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[Doctor Gollum]

I haven't specifically tried, but if you open the door in gear to check your position against a kerb whilst in gear, it gets all sorts of pissed off by it... Red messages and lots of angry bonging

It doesn't have a hill start function though (as far as I know), so presumably that is a limited plus point to the electric actuators. That said, if you apply the parking brake whilst stationary and in D then it won't drive uphill if you release the parking brake. I presume this is a quirk of it rolling back slightly when the foot brake is released and subsequently binding up the transfer box or the front diff as the parking brake only applies the rears. 

[Nick W]

I like the BMW (and probably other manufacturers as well) setup that applies park automatically if you open the drivers door while stationary with the Car in D or R..... I can only guess that was developed for our friends over the pond 

Wait until you have to push one of the sodding things for some reason. Equally asinine was Mercedes decision for the gearbox to move into park as soon as the engine stops turning, or not to move out unless it was. After all, no Mercedes has ever failed to start


Combine that with an electric handbrake and what should be a simple scoop it up and and dump it back at the dealer becomes a complex initiative test to move it to, onto and off the truck without doing £17,374,656,483,930,937,547 worth of damage to the trans, brakes, suspension, bodywork and boot mat.

[Doctor Gollum]

Intelligent Servo Module is as much an oxymoron as Crawley Luxury. 

[Andy B]

....
Equally asinine was Mercedes decision for the gearbox to move into park as soon as the engine stops turning,  ....

I discovered that by accident .... turn the ignition off & it went into Park by itself. I believe there's such a thing as a freewheeling hub to move them if push comes to shove (no pun intended  )

[Marks DTM Calib]

Most auto boxes have a cable pull to release the park pawl in the case of an issue (certainly the superior ZF boxes, can't comment on the Mercs but would expect similar).

The later handbrake system with motors is pretty intelligent (its moved on since the days of the VW setup that ate motors) and applies a 'torque', it then checks over the next 15 minutes to ensure the torque is still present and applies more if needed, to overcome disc cool down. Sadly to release them in the event of a full on failure requires the motors being removed and the handbrake wound off (not to hard......if you can get to them so can need wheel removal)

Of course adding things like auto park application etc is just a bit of extra logic in the BCM software.

[Nick W]

Most auto boxes have a cable pull to release the park pawl in the case of an issue (certainly the superior ZF boxes, can't comment on the Mercs but would expect similar).

Both Mercedes and BMW deleted that option many years ago. BMW kept supplying the plastic gadget required to release the park mechanism on X5s until the next model change as that would have meant a gap in the toolkit. That was an interesting - and frustrating - phone call.... German engineers - I suggest that they should have a modern equivalent of the court jester who randomly beats one of them with a big stick to avoid such stupidity.


Easily adding features in software is all very well, but the underlying mechanisms need to be properly thought through and implemented: adding auto release to traditional drum-in-disc handbrakes that had previously never seen a rotating wheel which didn't need large diameter, thick linings, then compounding the mistake with weak plastic gears. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

[Doctor Gollum]

Most auto boxes have a cable pull to release the park pawl in the case of an issue (certainly the superior ZF boxes, can't comment on the Mercs but would expect similar).

The later handbrake system with motors is pretty intelligent (its moved on since the days of the VW setup that ate motors) and applies a 'torque', it then checks over the next 15 minutes to ensure the torque is still present and applies more if needed, to overcome disc cool down. Sadly to release them in the event of a full on failure requires the motors being removed and the handbrake wound off (not to hard......if you can get to them so can need wheel removal)

Of course adding things like auto park application etc is just a bit of extra logic in the BCM software.

Moving the Shifter from the centre console to the steering column was when they deleted the mechanical element. It's now a servo that drives the Shift shaft at the box. It's probably quicker and easier to disconnect the propshaft(s).

[countrywoman]

It used to piss me off doing MOTs , auto lock this and that when you need to check wheel bearings and turn steering lock to lock jacked up without motor running.

[STEMO]

It used to piss me off doing MOTs , auto lock this and that when you need to check wheel bearings and turn steering lock to lock jacked up without motor running.

But everyone knows, only Mercedes technicians can do an MOT on a Mercedes. Same with BMW, JLR, etc.

[TheBoy]

The trick has always been to use the handbrake and slightly apply it for a few seconds when driving at low speed every month or so, this keeps the drum faces clean and helps to stop it seizing up.

Ah, cock, thats the critical bits I missed then....