C350e owners club

[joq3]

I'm looking at a 2016 C350E estate, looks like a great car. However I have a few questions I cannot find the answer for.
1. Does this car work with the Mercedes me app? What functionality does it offer?
2. Can you heat up the cabin of the car like a auxiliary heater using the battery only? Useful in winter time to defrost the cabin.
3. Is it possible to leave the cabin A/C ventilated or heated when leaving and locking the car? Sometimes I just have to visit a store quickly and it would be great to leave my dog safe and sound in the car in a ventilated cabin.
4. The car I am looking at has a lot of options, but not a heated steering wheel, it does have the electric adjustable steering wheel but no button for the heating, is it expensive to upgrade to a heated wheel?
5. Can you upgrade the small display to a 12" display?

 

[Deleted member 126969]

I'm looking at a 2016 C350E estate, looks like a great car. However I have a few questions I cannot find the answer for.
1. Does this car work with the Mercedes me app? What functionality does it offer?
2. Can you heat up the cabin of the car like a auxiliary heater using the battery only? Useful in winter time to defrost the cabin.
3. Is it possible to leave the cabin A/C ventilated or heated when leaving and locking the car? Sometimes I just have to visit a store quickly and it would be great to leave my dog safe and sound in the car in a ventilated cabin.
4. The car I am looking at has a lot of options, but not a heated steering wheel, it does have the electric adjustable steering wheel but no button for the heating, is it expensive to upgrade to a heated wheel?
5. Can you upgrade the small display to a 12" display?

Welcome.

1. Yes. Functionality depends on which ‘services’ you pay for, but can include pre-entry climate control, state of battery charge info, vehicle status (including openings, tyre pressures, fluid levels), geo-fencing, vehicle location, remote lock/unlock. Probably one or two other things I’ve forgotten. The “full package” adds up cost wise and MB bundle certain services in a way you need two packages to make some things work, like pre-entry and battery charge state.

2. Yes. This can be done via Mercedes Me (see above) or directly in the car.

3. Yes, up to a point. It'll be a bit limited depending on battery charge state. Bear in mind that the heater takes roughly 4kW of power to run, so you won't get long from even a full battery. A/C is pretty greedy too, probably about 3kW

4. Don’t know, sorry.

5. Yes, but it’s an after-market upgrade using an Android based device. Not aware of any OEM upgrades, but I’m sure other folk will say if they know better.

 

[joq3]

Welcome.

1. Yes. Functionality depends on which ‘services’ you pay for, but can include pre-entry climate control, state of battery charge info, vehicle status (including openings, tyre pressures, fluid levels), geo-fencing, vehicle location, remote lock/unlock. Probably one or two other things I’ve forgotten. The “full package” adds up cost wise and MB bundle certain services in a way you need two packages to make some things work, like pre-entry and battery charge state.

2. Yes. This can be done via Mercedes Me (see above) or directly in the car.

3. Yes, up to a point. It'll be a bit limited depending on battery charge state. Bear in mind that the heater takes roughly 4kW of power to run, so you won't get long from even a full battery. A/C is pretty greedy too, probably about 3kW

4. Don’t know, sorry.

5. Yes, but it’s an after-market upgrade using an Android based device. Not aware of any OEM upgrades, but I’m sure other folk will say if they know better.

Thank you for taking the time to reply! It sounds promising. Is it a one time cost to get the Mercedes me functionality or is it a monthly subscription? Do you know roughly how much it costs?

How many minutes do you think you can get from the A/C from a full battery, or does it have any type of maximum time?

Also, what's the lowest battery level for preheat/precool to start from the app? And when does it shut off?

One reason I am looking at the C350e is that it basically has a auxiliary heater, and of course that you can drive electric for small trips.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

Thank you for taking the time to reply! It sounds promising. Is it a one time cost to get the Mercedes me functionality or is it a monthly subscription? Do you know roughly how much it costs?

How many minutes do you think you can get from the A/C from a full battery, or does it have any type of maximum time?

Also, what's the lowest battery level for preheat/precool to start from the app? And when does it shut off?

One reason I am looking at the C350e is that it basically has a auxiliary heater, and of course that you can drive electric for small trips.

It would be best to check your local version of the Mercedes Me website for what they will charge you as I have no doubt their prices vary by region. We invariably pay more for everything in the UK it seems. Over here at least, the service bundles I renewed were for 3 years at a time. Roughly £25 per bundle per year IIRC

I’ve only ever used the pre-entry climate control to just heat or chill the car befor setting off somewhere so I’m afraid I can’t answer the questions. I don’t think the car has “camper mode” so suspect that once it has warmed or cooled to target, it will just switch off the climate and you'd have to set it again manually.

My rough estimate is that heating takes about 4kW and cooling about 3kW. If (a big ‘if’) the car allows heating/cooling until the battery is nominally flat (about 10%), I expect the longest time you’d get heating from a full battery would be about 1 hour, cooling a little more.

...but I don’t think it works that way as I said.

 

[seekay]

Noticed the gearbox snatching a bit in EDrive yesterday at start of trip but it smoothed out as the journey went on. I'm only about 350 miles in so far so I'm not getting anxious about that sort of thing yet.

Love your Estate Boot liner. I'll have to stick to a tatty bit of blue plastic tarpaulin for the moment....

These users bought their cars brand new in 2016, and they mention this rough gear changes at low speeds after starting the car, especially noticeable in electric. After a the first 1-2 shifts from 2nd to 3rd gear the whole shifting behaviour smooths out and no more jerks. Mine exactly the same, I thought maybe my gearbox isn’t in the best shape but based on these comments, people seem to have the same behaviour from 0 miles? Anyone else experienced this?

 

[dasachmo]

As previously mentioned mine does that seekay! But it always does it, doesn't level out. Due to go in for a check in June. 14k miles

 

[seekay]

As previously mentioned mine does that seekay! But it always does it, doesn't level out. Due to go in for a check in June. 14k miles

Why do you wait until the next service due? If I was you, I would take the car ASAP.

I wish I could find out whether its a normal behaviour or not. My car's future depends on this...if I knew this isn't supposed to be like that, then I wouldn't keep it and would start looking something else instead. I started reading this thread from the beginning, and found a few posts mentioning exactly the same thing since the car got delivered so this makes me feel like mine isn't faulty but can't be 100% sure until more owners confirm that.

 

[MuhammedButt]

I'd be interested to know which device you've ordered and how it works with Android Auto

As soon as I get it , will post it here and the link. Will try and install it and let you know how it works

 

[raspy]

I've started the car (2017 C350E sport estate) a few times today and, each time, got the following error message: "collision prevention assist plus inoperative". I'd be grateful if someone could tell me what sensors the system uses and where they are hidden. I've sprayed the front of the car with a water hose but would like to try some directed squirting before ringing MB and opening the bank account.

@C350ezoom Take a look at this article, it might offer some things you can try

Not sure if C350s have radar sensors behind the front bumper. I know that since I have Distronic, my 3 pointed star in the front grille is solid because the radar sensor is behind it.

 

[joq3]

Is the front end on the C350e different than other C class from the same generation?

The lower side grills are not the same shape as other W205.


The standard W205 is more X shaped.


The reason I ask is because I am looking to change the lower grills to this type.

https://m.de.aliexpress.com/item/1005001937202257.html?spm=a2g0n.detail.0.0.1929qdrSqdrSig&gps-id=storeRecommendH5&scm=1007.18500.187585.0&scm_id=1007.18500.187585.0&scm-url=1007.18500.187585.0&pvid=de9e8cf0-bcbc-41ae-911f-11b3a69bdf89&_t=gps-id%3AstoreRecommendH5%2Cscm-url%3A1007.18500.187585.0%2Cpvid%3Ade9e8cf0-bcbc-41ae-911f-11b3a69bdf89%2Ctpp_buckets%3A668%230%23131923%2378_668%230%23131923%2378_668%23888%233325%2311_668%23888%233325%2311_668%232846%238110%231995_668%235811%2327181%2347_668%232717%237558%23166__668%233374%2315176%23841_668%232846%238110%231995_668%235811%2327181%2347_668%232717%237558%23166_668%233164%239976%23845_668%233374%2315176%23841&browser_id=86d6515795f14b449cc5a2183d4ba925&aff_trace_key=69d875b482914734a781882a64440c17-1609788700258-03817-UneMJZVf&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=cqnugcmsv2ucabku1792be326631fa78bba7e995ed&gclid=

 

[C350ezoom]

@C350ezoom Take a look at this article, it might offer some things you can try

Not sure if C350s have radar sensors behind the front bumper. I know that since I have Distronic, my 3 pointed star in the front grille is solid because the radar sensor is behind it.

Thanks for the link. I've been tempted by the icarsoft code reader for a while but haven't taken the plunge. I've poked at everything that looks like it might be relevant but have relented and booked the car into an M-B dealer (and warned the bank manager!)

 

[dasachmo]

Just wanted to ask about battery level.
So I fully charged the car, Haven't driven it for 2/3 weeks.
Should the hybrid battery deplete?
I've now got 75% charge.
Doesn't the alarm and things come from the 12v one.

 

[C350ezoom]

Last November I fitted an electricity meter in the feed to the charger, with the aim of finding-out the real-world effective MPG with charging factored-in. Because of the lockdowns I haven't done much driving since then but the car's about to go to M-B so I thought I'd do the sums in case they reset it. Since November the car has done 1677 miles and reports that it's achieved 49.6 MPG (mostly local rural trips with a few longer journeys, charged overnight at home, mixed driving style (but not boy racer!) and during the coldest months). The electricity meter is showing 252kWh, but this includes pre-heat (when it works) and some occasional use of the attached 13A socket for a concrete mixer. Petrol cost seems to be around £1.24/litre. My electricity cost is 15p/kWh. Crunching these numbers suggests that the effective MPG reduces from 49.6 to around 41 when the charging is factored in. It'll be interesting to see what happens over a more typical 6 month period during the warmer months.
How does this compare with other owner's evaluations?

 

[RobertBlack]

Hi All,

It's my 1st post here and I have a few hopefully not stupid questions, regarding the C350e so I thought I would ask the people in the know.

1: Is the suspension on these vehicles when in sports mode still very compliant ( i.e. rolls a lot in corners) or does it become much more solid?
2: On the AMG line version there seems to be a 15mm drop to the suspension, does this give a more sporty drive?
3: With the drop on the AMG suspension do you lose the waft that you get in the regular vehicle in comfort?

Thanks in advance.

Rob

 

[RobertBlack]

Hi All,

It's my 1st post here and I have a few hopefully not stupid questions, regarding the C350e so I thought I would ask the people in the know.

1: Is the suspension on these vehicles when in sports mode still very compliant ( i.e. rolls a lot in corners) or does it become much more solid?
2: On the AMG line version there seems to be a 15mm drop to the suspension, does this give a more sporty drive?
3: With the drop on the AMG suspension do you lose the waft that you get in the regular vehicle in comfort?

Thanks in advance.

Rob

OK scrub questions 2 & 3, it seems I got the wrong end of the stick due to a couple of inaccurate car ads I read previously, I now see the AMG line seems to have the same Airmatic suspension.

 

[raspy]

OK scrub questions 2 & 3, it seems I got the wrong end of the stick due to a couple of inaccurate car ads I read previously, I now see the AMG line seems to have the same Airmatic suspension.

@RobertBlack Yeah on the C350e, the AMG line appears to be interior and exterior styling only. Yeah, even in the sportiest setting, the suspension of the C350e is still relatively compliant, it just firms up a bit. Yeah, it's a heavy barge designed for cruising in comfort in a straight line. It does grip reasonably well, but it will still have quite a bit of body roll if you take it round the bends. Consider a 330e if you want something that is more fun to drive (for a PHEV that is)

 

[RobertBlack]

@RobertBlack Yeah on the C350e, the AMG line appears to be interior and exterior styling only. Yeah, even in the sportiest setting, the suspension of the C350e is still relatively compliant, it just firms up a bit. Yeah, it's a heavy barge designed for cruising in comfort in a straight line. It does grip reasonably well, but it will still have quite a bit of body roll if you take it round the bends. Consider a 330e if you want something that is more fun to drive (for a PHEV that is)

Thanks Raspy, just the information I needed, I may still test drive one and see how Boaty Mcboatface it is.
I am not a real fan of the 3 series.

 

[raspy]

I've been paying around £43 a month for the MB extended warranty on my 2015 C350e, and today it proved to be really useful!

Car's check engine light came on this week. Took it to MB dealer who traced it to an electrical fault in the thermostat and a replacement required, but luckily, it's covered under my warranty.

They told me if I didn't have the warranty, it would have been about £700 parts and labour!

 

[seekay]

I've been paying around £43 a month for the MB extended warranty on my 2015 C350e, and today it proved to be really useful!

Car's check engine light came on this week. Took it to MB dealer who traced it to an electrical fault in the thermostat and a replacement required, but luckily, it's covered under my warranty.

They told me if I didn't have the warranty, it would have been about £700 parts and labour!

Wow. You're lucky then.
My 66 plate doesn't have MB warranty anymore, only an RAC one which only covers certain parts and they tend to refuse the warranty claims whenever is possible. So I also thought about the MB warranty extension....even though my original warranty wasn't renewed and now there is a 1,5 year gap, after providing my VIN and reg, the MB website still allowes me to buy the warranty extension.

 

[smythe]

my (66reg) 2016 91000miles with service history , they want £695 for 1 year and didn't see an option for monthly payments so i have no warrenty and live day to day (or waiting for that day) nothing will go wrong its a mercedes benz after all