Hello all,
I just bought a '94 C220, 100,000km and am worried about the shifting.
If driving at low speeds, it doesn't want to automatically shift into third gear until I reach an RPM of over 3500, or speeds above 50km/hr. Since the speed limit on most streets is 50, I can get all the way to work without it shifting unless I force it to shift by manually changing the gear to "3" and then back to "D". This is getting very annoying because the engine is racing really high and there's lots of torque. I hope my transmission isn't gone. I've checked the fluids and they are okay. It doesn't seem to matter if the car is warm...it still does it, just not as much.
I can't think of anything and the dealer I got the car from says this is normal for 4 cylinder cars. I KNOW this can't be normal.
Thank you very much for all your help, this forum is amazing!
Satinder.

Register up!! The trans shift point is controlled by the bowden cable adjustment. Make sure it is properly adjusted.

Hello,
Thanks for the reply! I took the car to my
mechanic and he adjusted the bowden cable, but when I drove it home again I noticed that nothing changed. He doesn't want to adjust it anymore because I might have problems downshifting into third.

He also tried something else...there's some type of sensor or something that slows the car from shifting when it is cold. (something to do with cutting down emissions). Anyways, he tried to bypass that as well, thinking
that might not be allowing me to shift, but that didn't help either.
Does anyone else have any experience with this or any ideas? It won't shift on its own until I speed up to between 50 and 60km/hr.

Thanks for all your help!

Satinder.
94 C220
84 190E

Okay...more information on this situation...
My mechanic re-checked the bowden cable and there was no difference.
One thing he also tried was disconnecting the bowden cable entirely and driving like that...that didn't make a difference either. It was shifting really late even with the cable disconnected!
He checked if the bowden cable is sticking or anything and it's not. He's worried that it might be something wrong with the transmission and says it might have to be opened up and the valves and stuff checked.
Before I get him to do this, is there anything else I should try? I have a feeling this is going to get expensive if he starts doing work on the transmission.

Thank you for all your help,
Satinder.
94 C220
84 190E

I think your tech should take off the pan of the trans and see if the rod that the bowden cable actuates is working with resistance. It should be and if it isn't, it could have a broken spring. Do not let him disconnect any more of the emission features. The check engine light will come on shortly. Also there are two vacuum lines that should be checked.

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