C350e owners club

[seekay]

Hi Everyone,

We recently bought a gorgeous 66 plate C350e. We’ve had her for nearly a month now, there are still a lot things to learn and discover, this is so much different than my previous 520d (I mean in good way). There are a lot more tech in here, much more comfortable, powerful, can also be very economical, we truly are amazed.

There is only one thing I noticed, it’s about the static High Performance LED headlights. I’ve found the dipped lights are aimed way too low, at least in my opinion. Unfortunately didn’t get the chance to compare with another similar models so don’t know if the lights are supposed be like that or they’re actually too low.
Here is a video from the other night, could you please guys check it out and compare to yours?

LED lights

Many thanks

 

[Aletank]

Hi Everyone,

We recently bought a gorgeous 66 plate C350e. We’ve had her for nearly a month now, there are still a lot things to learn and discover, this is so much different than my previous 520d (I mean in good way). There are a lot more tech in here, much more comfortable, powerful, can also be very economical, we truly are amazed.

There is only one thing I noticed, it’s about the static High Performance LED headlights. I’ve found the dipped lights are aimed way too low, at least in my opinion. Unfortunately didn’t get the chance to compare with another similar models so don’t know if the lights are supposed be like that or they’re actually too low.
Here is a video from the other night, could you please guys check it out and compare to yours?

LED lights

Many thanks

Welcome Seekay ! What year 520d did you come from ? I've always liked the C-class Estate but the comfort in my 2016 520d won me over.
I really am tempted by a C-Class Estate though !

 

[seekay]

You can have OAT on the bottom right of the odometer screen in trip, that's it i'm afraid.

I'd say you would probably want to program the Individual settings to get what you are after, accessed by the car button in the centre console.

I have mine set to this on individual for the daily commutes:

Suspension = Comfort
Steering = Comfort
Engine = Eco
Haptic = On
Climate = Eco

This for me gives a good balance between eco and comfort modes as I don't like the Eco suspension, I flip up to Sport or Sport + as and when the needs arise...

What’s the point? “I don't like the Eco suspension” There is no such ‘eco suspension’. As far as I know, there is no difference for the suspension between Eco and Comfort. In both driving mode the suspension has ‘comfort’ setting.

 

[Dodgy]

What’s the point? “I don't like the Eco suspension” There is no such ‘eco suspension’. As far as I know, there is no difference for the suspension between Eco and Comfort. In both driving mode the suspension has ‘comfort’ setting.

In my experience, there are two settings for the suspension:

• Excellent
• Broken

I didn’t ever test the difference between Eco and Comfort.

PS. I’m impressed that you answered a 4.5 year old post. Not something you see every day.

 

[CaptainChaos]

It's good to know someone is reading all 281 pages!

I find the suspension is noticeably harsher in Eco, and others have agreed in the past, but we've never established why!

 

[seekay]

It's good to know someone is reading all 281 pages!

I find the suspension is noticeably harsher in Eco, and others have agreed in the past, but we've never established why!

I haven’t noticed this yet, and when you choose ‘Eco’,the screen shows comfort setting for the suspension. I have only had the car for a month so there is still a lot to discover.

Actually haven’t read the whole thread, only searched for keywords and read the relevant posts, didn’t even realise it was a few years old post.

Guys, my first question is, my car doesn’t have distronic, just a regular cruise control, however it does have collision prevention assist plus and also able to brake itself in Eco mode if the car in front gets closer and I found this feature really cool. This self braking works very well but once I activate the cruise control it doesn’t seem to brake anymore. I know it requires adaptive cruise control but I’m wondering if it brakes from the same speed without cruise control, can I somehow achieve this ‘ECO mode self braking’ whilst using the basic cruise control?

 

[MalcUK]

I have just bought a C350e Sport, 1st registered 29 November 2018. I understood that the list price of the C350e Sport was under £40,000 and that the original owner paid under £40,000. The V5C states that it is subect to the tax surcharge. Is it likely that DVLA have made a mistake ?

 

[Dippo]

Don't forget it's the list price including options. Do you have things like metallic, sunroof, audio upgrades, cameras, lighting packages etc? The original owner may have paid less than £40,000, but the DVLA don't care about discounts, only list price.

 

[seekay]

On the subject of electric miles ...

Did 16 miles today on B roads on electric only. ICE kicked in about 200 yards from home, nearly made it all the way. Had it in hybrid most of the time, put it in E-MODE when it indicated down to 3 mile range left to eke the last drops out of it. I was pretty darn pleased with that.

On the other hand, like jimshann, I started one day this week with an indicated 16 mile range that then dropped to 14 before I reached the end of the drive. Which is about 5 car lengths - I'm not Lord Blank with a 2 mile avenue through my estate.

Anyone grumbling about the official figures should go and have a read of the EU fuel efficiency testing procedure. It's hilarious. Done on a rolling road with no wind resistance and incredibly slow acceleration rates. No wonder nobody ever gets close to those figures in real life.

Still loving driving mine and reading about all yours!

If someone like him use the car in electric only, what’s the point of using it in hybrid mode first and then switch to E-Mode for the last few miles? Why not start in E-Mode straight away? Is there any advantage of the hybrid mode in this particular situation?

 

[21bees]

Hi all,

I have bought a lovely 2016 C350e Estate which was delivered yesterday.
On delivery i did quick trip to end of road to check the car and turn round all with no fuel burned...
I put the car on charge last night and my mercedes me app tells me i now have 14 miles of range. I have set the pre trip climate control on for an 11am departure so i can see what it does (charger still plugged in).
I now need to set the car up in the most fuel efficient mode. Should i reset the trip meter so it learns my driving style? All tips most welcome.

 

[Mikep2]

Hi all,

I have bought a lovely 2016 C350e Estate which was delivered yesterday.
On delivery i did quick trip to end of road to check the car and turn round all with no fuel burned...
I put the car on charge last night and my mercedes me app tells me i now have 14 miles of range. I have set the pre trip climate control on for an 11am departure so i can see what it does (charger still plugged in).
I now need to set the car up in the most fuel efficient mode. Should i reset the trip meter so it learns my driving style? All tips most welcome.

Hi, I did a post on August 2nd which you may or may not have read with my consumption figures.
I currently have a quarter tank left where I have left the car in hybrid all of the time and charging the car when battery is low (about 4 times a week costing around £10 / month.
I’m am currently on 83mpg with this tank.
At the next fill up I’m going to leave in hybrid and not charge the car at all to determine the mpg.

 

[21bees]

Hi, I did a post on August 2nd which you may or may not have read with my consumption figures.
I currently have a quarter tank left where I have left the car in hybrid all of the time and charging the car when battery is low (about 4 times a week costing around £10 / month.
I’m am currently on 83mpg with this tank.
At the next fill up I’m going to leave in hybrid and not charge the car at all to determine the mpg.

not bad! What charging rate do you use? 16,13,10 or 8A? I will be charging at work most of there time at uptown 16A, but for now only using the 13A charging adapter/cable at home. Has anyone compared the various charge rates to battery performance over time? I have filled the tank today and trip meter is sitting on 80.7mpg since reset. I have only driven 10 miles so far and checking the eco display i need to learn to coast more.

Where do i fine the software and navigation version display?

does anyone know how i disable the rear seatbelt alarm or do i need to ok the warning each time? I wish the command system had a proper book - the online interactive guide is not easy to use so i need to find a pdf copy.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

Just for the sake of reliability, I don’t use the brick at more than 10A, usually only 8A just to reduce the strain on the mains socket. Many cases where drawing full current for long periods results in problems with the socket.

When using the type 2 charger, I tend to charge at a lower rate just to help keep household demand within the capacity of my Powerwall, but that’s a very specific thing. No reason not to charge at 16A on a type 2. If using pre-entry, even 16A can’t quite keep up with heating demand so will draw some energy from the battery.

As far as longevity of the battery and charge rates, even 16A is only about 3.8kW and when driving, you can draw over 70kW (90bhp) from the battery, so it’s a pretty low charge rate at 16A compared to that. I’m more interested in the relative losses when charging at the different rates due to the overheads of battery temperature management.

 

[Mikep2]

not bad! What charging rate do you use? 16,13,10 or 8A? I will be charging at work most of there time at uptown 16A, but for now only using the 13A charging adapter/cable at home. Has anyone compared the various charge rates to battery performance over time? I have filled the tank today and trip meter is sitting on 80.7mpg since reset. I have only driven 10 miles so far and checking the eco display i need to learn to coast more.

Where do i fine the software and navigation version display?

does anyone know how i disable the rear seatbelt alarm or do i need to ok the warning each time? I wish the command system had a proper book - the online interactive guide is not easy to use so i need to find a pdf copy.

Hi, I have a 16 amp charge unit fitted, which takes about 1 hr 30m to charge the battery from 15%.
Was the 10 miles travelled mainly in E mode or a mixture ?

 

[21bees]

Hi, I have a 16 amp charge unit fitted, which takes about 1 hr 30m to charge the battery from 15%.
Was the 10 miles travelled mainly in E mode or a mixture ?

9 miles in e mode (engine off) with mpg of 99.9mpg, and still had 28% battery left at end. ps this trip included three stops mpg figure was 80.3 mpg at first stop, but i returned home on electric only and that upped the mpg to 99.9....
Car is in Eco Hybrid mode.

will update at end of October once i have figured out the command system and used car for trips into work.
Next question is which charge point should i buy? I quite like the EO mini but undecided at present.

 

[Mikep2]

9 miles in e mode (engine off) with mpg of 99.9mpg, and still had 28% battery left at end. ps this trip included three stops mpg figure was 80.3 mpg at first stop, but i returned home on electric only and that upped the mpg to 99.9....
Car is in Eco Hybrid mode.
View attachment 102946
will update at end of October once i have figured out the command system and used car for trips into work.
Next question is which charge point should i buy? I quite like the EO mini but undecided at present.

I had my Project EV unit fitted 10 months ago by a company called Complete Charging Ltd in Ross on Wye.
I had decided to buy the cheapest that I could find, the company confirmed they had fitted 100’s of them with no issues, cost me £230 which included an earthing rod and it’s been totally reliable.

 

[seekay]

Does anyone know how the drivetrain works in E-mode? I don’t have experience with other PHEVs or BEVs but I thought with these vehicles the acceleration and torque supposed be smooth and constant while driven pure electric? When I first tried out the E-Mode I was surprised as I clearly felt the gear change after moved off. Does the automatic transmission still work, even in E-mode?

 

[Deleted member 126969]

The EV electric motor sits between the clutch and the gearbox, so you will feel gear shifts just as if it was a conventional auto. Other ways of doing it exist, but MB chose this one. The biggest downside for me was the fact it still has a conventional starter motor rather than using the EV motor for cranking it over.


Here you go, this explains the basics:

Mercedes-Benz Media

Exklusive Einblicke und individuelle Angebote: Erleben Sie mit Mercedes-Benz das Maximum aus digitaler Live-PR. Exclusive insights and individual offers: Experience the maximum of digital live PR with Mercedes-Benz.

media.daimler.com

Try not to laugh when you read the claimed battery-only mileage it can achieve....

 

[seekay]

The EV electric motor sits between the clutch and the gearbox, so you will feel gear shifts just as if it was a conventional auto. Other ways of doing it exist, but MB chose this one. The biggest downside for me was the fact it still has a conventional starter motor rather than using the EV motor for cranking it over.


Here you go, this explains the basics:

Mercedes-Benz Media

Exklusive Einblicke und individuelle Angebote: Erleben Sie mit Mercedes-Benz das Maximum aus digitaler Live-PR. Exclusive insights and individual offers: Experience the maximum of digital live PR with Mercedes-Benz.

media.daimler.com

Try not to laugh when you read the claimed battery-only mileage it can achieve....

Thanks Chris-S, reading this brochure makes me feel like we have the best car in the world, LOL.
As the winter is coming soon, I would like to find out the most efficient way to operate the heating during E-Mode. Does it use heat pump? Is there any difference (costs less or more electrons) if using the A/C for heating?

 

[Deleted member 126969]

Sadly, no, it uses a PTC heater which is a real battery guzzler. In winter, pre-heat when plugged in, then depending on the journey and how much cabin heat you need, it probably pays to run the engine initially to get some residual heat into the engine coolant. A/C to cool uses less energy than PTC to heat. My guess is that the PTC heater is about 4 to 5kW, based on the fact that when plugged in on a 16A supply it needs to draw some power from the battery as well to keep up with the demand.

I’d say that having the cabin cooler and using A/C to dehumidify is probably more efficient than just using heat. We got used to having endless ‘free’ heat in our ICE cars didn’t we!