I did my night trunk in a new Mercedes Actros mega space last night. It was my first time driving one of these very smart looking trucks. I thought it a good drive, nice handling, brakes, steering etc plus the cab was excellent, well trimmed, quiet, plenty of toys etc however what I thought let it down very much was the engine brake constantly kept cutting in and it dropped gears constantly, even giving the throttle pedal a dab didn’t over ride this annoyance. No doubt my employers insistance at turning everything down to 52mph doesnt help but it seems to waste what seems to be a cracking motor, any of you guys experiencing this problem with the new Actros?
You must have caught the right hand stalk, keep it in the highest elevated position and it won’t come on at all, unless your doing a bit over your cruise speed, then it will cut in to bring the speed down.
Hth and I agree great truck, want to go in the new fh, but think the top dog at Turners has fallen out with Volvo.
NewLad:
You must have caught the right hand stalk, keep it in the highest elevated position and it won’t come on at all, unless your doing a bit over your cruise speed, then it will cut in to bring the speed down.Hth and I agree great truck, want to go in the new fh, but think the top dog at Turners has fallen out with Volvo.
The stalk was fine mate all it took was it to drift 1 mph over it was nose diving but as i say it is possibly down to how far its limiter is turned down
Your firm obv don’t like you letting him roll, 1mph is a bit of a poor margin though.
I’ve heard the new MP4 Actros is good on fuel & driver acceptance is high.
rivits:
NewLad:
You must have caught the right hand stalk, keep it in the highest elevated position and it won’t come on at all, unless your doing a bit over your cruise speed, then it will cut in to bring the speed down.Hth and I agree great truck, want to go in the new fh, but think the top dog at Turners has fallen out with Volvo.
The stalk was fine mate all it took was it to drift 1 mph over it was nose diving but as i say it is possibly down to how far its limiter is turned down
This was adjustable on the 1 I had, same as on the Volvo’s
waynedl:
rivits:
NewLad:
You must have caught the right hand stalk, keep it in the highest elevated position and it won’t come on at all, unless your doing a bit over your cruise speed, then it will cut in to bring the speed down.Hth and I agree great truck, want to go in the new fh, but think the top dog at Turners has fallen out with Volvo.
The stalk was fine mate all it took was it to drift 1 mph over it was nose diving but as i say it is possibly down to how far its limiter is turned down
This was adjustable on the 1 I had, same as on the Volvo’s
This ^
You can set how much you will allow it to roll after going over the cruise speed.
When your in it again try this.
WHEN MOVING try pressing the button on the right hand side of the steering wheel, it looks like 2 squares. Then use the up/down arrows on the left hand side of the steering wheel to increase/decrease the allowed amount of roll.
Then press “Ok” on the left hand side of the steering wheel to confirm.
Hth
Not on them ones you cant when you have it set to them the maximum it won’t allow you 1mph over, it’s the way they have been set up im afraid
rivits:
Not on them ones you cant when you have it set to them the maximum it won’t allow you 1mph over, it’s the way they have been set up im afraid
As mentioned you should be able to set Eco Roll to a higher setting, keep gears in Auto Economy and It should be set to at least +3 mph to give you some roll.
Any other queries give me a shout we got loads of these Actros’s.
Have you tried taking the gearbox out of auto when on motorways?
Stops the uncalled for gear changes, I know that’s what our guys do,
ps minor point but its no longer a mega space its now the giga space
Fallmonk:
Have you tried taking the gearbox out of auto when on motorways?
Stops the uncalled for gear changes, I know that’s what our guys do,
ps minor point but its no longer a mega space its now the giga space
It’s supposed to be left in auto at all times.
bald bloke:
Fallmonk:
Have you tried taking the gearbox out of auto when on motorways?
Stops the uncalled for gear changes, I know that’s what our guys do,
ps minor point but its no longer a mega space its now the giga spaceIt’s supposed to be left in auto at all times.
And it’s also NOT the giga-space, it’s actually now called the Big Space, the gigaspace is the next one up.
bald bloke:
rivits:
Not on them ones you cant when you have it set to them the maximum it won’t allow you 1mph over, it’s the way they have been set up im afraidAs mentioned you should be able to set Eco Roll to a higher setting, keep gears in Auto Economy and It should be set to at least +3 mph to give you some roll.
Any other queries give me a shout we got loads of these Actros’s.
Auto-economy restricts the cruise control to 52mph (approx), but auto allows it upto 56mph (approx and also dependent on any limiter changes by the company)
Oh it won’t really matter guys as only the clique get the fancy motors, tonight I am out in an absolutely awful Iveco, if ever there was a way not to build a truck!!!
rivits:
Oh it won’t really matter guys as only the clique get the fancy motors, tonight I am out in an absolutely awful Iveco, if ever there was a way not to build a truck!!!
pure Italian build quality that is, almost as good as VW’s version of a HGV.
The new stralis is meant to be alright, to be fair they ain’t been going long & this is only the 2nd incarnation of the stralis just out.
Silver_Surfer:
The new stralis is meant to be alright, to be fair they ain’t been going long & this is only the 2nd incarnation of the stralis just out.
That 60 plate I was doubled up in last night was absolutely falling apart, it was in shocking condition and it is all down to cheap & nasty components , if Fiat was to spend more money on more quality fixtures & fittings it would actually be a decent motor but the build quality of say a DAF XF is beyond comparison!
The engine brake doesn’t seem to do much with 44t, since running downhill it’ll just double-change down, revving the nuts out of it well into the red, and you’re still accelerating down the bloody hill. Then you use the actual proper brakes, and you get told off for “not driving it on ECO properly”. Even if you manually override the gears, and knock it back up one, it’ll just change straight back down again. Back to manual all the time, and padding the brakes it is then. 
Garrrgh! They’re a pain in the arse! Even MANs have engine brakes that actually dampen your speed when you take your foot off the pedal, which seems a much better system to me. The MAN radios are easier to use, without having to flaff around with that damned white on black/black on white radio screen that you get on the Actros as well.
Winseer:
The engine brake doesn’t seem to do much with 44t, since running downhill it’ll just double-change down, revving the nuts out of it well into the red, and you’re still accelerating down the bloody hill. Then you use the actual proper brakes, and you get told off for “not driving it on ECO properly”. Even if you manually override the gears, and knock it back up one, it’ll just change straight back down again. Back to manual all the time, and padding the brakes it is then.Garrrgh! They’re a pain in the arse! Even MANs have engine brakes that actually dampen your speed when you take your foot off the pedal, which seems a much better system to me. The MAN radios are easier to use, without having to flaff around with that damned white on black/black on white radio screen that you get on the Actros as well.
I have had 4 MANs with ARRC, a P reg 17-403 and my god that pulled like a freight train, loved it, a 57 plate TGA 440 XLX which although badly let down by cheap interior trim was a good driving truck then two 58 plate TGX 440 XLX’s and I can honestly say I loved them, quiet, comfortable, roomy and much improved interior over the TGA, I think MAN has as good a product as any
Winseer:
The engine brake doesn’t seem to do much with 44t, since running downhill it’ll just double-change down, revving the nuts out of it well into the red, and you’re still accelerating down the bloody hill.
It’s not too good as you say but get the cont brake on early will help a bit more.
On mine I just knock it off cruise at the top of a hill, then knock it down to 11th and bring the exhaust brake down 2 clicks on the steep hills, then just dab the brakes to keep it under control. Then once near the bottom exhaust brake off, into 12th then just let it roll down on eco mode. At 44t it’s amazing how far it’ll travel before you have to flick the cruise control back on.
terratology:
On mine I just knock it off cruise at the top of a hill, then knock it down to 11th and bring the exhaust brake down 2 clicks on the steep hills, then just dab the brakes to keep it under control. Then once near the bottom exhaust brake off, into 12th then just let it roll down on eco mode. At 44t it’s amazing how far it’ll travel before you have to flick the cruise control back on.
Knocking the cc down a few clicks is another option to control your speed down a hill.