I drive a Mercedes 64 plate,sick and tired of the bloody gearbox,came to my usual roundabout this morning car coming round was going into the road I’m coming out of, nice gap between him and another car so I went for it knowing I had room to pull out,result nothing,pressed the accelerator still nothing,a few seconds of clicking from the box before it suddenly decides to engage,result was I’m halfway out on the roundabout holding everyone up,really embarrassing and annoying,no matter how many times I pressed the accelerator in those few seconds I got nothing,autobox particularly mercs are a pain sometimes,never had this problem with the man I drove
I think they all suffer from delay mate, some worse than others.
I’m ok with autoboxes tbh, a lot easier, maybe to easy a monkey can drive a truck these days (in fact some do 
) but your point is a good argument for a manual.
Different to you I always found the MAN worse for it than the Merc.
Juddian on here just lurrrrves auto boxes ask him about it 
Yep my Actros suffered the same, some manual intervention can help, but not much.
I found it is easier just to apologise to other road users on a regular basis. Happened so often that I ended up apologising even when there was nothing coming out of habit.
I also developed a skill for trying to pull away the moment the auto engine cut off shut her down, making it look like id stalled.
Oh and you can’t beat that reassuring beep of the gearbox throwing a neutral at the most innapropriate times.
truckman020:
pressed the accelerator still nothing,a few seconds of clicking from the box before it suddenly decides to engage,result was I’m halfway out on the roundabout holding everyone up,
I used to attempt to pull away 2 seconds before i needed to in these situations and time the gearbox sorted itself out i was pulling out into that gap.
Nope, drive mine in manual 100% of the time. The situation the op described happens when you have a slight input on the throttle. On a neutral throttle it’ll just click into gear, any revs above Rickover however seem to confuse the box. I sometimes get it on the transition from forwards to reverse if I’m being a bit too quick with it.
We all know mercs don’t like being rushed. I think this is an in built deterrent merc have designed into their trucks. I find at roundabouts etc, the best thing to do is press the gas pedal less than a quarter of its travel and it seems to drop into gear quickly. I think it’s designed to throw a hissy fit at roundabouts if you put your foot to the floor in attempt to get a quick getaway to encourage you to drive smoothly. It’s drives better all round with smooth throttle use IMO.
Actros nightmare at junction s mate my regular truck
Just tap the accelerator as you come to a stop and it will be ready for you. Problem solved
Steve-o:
Just tap the accelerator as you come to a stop and it will be ready for you. Problem solved
This above. Can’t drive them like a go-kart. Anticipation and patience. Relax and breath!
the maoster:
Nope, drive mine in manual 100% of the time. The situation the op described happens when you have a slight input on the throttle. On a neutral throttle it’ll just click into gear, any revs above Rickover however seem to confuse the box. I sometimes get it on the transition from forwards to reverse if I’m being a bit too quick with it.
yeah I am quite quick with it while trying to pull out,annoying though
damoq:
We all know mercs don’t like being rushed. I think this is an in built deterrent merc have designed into their trucks. I find at roundabouts etc, the best thing to do is press the gas pedal less than a quarter of its travel and it seems to drop into gear quickly. I think it’s designed to throw a hissy fit at roundabouts if you put your foot to the floor in attempt to get a quick getaway to encourage you to drive smoothly. It’s drives better all round with smooth throttle use IMO.
exactly what I found when I press the accelarator
Sounds about on a par with Arsetronic, unfit for the purposes of lorry control, and that’s more or less the reason for a clutched and geared transmission.
Good to hear they still dump you in neutral now and again 
, just like good old Powerliner.
And this, my friends they actually call progress, Jesus wept.
No issues with the box in my Premium.
Steve-o:
Just tap the accelerator as you come to a stop and it will be ready for you. Problem solved
this !
the maoster:
Nope, drive mine in manual 100% of the time. The situation the op described happens when you have a slight input on the throttle. On a neutral throttle it’ll just click into gear, any revs above Rickover however seem to confuse the box. I sometimes get it on the transition from forwards to reverse if I’m being a bit too quick with it.
why do you drive it in manual, when its an automatic, ?. if your boss wanted you to drive in manual he would have got you a manual gearbox ?.
Because I’m better than the gearbox. Simple as that. The telemetary seems to bear that out. Also Mercedes own assessor.
gingo:
the maoster:
Nope, drive mine in manual 100% of the time. The situation the op described happens when you have a slight input on the throttle. On a neutral throttle it’ll just click into gear, any revs above Rickover however seem to confuse the box. I sometimes get it on the transition from forwards to reverse if I’m being a bit too quick with it.why do you drive it in manual, when its an automatic, ?. if your boss wanted you to drive in manual he would have got you a manual gearbox ?.
Seems to be the only way to drive em.
the maoster:
Because I’m better than the gearbox. Simple as that. The telemetary seems to bear that out. Also Mercedes own assessor.
Is most of your driving done on the motorway? I mostly do stop start work and wouldn’t even dream of using it in manual mode for this. Seems like more trouble than it’s worth.
damoq:
the maoster:
Because I’m better than the gearbox. Simple as that. The telemetary seems to bear that out. Also Mercedes own assessor.Is most of your driving done on the motorway? I mostly do stop start work and wouldn’t even dream of using it in manual mode for this. Seems like more trouble than it’s worth.
Not at all mate, mixture of all roads and multi drop work. It’s just a question of getting used to manually changing. Just like in the old manual days it becomes second nature after a while.
Although I have been driving for years I’m not one of those drivers who says “I’ve been driving bloody years and nobody will tell me how to drive”. On the contrary I’m obsessed with high fleet board scores, fuel economy, smooth driving and learning new technology and I do honestly believe that I am better than a computer. As I said before Mercedes own driver trainer backs up my assumptions too.
As an aside, my allocated vehicle is one of only a handful on our fleet that has not been back to Mercedes to rectify gearbox issues.
the maoster:
Because I’m better than the gearbox.
your boss dosent seem to think so, or he would have got you a manual box.
instead of auto ,