In the year I've owned my '85 300D, the transmission has worked pretty well, but lately it doesn't always kick down into lower gear when I stomp on the accelerator. For instance, merging onto a freeway, I'll be cruising at 35 mph turning 2000 rpms. I press the accelerator to the floor, but the transmission won't downshift so my acceleration is very leisurely until the engine rpms increase and the turbo starts winding up. When I bought the car, it downshifted readily.

Is this serious? Is there something I can do/diagnose to improve performance?

thanks,

__________________
Charlie

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'66 VW 1300 96K miles
'97 E300D 239K miles
'85 300D 203K miles (sold Sep 2012)