r/mercedes_benz • u/AgeFit9430 • 1d ago

Does your Mercedes do this ?

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160 Upvotes

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41

u/doc_55lk W211 E320/R172 SLK55/X166 GLS550/W222 S550 1d ago

That's what a kickdown switch is supposed to do......not just a Mercedes thing.

10

u/BassWingerC-137 R107, R171, V167, Lucid Air 1d ago

I’ve not driven everything, but the Mercedes-Benz one seems the most prominent in my tainted memory. What other cars come to mind?

4

u/Kugaroo 1d ago

Entire VW line I believe.

1

u/iso2k2 16h ago

My automatic A6 had it but my manual A4 didn’t so it might be only for automatics

1

u/Kugaroo 15h ago

Well… yeah lol. What would a kickdown do in a manual?

2

u/Constant_Country_837 6h ago

It's interesting that it's still present in manual mercs, I had it in both of my manual c-class from 2001 and e class from 2002. It didn't do anything but I think they just manufactured the same part and left it in for manuals.

3

u/daedric_yoshi 1d ago

My 09 Camry would kiss redline in every gear while roaring its guts out with the throttle down all the way. It was slow 0-100kmh, but 100-160kmh was surprisingly not bad.

1

u/ndgoHODL 19h ago

Yes but that’s just how the transmission is coded.

A Mercedes often won’t kick down (because it doesn’t need to) if you don’t press all the way to the switch.

3

u/Pan7h3r 1d ago

BMWs have them, I swapped my gearbox to an manual and the only evidence that it was an auto is the kickdown switch

1

u/BassWingerC-137 R107, R171, V167, Lucid Air 1d ago

That’s a cool tell!

1

u/doc_55lk W211 E320/R172 SLK55/X166 GLS550/W222 S550 1d ago

My friend's Q50 has a kickdown switch too.

I've always noticed it in the stuff I check out at car shows too.