Have a EURO5 2.3L with the robotised Comfortmatic 6 speed transmission. Owned new since 2013. My only complaint is the slow changing of gears, particularly from 1st to 2nd gear. So it seems every time we are at the traffic light, we taking off, every other vehicle around us drives away so much faster, even large semi-trailer trucks accellerate faster. It's because the changing of the gears between 1st and 2nd is toooooo slow + the legs on the 1st gear is tooooo short.

I've discovered there's a way to set it in 2nd gear so the van starts off in 2nd gear from a stop. Stopping at the lights, it defaults to 1st gear, but if I tap shifter up to 2nd gear, it stays there. This would avoid the slow switching between 1st and 2nd gear and also give the longer leg run duration in 2nd gear. Is it NOT recommended to start off in 2nd gear? What concerns, damage, excessive wear???

Only issue is more clutch slip and wear. Why not just drive in manual mode when in traffic. I do all the time.
Ian.

Sorry for the late reply,


While manual mode lets you choose when the gears can change, it does not increase the speed of the clutch action. It feels like between 1st and 2nd gear that it gently wants to change gears slowly despite wanting to accelerate fast. While in gear it does accelerate faster, i'm more concerned about the slowness of the clutch disengaging and engaging.

I find the change operates a bit faster using manual and taking the motor up to higher revs than the auto does, particularly when starting up a hill. You cn also use the hill start function which does the same thing but limits the gears to 4th I think. I've become used to the change speed and with using manual, I don't feel slower than the surrounding traffic.

Can a reprogramming of the clutch action / speed be changed by the dealer?

Also what is the Ducato recommended interval for changing the cluth and cluth fluid? Typically over 100,000 kms?

I have my clutch slave cylinder oil inspected at each service and changed quite regularly.