Live traffic in command online - Is it worth it?
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PhilLinda
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I'll settle for pay up and grumble. I do feel that sort of price hike in the last 6 months is somewhat excessive thoughTwo options. Pay up and grumble, or get stuck in traffic.
PenelopePitstop
Active Member
Or use navigation in your phone, if you already have a cradle and/or holder and use it anyway. I can recommend TomTom, annual subscription to traffic is only £15. Map updates are free and frequent.
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1. Waze and Google Maps are free. But it's on a phone stuck on your windscreen... and not integrated into the car.
2. I find that there's little difference between COMAND navigation with TMC and Waze with live traffic, when driving out of town (though Waze is more accurate in terms of major or irregular events e.g. road closures etc). But there's a MASSIVE difference when driving in town. COMAND with TMC will take me to my office during normal working days in just over an hour - Waze will do this in 35 minutes.
So I would say - if you prefer COMAND navigation to smartphone navigation, AND you are travelling in busy city centres, then yes renewing TomTom Live Traffic will save you a significant amount of time.
But if you are happy with using Waze, or if most of your mileage is on Motorways and away from city centres, then there's no need to renew.
2. I find that there's little difference between COMAND navigation with TMC and Waze with live traffic, when driving out of town (though Waze is more accurate in terms of major or irregular events e.g. road closures etc). But there's a MASSIVE difference when driving in town. COMAND with TMC will take me to my office during normal working days in just over an hour - Waze will do this in 35 minutes.
So I would say - if you prefer COMAND navigation to smartphone navigation, AND you are travelling in busy city centres, then yes renewing TomTom Live Traffic will save you a significant amount of time.
But if you are happy with using Waze, or if most of your mileage is on Motorways and away from city centres, then there's no need to renew.
PenelopePitstop
Active Member
It's an option for people who have their phones mounted somewhere already. Mine is just below Comand screen. And in other car it's beside nav screen, on air vent. No cables go on the dash. And on short route you don't have to charge your phone.
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I use COMAND (long journeys) and Waze (time critical city centre) too. I have these mounts in our cars, and they're very good:
Magnetic Air Vent Phone Mount (Out of Stock)
Magnetic Air Vent Phone Mount (Out of Stock)
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Same here. Waze it town, COMAND everywhere else.
Sadly my car does not qualify for TomTom Live Traffic, I would have definitely purchased the subscription if it was available.
As for phone mount, I went for a cradle with built-in wireless charger that is hard-wired into the dash (permanent 12V power feed from the OBDII socket), so the phone is also charging whenever it is in the cradle.
prop135
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Spooky, I opened the link while watching an STG vid on YouTube on my telly lol. I have those mounts in both mine and my wife's cars. I use waze or Android auto all the time despite having comand. My issue is the Comand routing algorithms seem really poor. I will probably use Comand on Euro road trips though
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Hello all. I have just come across the same problem as some people have already mentioned in this thread in purchasing a TomTom traffic subscription for My W204 C20 CDI. Ok so back story is i have a Late 2013 (63 plate) w204 with command online and previously (until it expired a year ago) i had tom tom live services and an active subscription. I have since let it lapse and thought about renewing it tonight as i have some long drives coming up. So after reading this thread i go onto the mercedes me portal i activate my car in my profile. Go to the link for the tomtom live subscription and it shows me my car and then says the following: "Live Traffic Information is unfortunately not available for your C 250 CDI Estate AMG Sport vehicle due to the hardware installed ex factory"..... Now surely as i had tomtom live traffic till last year when the subscription expired it stands to reason i should be able to get it again. I called the MB contact from the car as stated and spoke to about 3 different people all with varying degrees of uselessness with the english language barrier who all said my car needs to be activated on the servers before i can purchase and to call back tomorrow or try the website tomorrow. Does this sound legit?
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Yes... I had more than one good experience with the Mercedes Me helpline.
Your late 2013 car with COMAMD Onlind will have the factory-fitted KOM Module with the built-in Vodafone simcard, which is the 'hardware' required for the TomTom Live Traffic service, and which the Mercedes Me website (incorrectly) says is missing from your car.
On a related noted, many of these early KOM Modules (first fitted to cars registered from June 2013 onwards) were replaced under warranty on 2013 and 2014 cars because the TomTom Live Traffic service could not be activated, but luckily it seems that yours is fine as the service was running OK for the first 3 years.
Try again tomorrow, and if it still not working, then persevere with the Mercedes Me helpline - they'll sort it for you.
PenelopePitstop
Active Member
You may need activation on MB systems. I was told to go to the car and call from there so they can activate my system. In Comand, you choose Customer Services contact and you should be able to push car information from there when prompted.
Yes was exactly this in the end. Went to the car and had to disconnect iPhone to access the MBContact number, press number 1 on the keypad to transfer your card info and location, get out through to operator and they activate it on their end. Takes several hours supposedly. Bought the 3 year subscription this morning, went out to car 5 mins later and there it was all up and running like magic.
Moral of the story is if you have a late 2013 car onwards with command onlinr and Mercedes me website says your car doesn’t have the required equipment to support this package it’s lying. Call MB as above and they will sort it out!
Thanks everyone!
Dryce
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The moral of the existence of these sorts of threads is that an air vent mount and phone and Google Maps or Wayz is increasingly the way to go. I can't be bothered with in car satnavs on rental cars anymore. I carry a mount and use my phone. And I carry a vent mount in my own car for use should I feel the phone will be a better alternative on a given journey.
PenelopePitstop
Active Member
Unfortunately using vent mount in SLK is not that easy, due to shape of vents. Most mounts are tilting down together with vent. But it's def. recommended option.
Daveuk
Active Member
I’ve got a June 2014 E Class with COMMAND ONLINE or I think it is anyway as it has internet radio, www, Mercedes Benz apps and TomTom traffic but it only works when my iPhone is connected to it as soon as I disconnect my iPhone the traffic icon changes. According to the traffic subscription it has 5 years on it which is what TomTom give you on there sat navs that use smartphone data.
MercedesMe didn’t give me any options for sending destinations to my car or for tracking or geofencing etc it just says I need an adapter.
Is there a way to tell if my car has the kom module?
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Check the datacard for option B54 MBCONNECT - REAL-TIME TRAFFIC DATA.
Your 2014 car with COMAND Online should have it.
The KOM Module is used for the TomTom Live Traffic subscription, and on later models also for connecting to the car remotely and for sending instructions to the car (I believe that your 2014 car will not yet have additional services i.e. apart from the TomTom Live Traffic, from memory the additional Mercedes Me services were introduced in later years).
But other than that, the Internet connection on COMAND Online is provided via your phone, not the KOM Module.
The feature allowing you to send destinations and routes to the car has been removed from Google Maps, but you can still send destinations (though not routes) from Nokia's Here We Go website (though only from a PC, and not from the Here We Go app on your mobile phone).
As for the ODBII Adapter... it allows you to see various bits of information on the car, but it won't allow you to send any instructions to the car, and it will only work when you (or rather, your mobile phone) are in or near the car.
To renew the TomTom Live Traffic subscription (it would have expired after 3 years, i.e. in 2017) you will need to register your car on the Mercedes Me website, then pay and activate the service for further 1,2, or 3 years.
Your 2014 car with COMAND Online should have it.
The KOM Module is used for the TomTom Live Traffic subscription, and on later models also for connecting to the car remotely and for sending instructions to the car (I believe that your 2014 car will not yet have additional services i.e. apart from the TomTom Live Traffic, from memory the additional Mercedes Me services were introduced in later years).
But other than that, the Internet connection on COMAND Online is provided via your phone, not the KOM Module.
The feature allowing you to send destinations and routes to the car has been removed from Google Maps, but you can still send destinations (though not routes) from Nokia's Here We Go website (though only from a PC, and not from the Here We Go app on your mobile phone).
As for the ODBII Adapter... it allows you to see various bits of information on the car, but it won't allow you to send any instructions to the car, and it will only work when you (or rather, your mobile phone) are in or near the car.
To renew the TomTom Live Traffic subscription (it would have expired after 3 years, i.e. in 2017) you will need to register your car on the Mercedes Me website, then pay and activate the service for further 1,2, or 3 years.
Daveuk
Active Member
Hi
Yes I have the MB connect real time travel on my data card the previous owner must have bought more TomTom traffic for the car as it’s valid for another year yet. I’ve no sos button or concierge button and no TomTom traffic unless my phone is paired and connected so I assume no kom module as this seems to be on the 2015 onwards E Class with the newer head units (sos & concierge) it does say sos ready when connected to my phone.
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My understanding is that without a KOM Module you would not have been able to receive the TomTom Live Traffic service, and additionally as far as I know all MB cars fitted with COMAND Online as of June 2013 have the KOM Module installed. So on balance I think you do have the KOM Module.
I think the issue here is that at first the KOM Module had very limited functionality, so early cars (2013/2014) can only use it for the TomTom Live Traffic service, but later cars had the range of services expanded to support more Mercedes Me functions. I suspect that this is also why you were offered the ODBII Adapter, which is not normally needed with later cars.
The reason (as far as I can see) that the TomTom Live Traffic service is only available with the KOM Module is commercial rather than technical. The service can easily be provided over any Internet connection (including your phone), but the KOM Module with the built-in Vodafone simcard is required in order to positively identify your car, as MB are paying TomTom for the license, and the license is attached to your car via it's VIN so needs to be hard-wired to a hardware on the car, and not to your phone. So what probably happens with your car is that the license is verified and the eligibility is checked via the KOM Module, while the actual data is downloaded over the Bluetooth connection.
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