KAF

Depends how quick you want to get away. Even with the high torque of the 530D and up, it will still be quicker off the mark in 1st than in 2nd. Hence the change trigger to a heavy right boot.

The problem is, that the car is a chunk of tin, it is reactive to any stimuli you provde, it cannot anticipate what you are going to ask it to do in advance.

So it can either be set up to stay in 2nd at very low speeds, especially when it has detected a period of slow movement as in traffic, or when coming to a gradual stop, giving smoothness.

Or it can be set up to take first at these speeds in case you should want to give it the boot, then you get frequent and irritating 2>1.>2 shifts in traffic.

As the guy pointed out, if that's what you want then fine, it's called DS mode !

He has a point I suppose.

pedrollo

What I'm having trouble getting my head around is why this has appeared now. The previous 530d never did it with the five speed auto, you could slow down, accelerate AND kick down. It was also supposed to be a 'learning' gearbox.

In addition, if it is as described by the ZF engineer then every 530/535d auto, before or since v17, should have the same problem but they don't seem to. I drove a 530d demonstrator for a day before choosing mine and if it had done this I would have noticed for sure. Many people report that the problem 'appears', what the engineer describes would surely be intrinsic throughout.

Is this particular gearbox slow to engage first?
Is the torque sensing or kickdown mechanism different?

While everything that you have been told rings true, I still think think it is only half the story.

Does anyone have a DMS car with slam?

KAF

With a 6 speed box the ratio's of 1st and 2nd will be quite close, so using 2nd as a move oof gear will be reasonable.
With a 5 speed box the difference between 1st and 2nd might just be too big for this, hence it would normally change to first when coming to a halt.

The ZF guy offered me the opportunity to try out any 530, he guaranteed he could reproduce it with any car fitted with this gearbox. This does hold water bearing in mind the problems Jag owners have had with the same ZF box.

Until he showed me exactly how to reproduce the effects, I had great difficulty getting it to slam when I wanted to. The problem only came up occasionally, I would have been very unlikely to have noticed it on a one day drive. It is only when you have lived with a car for a number of weeks and have experienced it a few times that it hits you 'this cannot be right'.

mixterk

Fantastic description Keith, well done. By far the best and most accurate description to date, its exactly as I have found. The effect became apparrent only after living with the car for some time, and becuase i have lot of roundabouts to contend with in a short space of time and at lower speeds I'm really starting to see it happen more.

Intersting also to read about the shifting timings, since 20.01 the cahnges between 1st and second seem really stupid, had a passenger comment on the "seemingly high revs" when pulling away before it would change (in D mode). It all seems much worse since the so called upgrade :thumbsdown:

They want the car for 3 days now, I suspect thay are going to do the bollocks with the 15 cucles of running it above 70mph or whatever.

I'm not happy that a person who driving style maybe. lets say "demanding on the go peddle" is going to lose out....for christ sake thats why I bought the 535d in the first place.

Rant over...one for all and all for one. What are we going to buy with our compensation money and refunds!!!

KAF

An MB?

07530d

Should I cancel my recent order (from Mill - Boldon) for a 2007 MY 530D SE auto???
Sorry to sound daft but what does "CIP" stand for. Never had this with my A4

KAF

Take another test drive, come in slowly as though about to come to a stop, just before the car rolls to a halt, step on the gas for a rapid take away and see what happens.

You may well find a delay before the car picks up the drive, try a couple of times.

Now do it in DFS mode and it does not happen. Only you can decide if you can live with this 'feature'.

Before you cancel your order, do the same with any other big diesel you would consider buying instead, the ZF guys says it is a common feature of many like cars including the A6.

Every car purchase is a compromise, only you can decide the pros and cons of any individual marque. Then buy which has the most of what you want.

<_<

idoru

Does this mean an end to the manual gearbox 'stigma' on 5-ers?

Here's hoping...

sapkan

Same thing here, I had no problems with my tranny before CIP 20 but then I upgraded to get mp3 and now I experience very hard shifts between 1 and 2. I have posted on that before. It feels like the car shifts into first a lot more often now. It feels like it starts from first every time even in D. Before the upgrade I honestly believed it was the best auto in the world! Does anybody know whether teaching the tranny as described above with the 10-15 runs would cure this. This is a real fly in the ointment of an otherwise perfect car.

mixterk

you are correct in your diagnosis about the increased shift pattern, and starts in 1st. The 10-15 runs I think is grasping at straws, depending on your driving style I think you could undo their reteach . They say an agressive style (someone who enjoys the torque of the 535d regularly) will experiance the transmission issues more than a conservative driver.

Who buys a 535d to tickle around the place :thumbsdown:

I wish I hadnt mentioned the "slight" issue now, since the fix its worse, so mine goes in again on the 6th March for 3 days, Ill keep everyone posted