Had a new driver to our company the other day to show
paperwork on the job.
I was driving a 03, Actros with semi auto box and got a good tip off this driver
( who had 30 years experience to my 3 ).
When slowing down to roundabouts put the gearlever into neutral
then push it forward and let gearbox find right gear for moving away.
Saves you going down gearbox and selecting to low a gear -
2 high or 3 low.
Part of the reason i like training new drivers is i learn as well.
But then your coasting in netraul and not in full control, well thats what any official instructor would say. Personally id rather have a merc in a gear than coasting, heard of many a brake failure on merc and seen evidance on our fleet.
Doesn’t pressing the function button on the gear lever find the right gear for you once you’ve slowed
Tony b
When braking for a roundabout flick gearlever back and as you slow it should select the right gear for you 
I’ve tried the neutral thing and it does exactly the same
Imp:
But then your coasting in netraul and not in full control, well thats what any official instructor would say. Personally id rather have a merc in a gear than coasting, heard of many a brake failure on merc and seen evidance on our fleet .
My truck (Volvo I Shift) knocks itself in to neutral all the time, I was always told not to coast in a truck but it seems its more usual than it used to be years ago.
jammymutt:
My truck (Volvo I Shift) knocks itself in to neutral all the time, I was always told not to coast in a truck but it seems its more usual than it used to be years ago.
Yeah but that was due to drum brakes which cook themselves if worked hard (or normally)
Drove a FL10 wagon and drag tanker and coming from an fm12 it was suprising how much harder it was to stop, plus the smell from the brakes and it was running 4 tonne lighter, only 360 horses so it took longer to get going. You could feel the heat coming of the brakes just by standing close to the wheel.
Youd think that for fuel economy that the engine would shut of the fuel and let the transmission drive the engine though 
Its got disc brakes fornt rear an on the trailer!!!.
The recommendation NOT to coast was to prevent trucks getting low on air as pushing the brake a few times would lower the tanks, but presumably with far superior retarders the air is not used as much.
i noticed that on the I shift
never worried too much about it cos iinto gear soon after
Mercs have had this feature for for years, the original “Powershift” (now that is an oxymoron if ever there was) had the same feature.
tonyb…:
Doesn’t pressing the function button on the gear lever find the right gear for you once you’ve slowedTony b
On my new one, pressing the function button as you pre-select simply tells it to change a full gear.
Coming to a stop, then selecting a lower gear automatically drops it into 2nd high.
If, as you are slowing down for lights you see the lights change, quickly select neutral then select a gear, it should pick the right gear for you to pull away.
The old EPS II always picked the gear to keep you going at the speed you’d got. To be able to accelerate away you had to go up a gear, otherwise you’d run out of revs very quickly.
jammymutt:
Imp:
But then your coasting in netraul and not in full control, well thats what any official instructor would say. Personally id rather have a merc in a gear than coasting, heard of many a brake failure on merc and seen evidance on our fleet .My truck (Volvo I Shift) knocks itself in to neutral all the time, I was always told not to coast in a truck but it seems its more usual than it used to be years ago.
plus its taught on a SAFED course
scanny is part of the Ishift system eco roll put the truck in to neutral when the enginedoesnt need to be working so it saves fuel, the millisecond it does need to work the electronics kick the engine back in to life. id very much doubt it was unsafe for the truck to do this
As previously suggested, slow the Actros down, pull the lever backwards and it will select the most appropriate gear for you.
If, between you pre-selecting the down change and dipping the clutch to confirm it, the software feels a different gear is more appropriate, the dash indicator will display it, and the system will use the new gear when you press the clutch.
As far as the I-Shift goes, yes - the Eco-Roll function will put you into neutral for as long as power is not required. When I did my Volvo training on it in 2003 our group was advised to use it as much as possible. I agree it feels odd for a while because it goes against everything you’ve ever been taught.
Still think the I-Shift is miles better than any other automated manual transmission that is out there.