E-Save seems to hit the fuel consumption according to my very unscientific experiments on the motorway. Going along a flat section at 70mph switching between E-Save and Hybrid has a direct effect on the instantaneous fuel consumption gauge. I had always thought E-Save was the mode I wanted so I will experiment some more and try to validate one way or the other.
CaptainChaos
MB Enthusiast
Hybrid is using battery and engine. E-Save is using the engine, so it will have a slight effect on mpg.
If you think about another unscientific test:
30 miles on the motorway in Hybrid will leave you 10% charge left.
The same trip in E-Save will leave you 100% charge left, but will have used more petrol.
It's good fun playing about with the modes and seeing what works best for you. I start my car in E-Save and use the paddles to run the engine, especially on cold mornings like at the minute. This saves my battery for more appropriate use later in the day.
If you think about another unscientific test:
30 miles on the motorway in Hybrid will leave you 10% charge left.
The same trip in E-Save will leave you 100% charge left, but will have used more petrol.
It's good fun playing about with the modes and seeing what works best for you. I start my car in E-Save and use the paddles to run the engine, especially on cold mornings like at the minute. This saves my battery for more appropriate use later in the day.
Ah, I see, that makes more sense. I had noticed but hadn’t made the connection, sometimes in Hybrid mode the battery has dropped a tiny amount even with the engine running. I have noticed under full throttle it uses battery as well but then that’s as expected.
Thanks for the info, I will play around with it more. It makes my journeys more interesting playing around with the various modes
I have also discovered the benefits of starting the engine first thing on cold mornings or it seems to murder the battery level!
Thanks for the info, I will play around with it more. It makes my journeys more interesting playing around with the various modes
I have also discovered the benefits of starting the engine first thing on cold mornings or it seems to murder the battery level!
CaptainChaos
MB Enthusiast
Yes, the cold makes a huge difference. Enjoy playing around with it!
wivenhoe
Active Member
It shouldn’t recharge on E Save as the other option of Charge is the only one that should do that. The manual says E Save - Use of the electric drive and boost is restricted - the charge level is maintained e.g for subsequent use in the inner city
Seems like your car is selecting Charge rather than E Save.
If you have your route in Comand then Hybrid will keep some charge if your destination ends somewhere with traffic.
S111dpc
Member
^^ this.
I have a very different experience of e-save to @CaptainChaos and @wivenhoe (discussed before on this thread). E-save always charges my battery. It happens slowly and it stops at a seemingly random state of charge. I’ve occasionally had it charge up to 60% on some long motorway journeys, starting from a SoC as low as 20-30%. It usually stops at a lower SoC and sometimes it doesn’t charge much at all. It definitely charges under throttle, not just when coasting or braking. Very strange that we have such a different experience...
Just for clarity, this is different to my experience of Charge, which in my car doesn’t allow the engine to stop when coasting or braking and charges more quickly to a higher SoC. It makes me wonder if there are different versions of the hybrid software running on different vehicles.
In answer to your question about how to maintain battery without charging, I could only do it by watching the power flow screen like a hawk and switching between e-save and hybrid regularly to minimise the charging and discharging. Doesn’t sound like a use-case MB planned for!
pauley
New Member
Hi Pauley, I had some fuel pipes replaced. Fortunately mine was still in warranty, the dealer said it was a known issue and just replaced them without question. I only had it when it was really cold (0 degrees ish) and I was running under battery power.
Regarding E-Save, coming home tonight I put it in E-Save and even when going up a hill at about 40mph, not a great deal of throttle but it was under load, I had the energy flow screen on and I could see it charging the battery. It went from 47% to 48% whilst going up hill. In hybrid mode it doesn’t do that. I would add that I think mine is running the latest firmware, I had an issue with the sat nav and they told me they had updated everything so perhaps that’s significant? I will play around with it more, mainly as I’m curious if nothing else!
Regarding E-Save, coming home tonight I put it in E-Save and even when going up a hill at about 40mph, not a great deal of throttle but it was under load, I had the energy flow screen on and I could see it charging the battery. It went from 47% to 48% whilst going up hill. In hybrid mode it doesn’t do that. I would add that I think mine is running the latest firmware, I had an issue with the sat nav and they told me they had updated everything so perhaps that’s significant? I will play around with it more, mainly as I’m curious if nothing else!
wivenhoe
Active Member
Herder - I’ll have a tinker tomorrow as well. My E350e was serviced last week and they said everything was updated so I’ll see if I get the same result on E Save.
Previously in my C350e (2015) E Save did as it was supposed to and Comand kept back some for later traffic. Other than when there is little or no battery to save I can’t think of a reason why E Save should charge - Charge definitely just does that and I quickly realised using the engine was not an economic way to charge as mpg went down to below 30 which defeats the object of the exercise
First thing this morning, going uphill at 30mph in E-Save the car was charging the battery from the engine according to energy flow screen and went from 99% charge to 100%... Not what I was expecting!
It does still coast and switch off the engine in E-Save though unlike Charge mode. I just get the feeling the threshold for charging is set a little too high on mine in E-Save.
It does still coast and switch off the engine in E-Save though unlike Charge mode. I just get the feeling the threshold for charging is set a little too high on mine in E-Save.
CaptainChaos
MB Enthusiast
I'll have a look at my flow screen tonight and see what it says.
I never have it on, so if I run into the back of something it will be your fault.
I never have it on, so if I run into the back of something it will be your fault.
I'll have a look at my flow screen tonight and see what it says.
I never have it on, so if I run into the back of something it will be your fault.
Do you not have automatic emergency braking?? [emoji6]
Collision prediction is one of my least favourite features of the C350e. I had a small “work starts here” sign set of the audible alert last week and a couple of times the brakes have slammed on when someone has turned left onto a side road in front of me. Makes me think Mercedes won’t be knocking on the door of full self driving any time soon...
CaptainChaos
MB Enthusiast
I do have that emergency braking thing. Not impressed with it!
Anyway... @Herder000 is absolutely correct! There is a thing called "Drive and Charge" which occurs on a very light throttle under E-Save which is using the engine to power the car and send some charge to the battery. It exists in a very narrow band of throttle opening. Put your foot down slightly more and it goes to Drive only. Ease off and the engine shuts down.
It does exactly the same under Hybrid as well if the engine is running, either because you have engaged it with a bootful of throttle, or because the battery is low on charge.
I can only think that there is a certain load point where the engine is running and producing more than enough power for the current demand so automatically sends some charge back to the battery. Interesting stuff!
Going back to Herder's original question, I still think E-Save is the mode he wants if he is trying to maintain as much charge for later. If the same journey was driven in any other mode, the battery would be used and the range would be down.
Anyway... @Herder000 is absolutely correct! There is a thing called "Drive and Charge" which occurs on a very light throttle under E-Save which is using the engine to power the car and send some charge to the battery. It exists in a very narrow band of throttle opening. Put your foot down slightly more and it goes to Drive only. Ease off and the engine shuts down.
It does exactly the same under Hybrid as well if the engine is running, either because you have engaged it with a bootful of throttle, or because the battery is low on charge.
I can only think that there is a certain load point where the engine is running and producing more than enough power for the current demand so automatically sends some charge back to the battery. Interesting stuff!
Going back to Herder's original question, I still think E-Save is the mode he wants if he is trying to maintain as much charge for later. If the same journey was driven in any other mode, the battery would be used and the range would be down.
Thanks CaptainChaos, it’s reassuring to know it’s not just my car (or me being dumb ). I will stick to E-Save. Also glad to hear I won’t be sued for you running into the back of something 
.
I also noticed the coolant gauge is very interesting, if you turn off the climate control before you start the car, then drive it with the engine on until coolant is up to temp, turn on climate control the coolant temperature plummets immediately, then slowly comes back up. I guess there are two separate heating circuits? You guys who have had them a while probably know all this but I’m finding it all very interesting. Should probably be paying more attention to the road though...
). I will stick to E-Save. Also glad to hear I won’t be sued for you running into the back of something .I also noticed the coolant gauge is very interesting, if you turn off the climate control before you start the car, then drive it with the engine on until coolant is up to temp, turn on climate control the coolant temperature plummets immediately, then slowly comes back up. I guess there are two separate heating circuits? You guys who have had them a while probably know all this but I’m finding it all very interesting. Should probably be paying more attention to the road though...
CaptainChaos
MB Enthusiast
Does the coolant temp not drop because you've suddenly released the cold coolant you've had trapped in the heating system? I must admit I've never turned my climate control off auto, so I've never noticed this "feature".
Have you spotted the battery has it's own cooling system? There is another header tank at the front nearside of the engine bay. When you park up it continues to pump and gurgle for quite a while. Bit disconcerting to start with!
Have you spotted the battery has it's own cooling system? There is another header tank at the front nearside of the engine bay. When you park up it continues to pump and gurgle for quite a while. Bit disconcerting to start with!
ok, the coolant remark was a bit dumb this time! As you say it's probably the coolant in the water heater!I did notice the water pump when charging. The first time I heard it I thought I had a leak and spent 10 mins crawling under the car looking for it before I realised what it was!
CaptainChaos
MB Enthusiast
OFF TOPIC!
If you ever have a car that's overheating, put the heater on hot and turn the fan up to top speed. It allows the full capacity of coolant to be used and the fan draws some of the heat out of the system.
I did notice the water pump when charging. The first time I heard it I thought I had a leak and spent 10 mins crawling under the car looking for it before I realised what it was!
I have also noticed the coolant temp drop - almost back to cold - when you start the climate control after the engine is up to temp and, as you say, the temp slowly increases again to running temp. Further investigation shows a cold engine reaches normal operating temp a lot quicker with climate control off. While this is almost certainly the coolant in the heater circuit, if you want the engine to reach normal operating temp quickly better to have climate control off.
CaptainChaos
MB Enthusiast
Same for any car, but the majority of people leave their HVAC in the same place for most of the time so it's never really noticed.
Is the timing not the same?
Either - leave the HVAC on and warm up all the coolant at the same time.
Or - turn the HVAC off, start up engine until warm, then release cold coolant and wait for it all to warm back up again.
One other thing - depending where the temp gauge sender is, this might be misleading. If the temp sender is very near the entry point for the cold coolant it could be giving a sudden spike reading, which isn't really happening.
Either way, these engines do warm up incredibly quickly. Old cast iron diesels used to take miles and miles before any form of warmth started appearing!