Mobilio Warning

[glojo]

One thing failed to be mentioned, what about a faulty fuel sender or indicator? How does Mobilo justify the charge without investigating the fuel sender. Perhaps the party in question suffered such a problem, or is colour blind? Food for thought!
One of my cars goes from 1/4 tank to reserve in a matter of miles... I know the problem, so expect it, but someone borrowing it could get caught un-awares!

Good morning spitzkop,
I think your remarks are slightly unfair. I made sure I mentioned how this person had driven miles with the warning light on and had even driven by an open services. We can all say about the 'what ifs' but this person was one plank short of a full load. I am sure that if the sensor, or the indicator had been defective then there would have been no charge. Again I would respectfully suggest you read the first post on this thread; the charge was made because the 'breakdown' was not car related. If the sensor, or gauge were defective, then I would suggest running out of fuel might be the cars fault. UNLESS the driver knew about it, and failed to get it fixed.

Please do not think I am getting onto you, that is not the case, I am simply defending the technician, who in my opinion was quite right to charge this owner.

Regards,
John

 

[spitzkop]

Good morning spitzkop,
I think your remarks are slightly unfair. I made sure I mentioned how this person had driven miles with the warning light on and had even driven by an open services. We can all say about the 'what ifs' but this person was one plank short of a full load. I am sure that if the sensor, or the indicator had been defective then there would have been no charge. Again I would respectfully suggest you read the first post on this thread; the charge was made because the 'breakdown' was not car related. If the sensor, or gauge were defective, then I would suggest running out of fuel might be the cars fault. UNLESS the driver knew about it, and failed to get it fixed.

Please do not think I am getting onto you, that is not the case, I am simply defending the technician, who in my opinion was quite right to charge this owner.

Regards,
John

Hi John,

Sorry, I wasnt specific enough. I had read all the thread, several times, but I was going on the lines of 'other people', rather than the culpible party in question. ie. A vanilla MB driver running out of fuel, calling out MobiloLife and being treated the same way. Unless its standard practise to check the senders and instrument cluster, I think it would be a bit unfair to assume the driver is at fault.

Im all for stinging people with high charges who knowingly ignore all the warning signs, especially as most Mercs now have a range till empty feature.

 

[hawk20]

We have just had the Mobilio technician out to our car and he mentioned something I wasn't aware of.

One morning at about 2-30am this technician was called out by mobilio to a car that had run out of petrol on the M5 (just south of the services at Taunting Deane) The technician poured 2 gallons of petrol into the vehicle, then followed the driver to the next service area. The car driver had to pay for the 2 gallons of fuel AND a call-out fee of £184! The technician stated the call out fee was charged because the call-out wasn't the fault of the car. I have no sympathy for the driver that had driven miles with the warning light on, and had only just driven pass a service station, but I thought running out of fuel was covered by mobilio? This driver by the way simply parked on the hard shoulder, switched off ALL his lights and went to sleep. Unbelievable.

John

I set out the cover and problems with Mobilo on this thread: -
http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=33410&highlight=mobilo

Running out of fuel is covered on some cars , some of the time depending on the age of the car etc. Comnplex, confusing and needs improving by Mercedes.

 

[Carrotchomper]

Another of my many 'moonlighting' jobs was as a taxi driver, if anyone swore at me that earned them a press on the extra's button Manners, maketh man. Or a £184 bill.
John

Better remember this one then. Not that I am ever less than polite, it's something I take pride in! It does make me feel slightly better about the poor cabbies having to deposit the drunken dregs from our town centres home though...

I despise rudeness in every form and, whilst it's got me into trouble in the past, I will challenge people 99% of the time, especially drunken oaves being overtly racist and offensive in kebab shops

Back to the thread though. John, Pammy, you're completely right, it is technically illegal to park on a derestricted road after sunset without side lights on, pointing in the "right" direction. I was thinking of specific motorway legislation, which I don't think there is!

Mea Culpa. Back to Blackstones Road Traffic Law for me...

 

[lexie]

I absolutely agree that people who run out of fuel deserve everything they get!!!

How hard can it be seeing the orange LED light on the cluster and a warning message in the MFD blinking away...

there is not allways a warning... our former W202 had the fuel tank replaced and because of wrong fitment, I ran out of fuel with still 25% of fuel on the meter and no warning light, the engine just died, along with steering assistance, breaking assistance, ABS, .... I was doing 140 km/h with loads of trafic, I had to aim between lorries while slowing down to get off the road

ofcourse in this case it was clearly stated there was plenty of warning

 

[hawk20]

Back to the thread though. John, Pammy, you're completely right, it is technically illegal to park on a derestricted road after sunset without side lights on, pointing in the "right" direction. I was thinking of specific motorway legislation, which I don't think there is!

Mea Culpa. Back to Blackstones Road Traffic Law for me...

To be nit-picky you are required to show 'parking lights' which can be just the outer front and rear 'side light'.

The interesting question is whether the hard shoulder counts as part of the public highway? Anyone know?

 

[fuzzer]

THis is news to me. Mobilo always covered you for running out of fuel.

IF this is another cutback , the dealers high service price to keep something the aa/rac can do better is really looking like the more attractive option.

They have to remember that mobilo is a breakdown service and the warranty you get with the car is for manuf defects. They are there to help you out of stupid situations of your making or not! The only thing mobilo won't recover you for is if youve been in an accident. However , in an accident you should still call them as they offer an accident management service and will get the localal mercedes approved bodyshop to recover you and look after the insurance company on your behalf etc.

Could someone with a slightly older vintage mercedes read their mobilo booklet to see if this is another condition cut under the current money saving measures?

 

[hawk20]

I set out the cover and problems with Mobilo on this thread: -
http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=33410&highlight=mobilo

Running out of fuel is covered on some cars , some of the time depending on the age of the car etc. Comnplex, confusing and needs improving by Mercedes.

Fuzzer you will find the details here. Running out of fuel (and other minor items) is covered but not forever.

 

[aka$h]

Im currently arguing this very point with MB. December of this year whilst on a trip to europe my dad filled petrol into the e270cdi, luckily i spotted him doing it but it was a little too late as the tank was almost full. It was just a case of draining the fuel and we would have been on our way.
Before leaving I check the details of Mobilolife that were in the car and it was fairly comprehensive. I decided to take AA cover on the CE but didnt on the E270.
The booklet states
"Four year comprehensive mobility
During the first four yeas of the cars life, if a minor mishap occurs such as the loss of keys, a flat battery, low oil or coolent levels, the use of incorrect fuel or tyre damage, Mercedes-Benz MobiloLife will provide assistance and keep you mobile.
It will even provide a can of fuel if your car runs out within 25 miles of an authorised Retailer. If a warranty repair that will take more than two hours becomes neccessary, collection and delivery of the car or alternative transport will be provided."

So it seems there is a lot of confusion as to what is covered and what isnt. I know its a mistake which is not MB's fault, but if you have written documentation stating that something is covered then it should be honoured.

 

[glojo]

The interesting question is whether the hard shoulder counts as part of the public highway? Anyone know?

AS far as I am aware a public highway stretches from 'hedgerow' to hedgerow. For those pedantics amongst us I would expect you can substitute wall for hedgerow, hence the offence of parking on the footpath.

I am not passing judgement here because I am as the same opinion on this issue, hence the thread

During the first four yeas of the cars life, if a minor mishap occurs such as the loss of keys, a flat battery, low oil or coolent levels, the use of incorrect fuel or tyre damage, Mercedes-Benz MobiloLife will provide assistance and keep you mobile.
It will even provide a can of fuel if your car runs out within 25 miles of an authorised Retailer. If a warranty repair that will take more than two hours becomes neccessary, collection and delivery of the car or alternative transport will be provided."

Can it not be argued that Mobilo provided the fuel, they just decided to charge for it? The interesting comment made by the technician was they did not charge if it was the fault of the car? With the greatest of respect to anyone that owns a motor vehicle there is surely no way w could blame the car if we accidentally put the wrong fuel in the tank? We recently had a Citroen Picasso as a courtesy car. The engine was as noisy as our 320CDI, but it was petrol! Lucky that wife sniffed before adding fuel

I posted this thread because I thought there was not a call out fee for any type of break-down service, I would never have argued over this point, but if this technician was wrong then he would never have been able to make the charge? The car owner was certainly NOT very happy about the situation and I wonder what would have happened if they refused to pay? Plus of course I wonder what the outcome would have been if the owner had been both civil, and polite?

John

 

[SimonsMerc]

It is only about £35 for the metal, oem fuel can that sits inside the spare wheel. Holds 5 litres IIRC which should be good for about 30 miles or so on the motorway at least.

Ooooh, part number please Shude. That sounds perfect.

I'm paranoid, and prefer to keep some diesel in the boot - in Germany at night you can actually end up much further from a petrol station than you realise. We had a close call a couple of years back at night when we started looking for a petrol station at 1/4 of a tank and only found an open one after over 120 miles! On that occasion I had a plastic 5l can in the back and if this last one (found by the GPS) was also closed I was going to stop and pour it in. But I no longer carry the plastic cans - they're illegal in Poland, and I've paid an on the spot fine there before, as cans there have to be metal. If there's a metal one that fits in the spare wheel that's perfect

-simon

 

[SimonsMerc]

As an aside, the AA consider running out of fuel to be a breakdown, and will come out for free. Round my way, the Police also consider it to be a breakdown - if you run out of fuel on the Target Roundabout on the A40, and block lots of rush hour traffic, they turn up and will happily tow you to the petrol station on the other side of the roundabout that you were trying to get to. *Phew*

-simon

 

[glojo]

As an aside, the AA consider running out of fuel to be a breakdown, and will come out for free. Round my way, the Police also consider it to be a breakdown - if you run out of fuel on the Target Roundabout on the A40, and block lots of rush hour traffic, they turn up and will happily tow you to the petrol station on the other side of the roundabout that you were trying to get to. *Phew*

-simon

I would respectfully argue that IF there is not any technical reason for running out of fuel, then the driver is guilty of crass stupidity WHY should these idiots be pandered to? On another thread I stated how we are too wishy, washy with our liberal atitudes, blow them I say I would like to see these drivers prosecuted for either driving without due care and attention, or without having reasonable consideration for other road users. If the guage goes defective on the day in question then fair enough, that is an excuse, but I just wonder how many vehicles are out there with defective gauges where the owner is too lazy to get the problem fixed. It makes me mad to think how any one could drive by a filling station with the fuel warning light on. I am not interested in the what ifs, or what about type scenario. If a driver runs out of fuel through their own negligence then why should they be spoilt for their own stupidity?

£184 might teach this individual a lesson?

John

 

[SimonsMerc]

I would respectfully argue that IF there is not any technical reason for running out of fuel, then the driver is guilty of crass stupidity WHY should these idiots be pandered to? On another thread I stated how we are too wishy, washy with our liberal atitudes, blow them I say I would like to see these drivers prosecuted for either driving without due care and attention, or without having reasonable consideration for other road users. If the guage goes defective on the day in question then fair enough, that is an excuse, but I just wonder how many vehicles are out there with defective gauges where the owner is too lazy to get the problem fixed. It makes me mad to think how any one could drive by a filling station with the fuel warning light on. I am not interested in the what ifs, or what about type scenario. If a driver runs out of fuel through their own negligence then why should they be spoilt for their own stupidity?

£184 might teach this individual a lesson?

John

Wow, aggressive ;-)

What's a technical reason, John? Mine was after being stuck in the mother of all traffic jams for a long while on the M25 - and I got to within half a roundabout of the nearest petrol station I know of! Is that a technical reason? I suppose I could have filled up when I had half a tank, to make sure I don't ever run the risk of being caught out?

My mother once got caught out by her car saying it had enough petrol for well over 100 miles, only for it to conk out on her 60 miles later. The car was saying that, and she simply didn't know that it was actually making an estimate based on previous usage which might be very different to the actual type of driving she's doing. Is that a technical reason?

A few years back in the snows it took me 14 hours to get from Peterborough to London. Some other folk in their cars ran out of petrol because they were trying to keep themselves or their kids warm. Is that a technical reason? Technically they could have frozen...

All I'm saying is, it happens. Often not due to stupidity, but due to things out of our control, or not realising that the station isn't 24/7, or simply not noticing. That's not stupidity, it's part of being human.

-simon

 

[Gollom]

I'm with SimonsMerc on this one. As I said, it happened to me. I took a calculated risk based on a) Missing the only ferry b) The readout saying I still had 40 miles to go - and that was based on my driving over 470 miles that day c) My experience of the car

Was it neglience in relying on the technical excellence of Mercedes-Benz? It clearly stated I had 40 miles left but actually took me less than 5 miles.

Yes, I was foolish. But I hardly think I was guilty of "crass stupidity" John. We have not met but I would hope you know me a little better than that by now

Hurt of Nelson

 

[glojo]

Wow, aggressive ;-)

What's a technical reason, John? Mine was after being stuck in the mother of all traffic jams for a long while on the M25 - and I got to within half a roundabout of the nearest petrol station I know of! Is that a technical reason? I suppose I could have filled up when I had half a tank, to make sure I don't ever run the risk of being caught out?

My mother once got caught out by her car saying it had enough petrol for well over 100 miles, only for it to conk out on her 60 miles later. The car was saying that, and she simply didn't know that it was actually making an estimate based on previous usage which might be very different to the actual type of driving she's doing. Is that a technical reason?

A few years back in the snows it took me 14 hours to get from Peterborough to London. Some other folk in their cars ran out of petrol because they were trying to keep themselves or their kids warm. Is that a technical reason? Technically they could have frozen...

All I'm saying is, it happens. Often not due to stupidity, but due to things out of our control, or not realising that the station isn't 24/7, or simply not noticing. That's not stupidity, it's part of being human.

-simon

Hi Simon,
Being stuck in a traffic jam and running out of petrol?

Would the Mobilo vehicle would suffer the same fate? I think we are creatures of habit and no one likes change or criticism. One person's being human is another person's stupidity. In your first example of running out of fuel because your in a traffic jam? I have problems understanding your point. Was the warning light on before the traffic jam? How many hours were you stuck in this jam? Surely our vehicles don't just run out of fuel and if your stationary for any length of time, then switch off the engine? If you run out of fuel in this fuel drinking traffic jam, then how comes all the other vehicles never run out? Why would you expect a Mobilo vehicle not to run out?

Regarding the Peterborough to London example, I cannot comment. The A1 is one of the country's main trunk routes, I cannot recall it being that badly blocked?? Common sense dictates that if we are expecting adverse weather conditions, we prepare for them? Why, why allow the fuel to get so low?

We NEVER ever let the fuel get lower than a quarter of a tank. In the 21st century does heavy snow that will BLOCK THE A1 just appear? I am not talking about blocking a side road or country lane. I'm sure that if you say the A1 was blocked then blocked it was.

Sorry if my previous post appeared to be from 'Mr Angry' I simply believe it irresponsible to drive a motor vehicle for extended periods with the fuel warning light on. I simply ask WHY allow the fuel to get so low? Is there a contest within the mind of individuals to see how many miles they can get to a tank of fuel? Whoops (just remembered a different thread). Running out of fuel on a busy road is dangerous, dangerous for the driver, dangerous for the occupants and dangerous for other road users. I say dangerous because that is what I mean. If you are in the offside lane of a busy motorway\dual carriageway, then it doesn't need me to highlight the potential incidents.

I am solely talking about those that allow this to happen and they are in control of the situation. If the gauge breaks whilst on a journey, then any sensible driver would hopefully refuel more frequently??

Regards,
John the olde grump

 

[SimonsMerc]

Hey again,

My point is that often it's just being hit with the unexpected. With my traffic jam, I knew I had easily enough petrol for the journey home, but I didn't realise that a three hour stop-start traffic jam would knock me past it. It happens - wasn't much I could do about it. Sure, I let my car get lower than 1/4 of a tank - well sorry, I'm not quite at fastidious as you are about it. But to say it was my stupidity that meant I couldn't predict an unexpected three hour traffic jam is a bit much.

As for the drive back from Peterborough, I think it was around 2004 or so, but it definitely happened. People were actually overnighting on the A1. The only reason I got home was because I happened to have snow chains in the boot of my car. Others weren't so lucky. Most importantly, this was completely unpredicted by the weathermen, who were suggesting perhaps a light flutter of rain. By the time the authorities realised what was going on and got the grit lorries and snow ploughs out, it was too late - there was gridlock on many of the main routes into London and the whole of North London itself. It was a scary 14 hour journey, which included at one point a drive up a narrow single track road with ever worsening conditions until I saw a light up ahead of me, which turned out to be the point at which a snow plough had stopped unable to continue. I reversed out by some miracle and used another route.

Either way, again, I think calling the people stuck overnight there stupid for not having enough fuel is a bit rich. How can you plan for something like that? You expect that you have enough fuel, or you plan on stopping somewhere that you know has fuel, and you get the unexpected - the road just jams full of traffic and freezes over, or the station you expected to stop at was burnt down in a fire, or anything else unexpected happens, or hell you just plain forgot to refill and by the time you realise it then it's too late. It happens - it's happened to me and to many others. It's not malicious or stupid - it's just human.

I do agree about broken gauges. But honestly, I've never had a broken gauge nor known anyone who has or even had anyone tell me of anyone who has - I doubt it's a common occurrence!

-simon

(As an aside, on that A1(M) freeze over, some of the acts of human kindness I witnessed really restored my faith in the universe. Truckers letting families with kids into their cabins to keep warm, a guy with a van load of crisps phoning his boss and convincing him to let him give them out free as "marketing", Police walking up and down with hot drinks in thermos flasks and distributing blankets. But boy am I glad I got out of there!).

Hi Simon,
Being stuck in a traffic jam and running out of petrol?

Would the Mobilo vehicle would suffer the same fate? I think we are creatures of habit and no one likes change or criticism. One person's being human is another person's stupidity. In your first example of running out of fuel because your in a traffic jam? I have problems understanding your point. Was the warning light on before the traffic jam? How many hours were you stuck in this jam? Surely our vehicles don't just run out of fuel and if your stationary for any length of time, then switch off the engine? If you run out of fuel in this fuel drinking traffic jam, then how comes all the other vehicles never run out? Why would you expect a Mobilo vehicle not to run out?

Regarding the Peterborough to London example, I cannot comment. The A1 is one of the country's main trunk routes, I cannot recall it being that badly blocked?? Common sense dictates that if we are expecting adverse weather conditions, we prepare for them? Why, why allow the fuel to get so low?

We NEVER ever let the fuel get lower than a quarter of a tank. In the 21st century does heavy snow that will BLOCK THE A1 just appear? I am not talking about blocking a side road or country lane. I'm sure that if you say the A1 was blocked then blocked it was.

Sorry if my previous post appeared to be from 'Mr Angry' I simply believe it irresponsible to drive a motor vehicle for extended periods with the fuel warning light on. I simply ask WHY allow the fuel to get so low? Is there a contest within the mind of individuals to see how many miles they can get to a tank of fuel? Whoops (just remembered a different thread). Running out of fuel on a busy road is dangerous, dangerous for the driver, dangerous for the occupants and dangerous for other road users. I say dangerous because that is what I mean. If you are in the offside lane of a busy motorway\dual carriageway, then it doesn't need me to highlight the potential incidents.

I am solely talking about those that allow this to happen and they are in control of the situation. If the gauge breaks whilst on a journey, then any sensible driver would hopefully refuel more frequently??

Regards,
John the olde grump

 

[glojo]

Yes, I was foolish. But I hardly think I was guilty of "crass stupidity" John. We have not met but I would hope you know me a little better than that by now

Hurt of Nelson

Crass stupidity was indeed OTT and a poor choice of word

Many apologies

Regards
John

 

[Gollom]

As for the drive back from Peterborough, I think it was around 2004 or so, but it definitely happened. People were actually overnighting on the A1

Was 2005 - 2 of our guys took 11 hours to get home to Dartford from Nottingham and 1 took 15 hours to get to Bristol

 

[glojo]

Was 2005 - 2 of our guys took 11 hours to get home to Dartford from Nottingham and 1 took 15 hours to get to Bristol

I don't want any of you lot emigrating to the English Riviera. We do have snow on the moors, but we have weather warnings which attract sight seers

The A1 being blocked must have been bad

John