Am i missing a trick ?
Been driving one for 6 months and thought it might improve as the “newness comes out”
Basically,its still a pile of pooh imo. Surely they cant all be so hesitant and indecisive . . . . can they?
Sorry to add insult to injury but the merc I have been driving for the last year has only got worse, seemed ok for the first few weeks now every roundabout and junction becomes a nightmare, when coasting up to a junction see a gap put your foot down then it throws a wobbly deciding what gear to be in, drove an 07 plate volvo with I shift when mine was off the road far superior gear changes
Drive it in manual mode.
Isn’t that defeating the object of an automatic gearbox?
Dav1d:
Drive it in manual mode.
Tried that option a few times,not much better seems slow to change.
Power mode going up hill(oo err) is a joke as it still skips gears and changing its mind.
year, a very slow and stupid gearbox
Suedehead:
Am i missing a trick ?
Been driving one for 6 months and thought it might improve as the “newness comes out”
Basically,its still a pile of pooh imo. Surely they cant all be so hesitant and indecisive . . . . can they?
We have loads of them and they’re all the same, I’m in a Volvo for a couple of days now and it’s heaven !!
My biggest gripe with them is trying to pull away in 1st when running solo. It will happily pull away in 3rd-5th with a trailer on depending on the incline and load but when engaging forward after coming from reverse it almost always selects 1st. Very annoying.
In some ways it’s better than the previous version but when approaching islands it can be naff. Several times this week I’ve had it try to go round an island in 6th with a load on after approaching at about 5mph then cough n splutter for a few seconds before selecting 3rd. Powershift 2 in the old Mercs doesn’t seem to do this.
All in all it’s a decent box and I’d take it over the Telligent manuals and just about any other gearbox other than an I-Shift. ■■■-Chronic doesn’t even come close.
Nice trucks but the gearbox on them are a shambles, they delay in putting your foot down when a gap appears to it deciding to choose a gear is terrible.
neilp1982:
Nice trucks but the gearbox on them are a shambles, they delay in putting your foot down when a gap appears to it deciding to choose a gear is terrible.
What I do is put my foot down about 3 seconds before the gap then time it’s coughed and spluttered and decides on a gear the gap will be in front of you. 
steve4545:
Sorry to add insult to injury but the merc I have been driving for the last year has only got worse, seemed ok for the first few weeks now every roundabout and junction becomes a nightmare, when coasting up to a junction see a gap put your foot down then it throws a wobbly deciding what gear to be in, drove an 07 plate volvo with I shift when mine was off the road far superior gear changes
That’s what I’m finding with my Actros. I had a 64plate for a few months as a temp till I got my new one arrived in August. The gearbox was crap in the 64 plate and when I got my new one, it seemed perfect. It was like night and day. Didn’t hesitate or try to pull away loaded in 6th gear. But as it racks up the miles, its getting worse and these silly traits the 64plate had are starting to appear on my new one.[emoji35] [emoji35]
bald bloke:
neilp1982:
Nice trucks but the gearbox on them are a shambles, they delay in putting your foot down when a gap appears to it deciding to choose a gear is terrible.What I do is put my foot down about 3 seconds before the gap then time it’s coughed and spluttered and decides on a gear the gap will be in front of you.
I did start to do that, but I still prefer a Volvo
Has this last week, and a 65 plate the week before, Both Gutless but comfortable,
Gearbox dreadful, mildly better in manual, but not much.
Rather have the Volvo, didn’t think I would ever say that !!
Terry T:
My biggest gripe with them is trying to pull away in 1st when running solo. It will happily pull away in 3rd-5th with a trailer on depending on the incline and load but when engaging forward after coming from reverse it almost always selects 1st. Very annoying..
Just asking, are you at road level? If my air suspension is up or down the auto box will select gear 1, once at road level it will select 4th before setting off.
Haven’t driven one of the new models, but sounds like the box hasn’t changed from the square Actros/Axor, a useless pile of ■■■ then and a useless pile of ■■■ now…damned shame because with a proper gearbox (no not powerliner electric shift that was useless too) Mercs are decent lorries.
About the same standard as ZF’s Arsetronic heap by all accounts.
Radar19:
Terry T:
My biggest gripe with them is trying to pull away in 1st when running solo. It will happily pull away in 3rd-5th with a trailer on depending on the incline and load but when engaging forward after coming from reverse it almost always selects 1st. Very annoying..
Just asking, are you at road level? If my air suspension is up or down the auto box will select gear 1, once at road level it will select 4th before setting off.
Yeah deffo, its always the first thing I do after pulling from under a trailer. After a while out on the road it seems to sort itself out but it seems there’s several scenarios where it likes to go into 1st or 2nd when solo.
Tossy gearbox aside, any other pilot of these things noticed they get through an alarming amount of bulbs, especially tail lights? Our 3 are keeping the Hella prices up atm!
Actrosman:
Tossy gearbox aside, any other pilot of these things noticed they get through an alarming amount of bulbs, especially tail lights? Our 3 are keeping the Hella prices up atm!
Yes a load of bulbs and for that reason i carry about 2 of everything although it’s mainly headlight bulbs with the occasional side indicator.
Actrosman:
Tossy gearbox aside, any other pilot of these things noticed they get through an alarming amount of bulbs, especially tail lights? Our 3 are keeping the Hella prices up atm!
Some of the lights in the tail light cluster in mine are LED units. Dread to think how much they will cost to replace when they fail.[emoji50]
they respond better to a light right foot then straight onto cruise .
what kind of figures are the people struggling getting on the driver computer ?
if you get low scores its your driving not the truck thats at fault !