codes for command

[television]

Hi Dan
I bow to you on this but I thought there has been a number of technical service bulletins regarding the 211 series type COMAND. I used to have access to all these and thought I had read several.

On a personal note and only speaking from my experiences, the dealership Mercedes-Benz Exeter has been instructed to carry out quality control checks on ALL E-class 211 vehicles that come in for servicing. This will include checking every update has been installed, but it does NOT include the unofficial ETA upgrade for the COMAND.

REgards
John

Just adding that MB Exeter are on the point of being dealer of the year, they do bend over backwards to do the right thing

 

[DansSlk]

Hi Dan
I bow to you on this but I thought there has been a number of technical service bulletins regarding the 211 series type COMAND. I used to have access to all these and thought I had read several.

On a personal note and only speaking from my experiences, the dealership Mercedes-Benz Exeter has been instructed to carry out quality control checks on ALL E-class 211 vehicles that come in for servicing. This will include checking every update has been installed, but it does NOT include the unofficial ETA upgrade for the COMAND.

REgards
John

Your right mate MB have put out TSB's on the COMAND before i'm sorry i should have explained myself better i was refering to the ETA upgrade in particular.

As far as i am aware that is just a standard upgrade like 90% of the other software releases out there.

About the QC checks we check all the service bulletins have been carried out as I'm sure all dealers do, i have no idea if they inform the owner beforehand or not i would have thought they do because the owner could turn around and say i had a re-mapped ECU or something and then present the dealer with the bill.

 

[steve.link]

The COMAND software upgrade is not a "mandatory" TSB from MB, In fact most dealers won't even know about it.
However it is worth upgrading because it fixes problems like TMC icons on the wrong side of the road and also adds items - e,g. ETA on the screen.

If you specifically request the upgrade the dealer should do it for free - alternatively the disk costs about £12 and the update can be applied yourself in abour 10 minutes

I guess its a case of your priorities!

 

[DansSlk]

The COMAND software upgrade is not a "mandatory" TSB from MB, In fact most dealers won't even know about it.
However it is worth upgrading because it fixes problems like TMC icons on the wrong side of the road and also adds items - e,g. ETA on the screen.

If you specifically request the upgrade the dealer should do it for free - alternatively the disk costs about £12 and the update can be applied yourself in abour 10 minutes

I guess its a case of your priorities!

I didn't mean to suggest it was mandatory in fact my posts where meant to say the opposite, sorry about that.

John has already had the update done if memory serves me correct he knew about it before the dealer did and ordered himself a copy.

 

[evdok]

I don't think the COMAND upgrade has a TSB John, i know for some dealers is standard practice to update all the cars software during any workshop visit others only do it when the vehicle is in for scheduled service and the rest don't bother.

I would think 90% of dealers are the middle option.

I know when we work on cars if an owner says to us don't do XYZ then it would be left well alone i think a dealer saying thats not your choice would be on very thin ice because when the owner signs the consent form it applies only to the work in question and if we where to do anything else without first obtaining permission we would put ourselves in a difficult position simply because we are not the owners of the vehicle.

Over in BMW land the owners of the new M5&6 have been giving BMW a very hard time over a software update that "allegedly" reduces engine performance to increase gearbox life to the point that BMW has made downgrades to older software possible and thats serious stuff so they are clearly taking the threat of legal action seriously and it would be foolish for Mercedes to behave in any other way.

You are totally correct about the new software removing the menu by the way, once the COMAND is updated its gone but any setting changes made in the menu before the new update is applied will still be active.

maybe you can explain why a certain member had his software updated and lost his DVD in motion after activating it using the hidden menu!

 

[DansSlk]

maybe you can explain why a certain member had his software updated and lost his DVD in motion after activating it using the hidden menu!

Maybe a quirk in the headunit itself, if it was done by the dealer then who knows what else was done at the same time its not really a fair comparison but i have no this is exactly why answer for you, i know plenty of others however (mostly 171SLK owners) who have applied this update and had the settings retained.

Me included actually i was just having a look about the menu's for fun and decided to see if settings actually got retained after trying various things (connecting DAS, disconnecting the battery, upgrading the software) and my car still blanks the screen when the handbrake is activated just like i told it to via the headunit before updating the software.

 

[evdok]

I've heard lots of w211 owners especialy on the american forum who have lost there settings once updated the comand, but in andy_cyp's case it was quickly re-activated.

 

[DansSlk]

I've heard lots of w211 owners especialy on the american forum who have lost there settings once updated the comand, but in andy_cyp's case it was quickly re-activated.

US headunits have a different software release, but it still doesn't explain why some EU software users have settings erased others keep them.

The versions are not compatible, only the navigation processor shares a release.

 

[television]

This could explain why I have lost TMC when the latest disc removed TCS from my COMAND so I will pop it in again next week.
With any CD based system errors can happen when doing this

 

[glojo]

I've heard lots of w211 owners especialy on the american forum who have lost there settings once updated the comand, but in andy_cyp's case it was quickly re-activated.

The American units are indeed different to ours and I endorse every point made by Dan and once access to these sub menu's have been removed then I don't understand how anyone can access these codes once the ability has been removed and I would love to hear from Andy just so I can get a better understanding of how this has been achieved.

Television
Your system is completely different and these remarks might not apply to it.

Regards
John

 

[television]

Television
Your system is completely different and these remarks might not apply to it.

Regards
John

Thanks john, yes I do know that, owing to the recent spate of threads on COMAND I had the other computer fired up and I read all of the update CD's and what they do and the effects on other models in the range.

I should have read them before as I see that software errors can be responsible for no sound etc, and it is only a matter of running the disc to restore problems