Alright, so I was just driving around in my 1988 300e and without warning my transmission started acting up. It feels like it is always starting in first gear even though I'm not hitting the kickdown switch. It also won't shift to the next gear (second?) until very late (about 3500 rpm).

I was able to nurse the car home and check a few things:
Fluid level is normal, smells and looks normal. After removing the kickdown switch completely the problem persists.

So after using the SEARCH function, I read that other people have solved the exact problem by a fluid/filter change. The only thing that I am concerned about is that I had the system flushed last summer (although I don't know if the filter was changed). Is my tranny trying to tell me something? I guess the best idea now is to get the flush and see if the problem is fixed, but does anybody have any other advice on what might be going wrong?

Thank you all very much for your time and expertise.

Peter
1988 300e
1988 420sel

Me too! Me too!I have a 91 300E24V that does the same thing you described.Fluid is about 20,000kms old.
It feels great getting those fast starts but not with the thump that comes at the change(3500-4000rpm).
Let me know if a fluid and filter change make a difference!
Talk soon,Chris.

Thanks for the reply Chris. I actually figured out the problem last night. I took the airfilter off and messed with the kickdown switch cable to see if that was the problem and it turned out that thats all it took. I figured that was the problem because it seemed just like the kickdown switch had been pressed because of the first gear start and everything.

Free first gear start I guess...

Anyway, it might be worth checking out.

Peter

1988 300e
1988 420sel

Hi Peter,
-Did you mess around with the kickdown switch cable or the bowden cable(white plastic screw on it)?

-Do you take off in first gear now?All the time?

-If so,what rpm does it change into 2nd gear in normal driving conditions?(half accelerator)
Thanx ,Chris.

Chris -

I didn't really mess with the cables, but I made sure that they weren't caught on anything and could move freely.

Before I fixed it the car would always start in first gear. That's the first reason I suspected the kickdown switch.

The car acted strangely under normal conditions. The car would be in first gear up to about 3500 rpm and then it would have a very hard shift. Right after the shift it felt like nothing had changed and it was still in first gear. I decided that this was because the car transmission still thought I had the kickdown switch on so it would immediately switch back to first gear.

Anyway, all I did to fix it was mess with the accelerator plate and make sure that the kickdown cable would return to it's original position after being activated.

Good luck and I hope that you don't have major problems.

Peter

1988 300e
1988 420sel