katmai

I noticed v 15.2 is a lot smoother in terms of stop & go traffics. My car had v.12.x before and it was hard to drive smoothly in a LA's stop & go traffics with my steptronics.

v.12.x - throttle response is not quick in D mode. The car would down shift too aggressively, when I just want to coast to the stop light. The car is either going too fast or too slow. It's hard to be in the "middle".
v.15.2 - throttle response is much better in D mode. I no longer need to turn on the A/C or use D/S mode to get better throttle response. Active Steering has a better feel better at low speed.

When you get the software upgrade for your car, make sure the technician encode the entire vehicle. If the entire vehicle is on the same CIP version, the car will behave much better. If you're still running on the older version, Active Steering and transmission software upgrade will transform the car into a better daily driver car. For people who are lucky enough to live in a open highway without traffics, you won't notice these benefits as much.

Bunbun

Same observation here in Hong Kong. Software updated 3 weeks ago, I think Im on ver 16.x. At first I hated the idea of software updates, but now Im feeling differently.

MARCUS545

I would be very interested to hear more about how newer versions of the software can improve my Steptronic. It's really the only complaint I have with my car....the shifting seems jerky and unpredictable.

Guest

The biggest improvement is now when I take my foot off the brake pedal quickly, I don't feel the jerkiness from engine braking (down shift in step). In stop & go situation, I constantly have to take my foot off brake quickly. Coasting to slow down without engine braking made it smoother without jerkiness to drive in traffics.

The D/S mode still use engine to slow you down, but it is more predictable.

MARCUS545 - I did my ED on April 2004, so your car was probably built around the same time. Just take your car to dealer and get the latest software upgrade. Personally, I avoid doing upgrade unless it's necessary. I was going to wait until MP3 for nav pro is ready before I let the dealer perform emission recall. It looks like the MP3 support won't be ready until September 2005 (that means Oct 2005 for California).