C350e owners club

[CaptainChaos]

Congratulations! I would think the service light can only be reset by someone with a STAR diagnostic machine. Would be worth ringing round any independent Mercedes specialists if you don't want to go to a main dealer.

 

[CrimsonDiablo11]

Hi Cap..
Yea i would think its a star tool needed.. I used to install the not so legal software for some small garages back in the day (was a computer and network tech) but these days i rely on a good independent garage that only do merc for the last 30yrs but they are 1hrs drive away.. I suooose im just anoyed at the garage i purchased from as they should have had it done, and they are even further away and dont have too much faith in their abilities tbh..
Im heading to my indy after lunch as hes out on a call at the min.. Ill keep you updated. [emoji16]

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[CrimsonDiablo11]

So for an update about service b code not confirming/clearing. My indy hooked uo to it with his xentry kit and got it cleared but it took a few goes.. He mentioned thatit should have cleared from the steering wheel controls and that he has seen this before about 3 or 4 times in the last year on all different model mercedes so not just c350e related..and also that he didnt know why it happened... [emoji19]

Anyways all looks good [emoji16][emoji16].
As an added bonus, i came across a feature i didn't know i had... Parking assist.. Blew my mind [emoji23], like the car parked its self.. [emoji16] Yes i know that i should read the manuals and look at all the specs but i only have it two days...
Enough ranting, heres a pic of my white interior (mad to go with white with three kids.. [emoji30])..

Gary

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[wivenhoe]

I seriously considered the Tesla but in the end because of the reviews (particularly your point) and long term considerations, discounted it so now in serious discussions about a new 530e - I really like my E350e but I can’t get the spec I want and the dealers are saying next March delivery. I ordered mine in May 17 and it turned up in Mar 18 so are not going through that again - I have checked with 3 BMW dealers and they all said maximum 10 weeks.
I am having a demo for a few days so it’ll be interesting to compare, particularly the ride as the Beemer doesn’t have airmatic but I am assured I won’t notice the difference !

I drove the 530e with Variable Dampers (£ 985) and it is the same ride as in the E350e despite being on 19” rather than 18”. The ‘tech’ is much more advanced than the Merc system - a lot of the grumbles on here wouldn't apply to the 530e e.g. you can set say to always take off in Sport or Individual, Start Stop off, setting from memory seats etc. are all linked to the key so the car ‘welcomes you’ by name and loads all the preferences up. HUD & massage seats are no longer available on the E350e (SE or AMG Line) colour choice is restricted as are the seats - I have had 6 Mercs from new but I think they are now losing it in terms of available specs & delivery. I checked with other dealers and nobody can get a E350e built before next March and yet BMW are saying no more than 10 weeks - that may be because they want to get all UK cars delivered before the 31st October and MB are factoring in 4 months of delay due to Brexit !

 

[Deleted member 126969]

I was very disappointed to discover that the MB doesn’t have personalisation allocated to the keys. I’ve got a 13 year old Jeep that has that feature and it’s darn useful.

We did try the 330e before buying the C350e but didn’t like the ride.

 

[CaptainChaos]

We did try the 330e before buying the C350e but didn’t like the ride.

I believe the BMW "Variable dampers" are a must have option to get them to ride halfway decently, and don't get carried away with the wheel size.

 

[PortugalNeil]

So your usage was about the same as mine. I had no real problems with the car plus Chelmsford Mercedes looked after me well - so well I have purchased my replacement from them.
The brake shudder sounds like warped rotors. New discs need a bit of 'running in' and if you had to take the car to an extremely cold environment and then needed a lot of braking (I am guessing both are true if motoring in the Alps) the new rotors could have warped due to the extremes in temperature.
I also couldn't wait for the next generation PHEV C-Class and didn't like/couldn't afford the E-Class. So I have ordered a C300d 4-Matic (not delivered yet). Does anyone have any experience of the new C300d??

I trust and hope you have your new 300d and like me are loving it.

 

[CrimsonDiablo11]

Ok a silly question im sure but does the car use more petrol if charging while driving?? I know the drive is a big rougher (kinda like driving a diesel) but cant see any difference on tge consumption screen for mpg or ltr per km... [emoji19]

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[Masterstein]

I asked this question on here not long ago and people said not to bother with it. I however do find it beneficial to charge the battery up whilst on the motorway and to use hybrid through the average speed limits and city driving. Seems to give me a better mpg overall.

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[grober]

The simple answer is yes. Charging the battery takes energy which ultimately is derived from the chemical energy contained in the petrol. In the case of regenerative braking then the chemical energy expended in accelerating the car to speed is partially recovered in the form of chemical battery energy instead of being lost in the form of heat in the brakes. In theory this should make the petrol engine more efficient but the precise direction of energy flows within the hybrid system at a particular time is governed by the hybrids control system and these would have to integrated to get the complete picture--ultimately hybrid owners have to put petrol in their tank whatever any instant readout may indicate.
On the taxation front you are probably paying less tax on the energy used charging the battery at home rather than from engine fuel generation assuming you pay for your fuel of course?

 

[CrimsonDiablo11]

Thanks for the input.. You would be correct in saying that it is cheaper charging at home overall and i have been availing of this to date but interesting today when i went into the city every bloody charge point was occupied (and not all were charging their cars which was very annoying).. So i turned on the charge function on another spin out the motorway and it charged quicker than at home or at a charge point.. When im working a week of night duty(nurse) i have a place to plug it in and i use e-save on moterway and e-mode off moterway as previously recommended somewhere on this post..

So with this in mind i wanted to see if it was beneficial to charge on moterway or do e-save on motorway..

Gary

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[Goldngin]

No system is 100% efficient, otherwise you could create perpetual motion, consider a pendulum slowing down and stopping. Most efficient should be, (if you want battery power later in the journey), is to use ESave and harvest regen from braking. You get the strongest regen with the engine in economy mode. With the engine in this mode it will use regen braking to slow the car by itself (up to a point), when catching up with a slower vehicle in front for example. Beware however when on the motorway this is like slowing down through the gears on a manual car and that the brake lights aren't engaged, which can catch tailgaters out. One fun thing to try, which I think is only available with the Command sat nav system is to set sat nav using intermediate destinations with the engine in economy mode. Using these settings you get a nice green halo appearing on the battery charge screen and the car works out when to use the electric motor / battery, saving electric for more urban parts of the journey generally. Worth trying to work and back for example, It does use the ICE on the motorway to top up the battery charge doing this though, so I've mainly reverted to manually setting ESave for parts of my journey.

 

[CrimsonDiablo11]

Cool..thanks.. My nave is Garmin and therefore i have audio 20 so that explains why no extra regen on a preplanned route ( i though it was because my maps were not up to date).
Ill keep tinkering with different setups and see which works best for my trips so.
Cheers for all the input

Gar

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[Deleted member 126969]

Re the rate of charge, the AC charger is rated at a nominal 3kW, but given the motor generator is capable of putting out about 70kW and the ICE about 160kW, it certainly makes sense it can charge much quicker (potentially) from the ICE.

No idea what limits are applied of course, but it figures they would try and work the ICE at optimum efficiency when charging in this way, hence the fact it certainly sounds like it’s working hard. First time I played with that mode I stopped at some lights and thought a big truck was running nearby but couldn’t see it......

 

[Masterstein]

Just a quick question with the radio, does anybody know a way of permanently turning off the traffic updates? Getting on my nerves that everytime I turn the car on, the option is ticked again.

Pretty sure I've got the audio 20 system and I go to the options on the bottom of the radio screen and uncheck TA.

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[ninjaspy2000]

The pre entry climate control via key hasn't worked for a couple of weeks now and looking at the menu in the car, it's not even there anymore. Only the departure time one is. I'm aware that this doesn't work after unlocking the car and not starting it, but this is first thing in the morning on a full battery that it doesn't work.

Any ideas why this has suddenly gone and how to get it back?

 

[Dodgy]

Just a quick question with the radio, does anybody know a way of permanently turning off the traffic updates? Getting on my nerves that everytime I turn the car on, the option is ticked again.

Pretty sure I've got the audio 20 system and I go to the options on the bottom of the radio screen and uncheck TA.

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Ditto on the request for ideas about permanent switching off of traffic alerts. Ours (also Garmin/Audio 20) seems to reset to TA switched on fairly regularly. Not sure what triggers it. And after 3 years I’d given up hope of figuring it out!

 

[Dodgy]

Thanks for the input.. You would be correct in saying that it is cheaper charging at home overall and i have been availing of this to date but interesting today when i went into the city every bloody charge point was occupied (and not all were charging their cars which was very annoying).. So i turned on the charge function on another spin out the motorway and it charged quicker than at home or at a charge point.. When im working a week of night duty(nurse) i have a place to plug it in and i use e-save on moterway and e-mode off moterway as previously recommended somewhere on this post..

So with this in mind i wanted to see if it was beneficial to charge on moterway or do e-save on motorway..

Gary

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I think you can pin the e-save/e-mode advice on me.

It seems that there are thresholds set for when the engine should be on and when the charging should happen. E-mode, e-save, hybrid and charge just move the thresholds. For me, hybrid burns through the battery pretty fast on the motorway and charge does hit the fuel economy.

I was out today doing mostly 70mph on the motorway in e-save. Uphill or on the flat, the battery was in standby. Slightly downhill or slightly slower and the battery would charge a bit. Significantly downhill or slower and the engine switched off. For 30 miles, the battery stayed at roughly 40%, then for the last few miles it started to charge - even going uphill. This is with the Garmin satnav set and I wasn’t aware that the Garmin had this feature.

 

[Nick Harper]

My commute to work is 19.9 miles. Too long for all electric but I’m still averaging between 78 and over 99mpg on the journey depending on the weather and traffic. I always set the satnav for the destination and drive in Eco mode. I keep an eye on the distance remaining and the electric range. I switch over to all electric when the two are equal. I say equal but I know my car will do a mile after it drops back to hybrid mode at 20%. I switch to electric when the range, for example, click over to 7 miles and I have 8 miles left of the journey. I aim to arrive at the destination on 10% battery and at the point where the system forces the ICE to charge the battery. All very anal, I know, but I’m averaging over 70mpg over a tank of fuel. The hot weather has really helped economy but I don’t think it’s had much impact on electric range. BTW, the air con has a significant effect on the electric range. I pre cool whilst on charge as required.

 

[Nick Harper]

My commute to work is 19.9 miles. Too long for all electric but I’m still averaging between 78 and over 99mpg on the journey depending on the weather and traffic. I always set the satnav for the destination and drive in Eco mode. I keep an eye on the distance remaining and the electric range. I switch over to all electric when the two are equal. I say equal but I know my car will do a mile after it drops back to hybrid mode at 20%. I switch to electric when the range, for example, click over to 7 miles and I have 8 miles left of the journey. I aim to arrive at the destination on 10% battery and at the point where the system forces the ICE to charge the battery. All very anal, I know, but I’m averaging over 70mpg over a tank of fuel. The hot weather has really helped economy but I don’t think it’s had much impact on electric range. BTW, the air con has a significant effect on the electric range. I pre cool whilst on charge as required.

I charge at work as well as home. I’m getting about 750 miles on a tank. Longer journeys are not as good. I get an average of about 40-45mpg on long journeys.