilly

Not to be picky, but tiptronic is the automatic tranny shared by Porsche, VW and Audi.

One thing Gilly missed is the taller reverse gear engaged in "W" (Winter) mode. It allows backing up in slippery conditions. Normal reverse gears are quite steep, and backing up out of a sloped angle curb space can be very difficult in a "normal" car. With the 722.6 MB, you engage W and back out slowly and surely.

Also, the W mode upshifts sooner, not winding out in each gear under hard acceleration like in S mode.

I usually set it in W in mid November, and leave it there until spring.