C350e owners club

[S111dpc]

If MB require payment for the services, do they owe us compensation when they don’t work? I might actually make a profit! [emoji3]

I’ve already had a rant at them about the design of Mercedes Me, so I’ll be asking them about refunds for outages.

I’ve just checked and Welcome to Mercedes me >> Mercedes me Portal is working for me right now. Miracle.

Had exactly tithe same problem for about a month leading up to the cars 3rd anniversary. Contacted MB but they were pretty useless so I haven’t extended for the next 12 months.

 

[Goldngin]

Had exactly tithe same problem for about a month leading up to the cars 3rd anniversary. Contacted MB but they were pretty useless so I haven’t extended for the next 12 months.

Interesting. Will update on what happens over next few days!

 

[Deleted member 126969]

I won’t renew live traffic when it expires, I don’t trust the satnav at the best of times so won’t be paying £49 p.a. to be misdirected thank you very much, but I might consider the “connected services” bundle. Even that is of questionable value to me though TBH.

Given how little trust I have in the nav, I do wonder why I got to so much bother to try and get the maps updated though, a naive hope it’ll get better perhaps??

 

[markjay]

I won’t renew live traffic when it expires, I don’t trust the satnav at the best of times so won’t be paying £49 p.a. to be misdirected thank you very much, but I might consider the “connected services” bundle. Even that is of questionable value to me though TBH.

Given how little trust I have in the nav, I do wonder why I got to so much bother to try and get the maps updated though, a naive hope it’ll get better perhaps??

The Navigation might get better if you update the COMAND firmware (not just the maps).

 

[Deleted member 126969]

The Navigation might get better if you update the COMAND firmware (not just the maps).

There is a lot more to it than ‘simple’ mapping data isn’t there. I’ve no idea if the ‘map update’ does anything more than replace mapping data though. It certainly takes long enough to think it might be a bit more?

 

[markjay]

There is a lot more to it than ‘simple’ mapping data isn’t there. I’ve no idea if the ‘map update’ does anything more than replace mapping data though. It certainly takes long enough to think it might be a bit more?

Any software updates in terms of functionality and features (and bug fixes) is done via firmware updates.

The maps update does include a few other bits (e.g. Gracenote database) but ultimately it only updates data, not OS or application software.

Said that, I don't know if there's a newer firmware available for your COMAND unit, and even if there is, I don't know if the latest update actually contains any improvements to the navigation software - but my point is that the functionality and features can only be improved via firmware update, not maps update.

 

[CaptainChaos]

The functionality could be improved by riving the whole lot out and setting it on fire, and replacing it with a five year old TomTom.

 

[markjay]

The functionality could be improved by riving the whole lot out and setting it on fire, and replacing it with a five year old TomTom.

....or by sticking a smartphone with Waze on the windscreen.

 

[wrighty senior]

Had exactly tithe same problem for about a month leading up to the cars 3rd anniversary. Contacted MB but they were pretty useless so I haven’t extended for the next 12 months.

I also had the same problem about 1 month before the 3year anniversary. A young lady at MB really tried to help - but failed! She said that my subscription was still 'live' but the pre-entry and live traffic services had been terminated. I paid to re-new the pre-entry service and it was instantly re-instated. Because the car was being changed I didn't bother with live traffic.

 

[Goldngin]

I'm not holding out much hope with getting Mercedes Me working again. Anyone know how/ if you can set pre heat in the car when you park up overnight? I've found a timer for setting a charged by time. Appreciate the other option is pre heat on unlocking though I haven't tried to see if car will unlock when in the garage (en bloc) and I'm in the house yet!

 

[Goldngin]

Tuther thing is... Only considering paying for the live traffic information because my smartphone is pretty low rent & struggles with most things including loading maps. At the service I've just had, the garage was delighted to tell me they had updated the maps for me. I thought they charged for that usually? The service was a ridiculous price but fortunately paid for on expenses.

 

[wivenhoe]

Tuther thing is... Only considering paying for the live traffic information because my smartphone is pretty low rent & struggles with most things including loading maps. At the service I've just had, the garage was delighted to tell me they had updated the maps for me. I thought they charged for that usually? The service was a ridiculous price but fortunately paid for on expenses.

The car gets 3 years of map updates free - I say the car because if it is sold within 3 years the new owner is entitled to updates until the car is 3 years old.

 

[DominicW]

Update on my car humming news from last week was that the bearings were fine but it turned out I had been sold a vehicle with 4 tyres which appeared to be good and have decent tread but three were misshaped and stepped which is caused the humming noise, particularly on a left hand down. Mercedes also found that one alloy which appeared to have minor damage had been covered up with filler and was in fact very bad damage. Mercedes quote for the work was just under £1000. They are still desperately trying to get the dealer who sold me the car to authorise payment as their advert and subsequent claim that *** number of RAC approved checks had been made was obviously false. What made the whole experience of finding this out last Friday worse was that on the way home I got someone's detached/rogue side mirror hit my bonnet, leaving several scratches and dents. I didn't win the lottery either!
Has anyone had any successful support from loan companies, credit companies or trading standards in similar circumstances?
Mercedes me app always says "data transmission error" too so all in all ownership after 12 days has been pretty unsettling or at least less enjoyable than I had imagined.
Mercedes continue to chase Lea Valley Motors, in Chingford, but I guess I will end up sorting it before I get too depressed.
Finally, does anyone have any Charge Your Card hints or tips or intel? £20 a year to activate a card seems a bit of a con when it's just a glorified pay pal account? Why a standard debit card can't be used I have no idea but one of you may know????

 

[Goldngin]

Update on my car humming news from last week.... All sounds grim Dominic! Shame your enjoyment of C350e is being spoilt by these issues.
As for public charging, unless you can find a free charging point it's worthless as the car only charges at a slow rate and you often pay for number of minutes on the charger. Best is to just charge at home as & when you can, assuming that's possible of course.

 

[Dodgy]

Oh dear, what a start.

I’m not sure I’d bother with CYC. I’ve only used public charging once in over 2 years. The charging is so slow that it’s not normally worth it. I did take the Merc camping last year and charged up over night every night, but motorway service station charging and similar isn’t easy to justify.

 

[DominicW]

Things maybe looking up.

A well scripted email with the following statement “Under the consumer rights act 2015 the vehicle is not as described and not of satisfactory quality.” has got the desired response and the garage has asked for an alternative quote to the Mercedes one. A step in the right direction it seems.
Happy to share my whole letter/email if anyone if interested?

 

[Herder000]

Glad to hear you're getting a more favorable response, I can imagine it must be a huge relief. Hope it all gets sorted.

Regarding public charging, I only use the free PodPoint ones around me. Some of the other "free" ones seem to charge a £1 connection fee which is more than it costs to charge it so I don't bother.

 

[JayCeeOhh]

Hi All,
Brief intro. Thinking of taking the plunge and getting a 2nd hand c350e estate. Had a 520 for 7 years before losing job (and Company car) 18 months ago. Wife would use car for commute (less than 5 miles each way) during week and I’d get to “play” with it at weekends.
Anyway, whilst a plug-in hybrid appeals greatly, I’m a little uncertain about the technology in general and longevity of the batteries in detail. So, I’m reading this thread from beginning to end. Currently on page 93 of 238 (summer 2016 I think).
I wondered if there’s anything that I’ve yet to read about that I should be concerned about? Any issues regarding the batteries? Any further problems re water ingress? Gearbox troubles continue?
Thanks for your thoughts,
J

 

[Herder000]

I went through exactly the same thought process in January, same concerns, mainly about battery life but in the end bought it. In general very pleased with it. I came from a BMW 120d and I have to say the BMW was screwed together better, the centre console on the C350e creaks a lot on mine and the BMW iDrive was far superior. Having said that, I really like the C350e and actually look forward to driving it each day.
The battery range though is a little poor and depending on hills 5 miles each way would be on the limit of my battery capacity (although that may improve in the summer from what I've read).
Only issue I've had so far is the fuel pipes. Not leaking as such but there is a known issue with the smell of petrol in the cabin when it's really cold.

 

[Dodgy]

Check what cable/cables it comes with and what condition they’re in. I managed to extract a Mekennes replacement for the original 3-pin that came with mine.