Latest firmware Upgrade for 211 COMAND

[glojo]

If you are running a map DVD that is 5.0 or above and you do not have TMC enabled I don't think using the software release 21.090 disk from John is not going to improve matters (any of the COMAND devices updated by the disk will move directly to the most recent version bypassing any stages that should have been installed earlier - the issue is with any other devices in the chain, such as the audio gateway, that should have been upgraded by your dealer at servicing and are consequently "left behind" in the updating process).

Totally agree but in fairness I do feel sorry for the technicians. How many versions\different types of COMAND is there and how easy would it be to keep staff updated to deal with ALL the numerous electronic gizzmo's that are continually being released?

Regards
John

 

[masqueraid]

This is perhaps a simplistic approach but perhaps at each service when the car is plugged into Star there is an offer that every device onboard that could be updated is moved to the latest version.

I appreciate the range of versions that need to be accounted for (at least 5 CD versions & 3 DVD across around 25 models) but I'm not asking technicians to be able to recite what's needed from memory - simply to be able to look up what an individual vehicle needs in the way of updates and (having access to them) apply them. Either from Star, by looking at the service record or even by looking it up in a book!

There is no public reference for COMAND updates (other than that that altruistic individuals have been able to compile) and we are therefore somewhat reliant upon the dealer network to help us.

 

[DansSlk]

TMC is activated by the installation of the map disk (5.0 or later) in the boot DVD player. Your '03 W211 should have been supplied with a version 4.x map which was pre TMC in the UK.

If you are running a map DVD that is 5.0 or above and you do not have TMC enabled I don't think using the software release 21.090 disk from John is not going to improve matters (any of the COMAND devices updated by the disk will move directly to the most recent version bypassing any stages that should have been installed earlier - the issue is with any other devices in the chain, such as the audio gateway, that should have been upgraded by your dealer at servicing and are consequently "left behind" in the updating process).

If you don't have TMC (and you can simply test this by pressing the TMC soft button in Map mode) you shoud press for this from your dealer as it will probably involve a Star based firmware upgrade.

As I've posted before, I am an amateur at this and still learning every day. COMAND is a very complex piece of kit and it is disheartening to read again of dealers' apparent lack of knowledge of an integral part of their product.

From how i read it mate i think he still has his original map disk that is as you say pre-TMC so the upgrade should do the trick for him, problems are going to start if he does have 5.0 or above in that case he is going to need dealer service to diagnose the issue.

Cheers
Dan

Hi Dan,
I hope my post came over in the way it was meant. I have contacted Aviator via pm and offered to send him the CD, and I'm merely being catious with my observation.

Tis easy to make a hasty decision and I bow to you on this very specialist subject.

Regards
John

Hi mate,

Thats alright mate i totally understood your post and agree with it 100%, you do need to be carefull when your working with these things so long as its taken one step at a time its normally fine problems start when people get impatient and the car is on step 2 while they are already on 22 that sort of thing.

Cheers
Dan

Just a quick question mate have you have your navi processor upgraded somewhere along the line? If not i have the disk you can borrow but it might be a little fiddly to do at home, might be something to have the dealer do when your next in?

 

[Aviator]

I am going to take Glojo's advice and have booked the car in next Monday. I have bought the latset map disc version7 form a MB dealer in Germany and the local franchise has agreed to install and update the software. Lets see how it works out.
My major complaint with Mercedes is the confusion that they seem to generate amongst their franchisees on the comand system.
1) Their parts system seems to hold data for obsolete maps and it seems to confuse the hellout of their own people.
2) They issue updates in one country but dont make them available to all European dealers.
3) Their franchise staff do not have a good understanding as to how the sytem works and the difference between the map DVD and the software updates
4) There seems to be no logical sytem of recording what updates have been installed and or are required for a specific car.

I think it fair to say that the MB technicians are not always the best people to deal with what are computer system issues. I do not doubt their mechanical excellence but!

As a customer of MB I have paid £2K for the comand system and the latest updates cost £257.25 at the UK price. For this I expect to be able to get the latest maps and to have a system that is fully functioning.
I also expect to be able to go to a MB dealer and for them to install the upgrades professionally and quickly at a reasonable price.
Am I being unreasonable or have I just been unlucky?

 

[glojo]

Am I being unreasonable or have I just been unlucky?

Hi Chris,
Whenever we book our car in for a service the receptionist will look up on the database to see what service upgrades are outstanding and then make sure these are added to the list of what needs doing. I always make a point of asking what the service issues are and if the person cannot answer they will find out. This is the service I would expect and hopefully it should be the same nationwide?

Regards
John

 

[harveyn]

Re Latest Firmware

I recently changed our 53 reg estate for a very nice March 07 E320 CDi sport estate which came with version 6.0 maps.

The display shows ETA on the front screen which I know was one of the advantages of a firmware upgrade.

However, at the weekend I noticed the red and yellow cars on the wrong side of the road, a problem I previously experienced before the upgrade with my old car.

Question: How can I find out which firmware I am running, and out of interest do you think I need to install the latest disc?

Thanks as ever

Harvey

 

[DansSlk]

Thats a known problem if you have a word with your dealer you should be able to get it fixed under warranty.

No need for you to spend money on it.

 

[steve.link]

However, at the weekend I noticed the red and yellow cars on the wrong side of the road, a problem I previously experienced before the upgrade with my old car.

Thats interesting!!

The software to correct the icons is an earlier version that the one which introduced ETA on the front screen. I never had the most recent upgrade to enable the ETA but I did get the TMC issued fixed (at the expense of the engineering menu access)

 

[124fan]

I'm sorry to bug everyone with this, but like most on here, if its there I'd like it to be up to date!

Our new to us Feb '04 E320 has v5.1 mapping in the boot, how do I know which firmware has been updated? Can someone please spell it out as I'm getting a little confused reading all the Comand threads!

When buying the car I was told I could have v7 mapping as part of the deal, but on having bought the car, I got, we're sorry but your Comand system is CD based and so out of date, as the new ones are all DVD! I don't really believe this story, certainly, I hope its not correct.

Any ideas as to how to proceed would be greatfully received.

Thanks,

 

[shakeapaw]

I'm sorry to bug everyone with this, but like most on here, if its there I'd like it to be up to date!

Our new to us Feb '04 E320 has v5.1 mapping in the boot, how do I know which firmware has been updated? Can someone please spell it out as I'm getting a little confused reading all the Comand threads!

When buying the car I was told I could have v7 mapping as part of the deal, but on having bought the car, I got, we're sorry but your Comand system is CD based and so out of date, as the new ones are all DVD! I don't really believe this story, certainly, I hope its not correct.

Any ideas as to how to proceed would be greatfully received.

Thanks,

it is a load of old rubbish,rule of thumb,if the sat nav is in the boot,its dvd based,if its in the headunit it cd based.

 

[glojo]

I'm sorry to bug everyone with this, but like most on here, if its there I'd like it to be up to date!

Our new to us Feb '04 E320 has v5.1 mapping in the boot, how do I know which firmware has been updated? Can someone please spell it out as I'm getting a little confused reading all the Comand threads!

We always need more information when it comes to answering questions but first off, you are being fed a load of twaddle. The system you have is DVD based and has a designated player in the boot space.

Firmware identification means accessing the Engineers menu which will not be possible if you have the latest upgrades

Have you got this car from a main dealer? If so it should have had all the relevant firmware improvements apart from the very latest 'patch' which is not really a service bulletin. If you bought this vehicle privately, or outside the main dealer network then it might need numerous upgrades. Can you play Mp3's through the CD|DVD player as this was a software upgrade for your COMAND system, but there have been numerous others since then?

Regards
John

 

[richard]

it is a load of old rubbish,rule of thumb,if the sat nav is in the boot,its dvd based,if its in the headunit it cd based.

Thats not quite correct as the new-A/B/W203C-facelift/W209-CLK-facelift/new-ML/GL/R class all have DVD based COMAND with map in the head unit.

R

 

[evdok]

Deff DVD based,

Pop a DVD film in the unit!

 

[glojo]

Thats not quite correct as the new-A/B/W203C-facelift/W209-CLK-facelift/new-ML/GL/R class all have DVD based COMAND with map in the head unit.

R

Your spot on, but the E-class series of DVD COMAND has the dedicated player in the boot and a seperate DVD\CD player in the dash. Confusing I know and to make it even more confusing the systems are incompatible, one being TeleAtlas based and the 211 series is NavTeq. So the latest C-class software might be version 9, and the E-class version 7! These version numbers are just examples.

John

 

[124fan]

Thanks for the replies...

Yes the car was bought from a main dealer.

While playing around with the Comand, I have not seen any mention of MP3, but then again I wasn't really looking for it, I'll check it later.

The sales man is due to ring me this morning, so at least I've got something to tell him, hopefully he takes it in a nice way.

Cheers

 

[glojo]

Thanks for the replies...

Yes the car was bought from a main dealer.

While playing around with the Comand, I have not seen any mention of MP3, but then again I wasn't really looking for it, I'll check it later.

The sales man is due to ring me this morning, so at least I've got something to tell him, hopefully he takes it in a nice way.

Cheers

I would definitely check out EVERY electronic gadget on the car before your meeting and also play with the COMAND to see if it plays Mp3's.

Since your car was built there have been over fifteen service upgrades that should have been carried out. The Mp3 service bulletin came out in the early summer of 2004 which means there is no excuse for your car not having it.

Some folks have problems putting Mp3's onto either their CD's or DVD's but that is a seperate issue and nearly always 'operator error' Press the buttons on the left-hand side of the COMAND and just check it gives you that option. Do NOT be fobbed off by the sales staff. Your COMAND will play Mp3's if it has been serviced at a main dealer and received all the necessary updates. This is a very specilist subject and it is possible the sales person will be way out of their depth and might try to waffle. (I prefer an honest, "'I don't know, but can find out for you"' type person)

Good luck
Regards
John

 

[124fan]

Just checked and there is no option for MP3 that I can find, I do have the TMC option, but then again the ETA is missing.

I think that I will ask him to check which updates are on their records for the car and that I would like to have the rest done ASAP, before I book in for a service! And then hopefully ask for my promised v.7

Any ideas as to when the next version for our E class is due out? and how long the updates are likely to continue? and, sorry, would you recommend updating past were you loose access to the engineers section? I think I'm happy to just keep getting my updates if they are improving functions.

Thanks again

 

[glojo]

Lots of question which may need our more knowledgeable members to answer (I'm not into waffle )

Just checked and there is no option for MP3 that I can find, I do have the TMC option, but then again the ETA is missing.

Our car is not here at the moment but to access the Mp3 option you need to press the soft key buttons on the left side of the screen. The ETA option is more of a patch, rather than a service issue and it is probable that it will not have been applied.

I think that I will ask him to check which updates are on their records for the car and that I would like to have the rest done ASAP, before I book in for a service! And then hopefully ask for my promised v.7

Great idea and that should not be a problem

Any ideas as to when the next version for our E class is due out? and how long the updates are likely to continue? and, sorry, would you recommend updating past were you loose access to the engineers section? I think I'm happy to just keep getting my updates if they are improving functions.

These new update DVD's are very expensive £250 + and in my experience they are issued about every three or four months. Do we need the very latest DVD? Who knows, as they cover the whole of Europe and I would suggest you will be extremely lucky to notice any new streets, roads etc. If you can get version 7, then well done, you were promised it, and it was part of a verbal agreement when buying the vehicle, The most important issue is that you get version 5 or higher although this first version has issues and Mercedes-Benz will exchange it for version 5.1. regarding the Engineers Menu, I don't know the answer and I would suggest we are better off not accessing it. As my old sergeant used to say, "A little bit of knowledge can do a lot of damage" It is very easy to press buttons, but perhaps not as easy to 'un-press' them.

The ETA option will definitely block this option although we do have members that are capable of undoing this part of the 'patch'.

Press the soft buttons on the COMAND and if you cannot get the Mp3 option then INSIST that someone shows you how to do it. INSIST and do NOT be fobbed off. There is NO excuse. None

Good luck,
John

 

[124fan]

These new update DVD's are very expensive £250 + and in my experience they are issued about every three or four months. Do we need the very latest DVD? Who knows, as they cover the whole of Europe and I would suggest you will be extremely lucky to notice any new streets, roads etc. If you can get version 7, then well done, you were promised it, and it was part of a verbal agreement when buying the vehicle, The most important issue is that you get version 5 or higher although this first version has issues and Mercedes-Benz will exchange it for version 5.1.

I agree, it's not necessary just to have the latest version and that perhaps an update in mapping every year or so would be ample for most situations, but being from N. Ireland I'm finding that its only of late that our mapping is catching up with the rest of the UK. Garmin's mapping is now showing all the minor roads and their units are now worth having, at the moment with v.5.1 in our Comand it says I'm driving off road a lot of the time when actually I'm just using the minor roads, I'm hoping v.7 will correct this! Perhaps other members can shed some light on this, I know Southern Ireland mapping has been pretty poor on sat navs.

Cheers

 

[glojo]

Ibut being from N. Ireland I'm finding that its only of late that our mapping is catching up with the rest of the UK. Garmin's mapping is now showing all the minor roads and their units are now worth having, at the moment with v.5.1 in our Comand it says I'm driving off road a lot of the time when actually I'm just using the minor roads, I'm hoping v.7 will correct this! Perhaps other members can shed some light on this, I know Southern Ireland mapping has been pretty poor on sat navs.

Cheers

Me again,
What I would recommend is that you write to NavTeq as they are the company that supply the mapping software to Mercedes-Benz. They might be able to say what areas are covered and perhaps when or if you will see any improvements.

Regards
John