COMAND crashes on postcode entry, and radio problems

[drcarrera]

Hi

We've got a MY08 SLK, and since new we've had problems with COMAND.
75% of the time, if you enter a post code into the sat nav, the whole unit crashes and reboots.
Another irritation is that half the time you can't pick up any radio stations (on any channel). This isn't a reception issue as often if you return to the car 30 minutes later, the radio works fine.
The dealer's had the car in three times now, each time a software/firmware upgrade has been done "which has fixed the problems" only for the two above to return after a week or two (they have fixed a couple of other COMAND related issues however).

I'm curious to know if anyone else has had either of these problems. They've really spoilt our first year of ownership. I think I need to try to get a complete head unit change ...

 

[verytalldave]

What version disc have you got currently installed? To find out eject the disc and the version number is printed on it.
I believe I am right in saying versions V9 and V9.1 were unstable and had bugs. Version V10 corrected these bugs and runs OK.
Alfie would know for sure. Sometimes it needs a specialist COMAND person to sort out these things. Dealers are OK up to a point but sometimes their knowledge on COMAND leaves a little to be desired.

If you ae using either 9 or 9.1 get the dealer to give you V10. That may help.
As for the other issues, I suspect that sounds like a poor or broken aerial connection. Unrelated to the COMAND crashing.

 

[chitaxmoto]

they probably have the HD which uses memory card, push for a unit change under warranty

 

[richard]

If its model year 08 then its DVD based COMAND. But MY09 starts from mid 2008 build. The SLK is NTG1, so the latest version is V9.0

If its 08, then it could be the navigation unit, the AGW or the comand itself, or the fibre optics between them.

What are the symptoms of "crash" ?

What is confusing is the radio tuner is in the AGW, the navigation in the navigation processor - and both are problematic.

Ensure the AGW has had its flash updated , the Nav disk is the latest. I'd then get them to start changing stuff as they are unable to diagnose the fault. They should start with the AGW as its the cheapest part !!

If it was me and you were willing to live with it, i'd loop out the Nav processor and see if the radio fault disappears or remains.

If its a MY09 i'd be telling them its time to replace the unit (all parts are in one in MY09 cars)

Richard

 

[drcarrera]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

It is a hard disk based unit.

The postcode crashing symptom is very consistent : From the enter destination screen in NAV, move the cursor to postcode entry. As soon as the knob is pressed to select, the screen goes blank, radio goes off (if it's working!), and after 10 or fifteen seconds the MB logo appears as the system boots.
At the last dealer visit they were convinced this was a known problem that was fixed with a recently released update which they applied. Right after, if worked fine, but a few days later the problem started again and now happens every time.

As for the radio issue, before their last update, the main symptom was that whichever station was tuned in when you started the car - that's what you were stuck with for the journey! Even switching, for example, from FM to MW you'd still be left with te FM channel playing but the MW channel's frequency displayed. A lot of the time, when you started the radio would just be playing static, and that's what you got for the rest of the journey!
It seems to me the recent update has fixed the "same channel" problem, but changed the static to silence. So now we just get silence a lot of the time. Turning the engine off, removing the ignition, then restarting again sometimes results in all the radio stations working again, so I don't think it's a loose connection.

I'm definitely going to try for a unit change, as they've ably demonstrated they can't fix it!