I had to get use to the transmission in my CLK that it jerked when you took your foot off the gas like a manual transmission using the clutch to slow down. My mini auto is the same way. It was actually pretty jerky at the beginning and then the more miles I have put on it 3K now it seemed to get smoother.

Now it seems to have started to jerk more maybe the cold weather. But it stays in a low gear when I slow down and then when I hit the gas it feels like it is going to stall in stop an go traffic. Other times it is still in to high of a gear and jerks the crap out of you like you don't know how to drive a stick. It just doesn't seem to be finding the right gear sometimes. Anyone else have these issues?

 

Here are some other things I found out about my MCSa:

1. Under cold temp you need to warm it up a bit (let's it run for 2-3mins).

2. Sport model gives you faster change but also jerkier change, especially in 1-2, 2-3.

3. In sport+manual: the shift paddle seems to be slower than the gear lever(+/-), but you can easily shift more than 1 gear at a time. E.g. 4-2 downshift or 1-3-5 upshift. The lever seems to be optimized for fast sequential shift, while the paddle gives you more options.

4. A slight lift on the throttle during the 1-2,2-3 upshift might give you better shift quality, but it is tricky to get the timing right since the gearbox is not slow, and it takes your throttle position into calculation. Do it right the upshift is exceptionally smooth and quick, but I am not able to perform it with consistency.

5. Manual mode works well for me in the traffic: non-sport comes with very laggy throttle in stop-go traffic. Sport mode gives you proper throttle repsonse but it is very keen to hold the rev in low gear + no 6th gear on highway. So I end up with sport + manual mode all the time.

 

The MCS auto transmission is kinda quirky/jerky on take off . It tends to give you a neck jerking experience if you press the accelerator down smoothly as you would with most vehicles.

This is hard to explain but I have found that you can "minimize" this by just pressing and holding the accelerator at an initial position. The engine will then catch up with the lag and you can then smoothly accelerate up to speed.

 

When I getting my JCW Stage I kit installed, they had to update the ecm with new software. There was 12 updates needed.

I can't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure one of the updats was something to do with the trans.

I agree that the trans can get a little jerky. Many times, I slide the shifter over to sport mode to make it more smooth. (changes the shifting, doesn't seem so jerky)

Mark

 

Yep...the transmission shifts smoothly in the manual mode. Did the software updates improve the take-off shifting "lag"? i.e. make it shift smoother on take-off.

 

One thing that may cause the feeling is that I think if you come to a complete stop the transmission goes no lower than second gear. If you accellerate smoothly from a stop, you won't feel much. However if you mash it, I think it starts rolling in second and does a hard downshift to first. I really like a throttle cable better than drive by wire on take off...

 

Couldn't agree more! I also ended up always using manual mode with the sport button on. It feels the best. I wish we could program the sport button to give you your own combination of tight steering, greater throttle response, and higher shift points. I would program my sport button to give me the tighter steering and greater throttle response without the higher shift points.

 

I don't mind using manual and the sport mode, but then mine will not let it get above 4th gear I think. I don't want to be wasting all this extra gas with the RPM's much higher just cruising. Anyone else's not let you get to the 5th and 6th gear when in sport mode?

 

I can't get into 6th with just the Sport mode when in full auto. It will eventually shift into 5th but not until I really get going (which means pretty much being on the highway and then I wouldn't be in Sport mode anyway). If I go to manual then I can get into 5th & 6th whenever I want.

 

Ok, I think I am just using the paddle shifters when in sport to change gears and not moving the stick over to the manual mode. I will try that on my way home tonight

 

Two thoughts...

If you move the stick over to sport mode, you can obviously shift as necc. There are two problems with that. 1) If you shift it manually, then you're stuck shifting it manually until you remove it out of sport mode. (because it will automatically downshift to 2nd gear at a light but will not shift out of it)

2nd problem. If you put it in sport mode and don't manually shift it, then it will never go into 6th gear... it will only go up to 5th. (though you can manually shift it into 6th but then you're back to the shifting thing)


Neither is really a problem, just making a point.

Mark