C350e owners club

[Sraj]

I agree, I’ve been looking at vw passat estate 16 reg, but they don’t want to take my car as part ex because they have to pay me money. They told me to sell the car privately

QUOTE="Chris-S, post: 2850051, member: 126969"]Being so tight for cash is going to suck all the joy out of owning this car for you. Maybe time to move it on and get something that gives you a bit of breathing room for now, until you can get yourself on stable ground, so to speak?[/QUOTE]

 

[Darrener]

A question for you guys, fully charged either by plug in or through the engine i am only getting 10 miles electric range, i know its February (cold) but is this the norm, as it states up to 19 miles electric range when buying the car from Mercedes dealers. On a run down to Newcastle I did get ave 50 miles to the gallon using a bit of both. And do the batteries degrade over time.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

This time of year, 10 miles is pretty good, assuming you have the cabin heating on.

The “up to 19 miles” is the usual mpg fiction I’m afraid, no doubt it could achieve that figure under strict test conditions, but not on public roads.

Yes, the batteries do degrade over time. The amount of capacity loss is somewhat of an unknown though. It depends on many factors, all outside our control, so it’ll be what it turns out to be. A significant factor is good thermal management, and the good news is the C350e has that. Worryingly, MB are the only manufacturer that don’t provide and sort of capacity warranty.

 

[Dodgy]

A question for you guys, fully charged either by plug in or through the engine i am only getting 10 miles electric range, i know its February (cold) but is this the norm, as it states up to 19 miles electric range when buying the car from Mercedes dealers. On a run down to Newcastle I did get ave 50 miles to the gallon using a bit of both. And do the batteries degrade over time.

If you’re getting 10 miles at this time of year, you’re doing well. I get 6-7 in winter and 12-13 in summer. Other people are getting a little more.

All batteries degrade over time. The C350e only has a small battery, which can be a problem for degradation, but the motor only draws about 60kW of power, so the degradation from acceleration is limited. It doesn’t fast-charge, so charging isn’t going to have a huge effect either.

I don’t have a diagnostic system set up and I’ve only done 20k miles, so I can’t say for sure. I’d be pretty shocked if there was noticeable degradation until the car’s done over 100,000 miles.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

The numbers @Dodgy gets are similar to mine. I can get 8 miles or so this time of year if I switch to EV mode rather than leaving it in HYBRID - lets me get a bit more out of the battery by allowing lower discharge limit before giving up and starting the ICE.

12-13 in summer - yep, same here.

Recently, I convinced myself that the capacity had dropped a bit, but having done some tests, it still takes about 5kWh to go from 20% to 100%, which is probably about right - there's no way MB would risk letting us get to actual 0% or 100% in reality I don't think, as both a very quick battery killers.

 

[CaptainChaos]

A question for you guys, fully charged either by plug in or through the engine i am only getting 10 miles electric range, i know its February (cold) but is this the norm, as it states up to 19 miles electric range when buying the car from Mercedes dealers. On a run down to Newcastle I did get ave 50 miles to the gallon using a bit of both. And do the batteries degrade over time.

Yes, sounds right to me. It will do 19 miles in the summer in Arizona, downhill.

 

[Herder000]

Shockingly, I got 12 miles on electric only tuesday night and still had 32% left at the end! It was 8 degrees and I didn't have the heater on so I'd get max range
I couldn't quite believe it to be honest. Never been that good in that temperature before. Must have been a tailwind!

 

[Deleted member 126969]

Wow!

 

[Darrener]

The numbers @Dodgy gets are similar to mine. I can get 8 miles or so this time of year if I switch to EV mode rather than leaving it in HYBRID - lets me get a bit more out of the battery by allowing lower discharge limit before giving up and starting the ICE.

12-13 in summer - yep, same here.

Recently, I convinced myself that the capacity had dropped a bit, but having done some tests, it still takes about 5kWh to go from 20% to 100%, which is probably about right - there's no way MB would risk letting us get to actual 0% or 100% in reality I don't think, as both a very quick battery killers.

Thanks for the replies guys, i thought i had been sold a dud.

 

[Darrener]

Yes, sounds right to me. It will do 19 miles in the summer in Arizona, downhill.

Will have to try that ha ha

 

[Masterstein]

Thanks for the replies guys, i thought i had been sold a dud.

6ish in the summer for me, 8-10 in the summer. I've had mine in twice to merc as I just don't think that's good enough.

They took it for a test drive and got 8 miles and claimed that is within their threshold of being alright, the car is 3 years old with 55k on the clock.

They did run a battery diagnostic and it came up as holding 72% charge, which again, was within their figures of being acceptable.

Ive given up trying, I still love the car but the range is god awful.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

 

[CaptainChaos]

Will have to try that ha ha

You will see an improvement when the warmer weather comes that's for sure.
At this time of year I start mine on E-SAVE so the engine is warming the car and not the battery. There's no way I'm running round without the heating or heated seat on!

 

[Masterstein]

You will see an improvement when the warmer weather comes that's for sure.
At this time of year I start mine on E-SAVE so the engine is warming the car and not the battery. There's no way I'm running round without the heating or heated seat on!

I can usually get away with pre heating, then getting to work which is just shy of 6 miles on leccy only. I often arrive at about 20%.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted member 126969]

6ish in the summer for me, 8-10 in the summer. I've had mine in twice to merc as I just don't think that's good enough.

They took it for a test drive and got 8 miles and claimed that is within their threshold of being alright, the car is 3 years old with 55k on the clock.

They did run a battery diagnostic and it came up as holding 72% charge, which again, was within their figures of being acceptable.

Ive given up trying, I still love the car but the range is god awful.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

That's a pretty appalling rate of capacity loss isn't it.

Every time I drive mine I wish it was a pure EV.

MB are going to have to improve their battery warranty if they want to be taken seriously in the EV/home energy market.

Interestingly, the EQC brochure says.

"The battery comes with an eight-year 100,000-mile warranty." Doesn't mention a capacity warranty at all but I did find a reference on driving electric.com that says MB will refurbish/replace if it falls below 70% in that time. Based on my experiences with MB, I'd want that in writing, direct from MB.

Sadly, the warranty on our cars has absolutely no mention of capacity loss, only 'manufacturing defect' 6 years too of course, not 8.

 

[Masterstein]

That's a pretty appalling rate of capacity loss isn't it.

Every time I drive mine I wish it was a pure EV.

MB are going to have to improve their battery warranty if they want to be taken seriously in the EV/home energy market.

Interestingly, the EQC brochure says.

"The battery comes with an eight-year 100,000-mile warranty." Doesn't mention a capacity warranty at all but I did find a reference on driving electric.com that says MB will refurbish/replace if it falls below 70% in that time. Based on my experiences with MB, I'd want that in writing, direct from MB.

Sadly, the warranty on our cars has absolutely no mention of capacity loss, only 'manufacturing defect' 6 years too of course, not 8.

They did say to me that as its above 70% they wouldn't do anything. That said, I'm sure it won't be long if its losing 10% a year until its sitting below that. I wonder where I'd stand if it's within the hybrid warranty still but below 70% capacity.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

 

[JohnC350e]

The numbers @Dodgy gets are similar to mine. I can get 8 miles or so this time of year if I switch to EV mode rather than leaving it in HYBRID - lets me get a bit more out of the battery by allowing lower discharge limit before giving up and starting the ICE.

12-13 in summer - yep, same here.

Recently, I convinced myself that the capacity had dropped a bit, but having done some tests, it still takes about 5kWh to go from 20% to 100%, which is probably about right - there's no way MB would risk letting us get to actual 0% or 100% in reality I don't think, as both a very quick battery killers.

Chris,
Have you ever tried running the ICE at the start of the journey rather than leaving it in Hybrid? I run mine in 'Sport' (but manually upshifting if necessary to stop it holding onto the gears) for the first couple of miles. This warms the engine without allowing it to go into electric mode. I turn the heater (fan) off until the engine is warm (lol - heated seat on max - I'm still a Southern Softie!). When the engine is up to temperature I put the Climate back on Auto. A bit of a pfaff, but that way I can still get around 12 miles out of the battery even at this time of year.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

They did say to me that as its above 70% they wouldn't do anything. That said, I'm sure it won't be long if its losing 10% a year until its sitting below that. I wonder where I'd stand if it's within the hybrid warranty still but below 70% capacity.

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It's really interesting that they are actually talking about numbers and 'acceptable', as the warranty says nothing at all about that. Given it is so close to the 70%, fingers crossed you can get it back before the 63000 miles mark and find it's dropped below the magic number....

 

[Masterstein]

It's really interesting that they are actually talking about numbers and 'acceptable', as the warranty says nothing at all about that. Given it is so close to the 70%, fingers crossed you can get it back before the 63000 miles mark and find it's dropped below the magic number....

She also claimed to know nothing about the extended warranty though. And has also contacted Mercedes directly and state that they looked at my car as a gesture of good will.

I'm gonna fire off an email to head office to try and seek clarity on this, I know everyone talks about the extended hybrid system warranty but getting merc to accept this may be the next challenge

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted member 126969]

Chris,
Have you ever tried running the ICE at the start of the journey rather than leaving it in Hybrid? I run mine in 'Sport' (but manually upshifting if necessary to stop it holding onto the gears) for the first couple of miles. This warms the engine without allowing it to go into electric mode. I turn the heater (fan) off until the engine is warm (lol - heated seat on max - I'm still a Southern Softie!). When the engine is up to temperature I put the Climate back on Auto. A bit of a pfaff, but that way I can still get around 12 miles out of the battery even at this time of year.

She also claimed to know nothing about the extended warranty though. And has also contacted Mercedes directly and state that they looked at my car as a gesture of good will.

I'm gonna fire off an email to head office to try and seek clarity on this, I know everyone talks about the extended hybrid system warranty but getting merc to accept this may be the next challenge

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

I’m happy to share the response I eventually pried out of MB with the help of the Ombudsman....let me know if you want a copy.

Be warned though, it took me at least 4 months to get a final response.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

Chris,
Have you ever tried running the ICE at the start of the journey rather than leaving it in Hybrid? I run mine in 'Sport' (but manually upshifting if necessary to stop it holding onto the gears) for the first couple of miles. This warms the engine without allowing it to go into electric mode. I turn the heater (fan) off until the engine is warm (lol - heated seat on max - I'm still a Southern Softie!). When the engine is up to temperature I put the Climate back on Auto. A bit of a pfaff, but that way I can still get around 12 miles out of the battery even at this time of year.

If I’m expecting to do more than battery range then I do sometimes use the ICE at the start to warm things up, but believe it or not, the majority of our driving seems to be within even the pathetic range of the battery most of the time. As I’ve said many times, we barely need a car at all, let alone the 3 we have or the 4th I'm building.....