Park Assists Disabled on all new Mercedes help!

[wongl]

If the feature itself is not illegal, MB (the dealer) is bound to provide it if it sold a car with it

if the underlying technology of that feature is illegal, MB is still in breach of contract for failing to provide that feature. this would not be enforcing an illegal contract, it would be MB failing to provide a legal feature which compiles with applicable law

Depends on the T&C on the sales contract.

 

[wongl]

So setting aside the obvious commercial element of this dispute, it will be interesting to see if MB's 'legal' arguments actually stand up to scrutiny.

Indeed. Luckily UK disputes will now be resolved by UK courts and not go to the European courts!

 

[TommyTroot]

Still waiting on a decision from the Motor Ombudsman

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , call me a synic but if all car companies are turning off Park Assist I could understand the problem !

In theory you could go into a Mercedes service centre with the all singing total electronic packages fitted to your car and come out will a basic electronic package.(not ideal)

I would suspect that an underlining issue is at the heart of the problem and Mercedes are taking a responsible action to keep cars safe.

The trouble is now that with the antics that car companies have employed in the past people have little faith in them now.

 

[Freak]

Hi,

I raised a similar question a few weeks ago after picking up a new C63S and it looks like this has been disabled. I've been going back and forth with the dealer with videos demonstrating how this isn't available in command and there's nothing disabled that I can find.

What is the latest on this as it seems crazy to have this specc'd in a vehicle at a cost and not having a viable solution at the point of sale, in my opinion it should either be withdrawn as an option or some form of update from MB and whether they can change the sensors to meet the regulation or they offer some compensation to owners unknowingly affected by this change.

I've asked my dealer to confirm whether this has been disabled and what can be done about this... Not much I suspect.

 

[chic0821]

You are allowed/able to drive a Tesla whilst sitting in the passenger seat or the back & kill yourself & others but not allowed to use self parking at 2 or 3 mph.

 

[JBN]

As has been variously noted along the course of this thread:

1. The basis of the changes is United Nations Regulation 79 PDF here - not the EU, not anyone else.
2. The changes became effective in 2021 in order to pave the way for Level 3 Autonomous Vehicles to be permitted in Europe and elsewhere (Report here)
3. The impact on Mercedes-Benz: anything below the S Class does not have fine enough sensors to comply with the new regulations.

I received a new C Class (build date January 2020) with parking and driving assistance plus packages. Two features: self-parking as advertised, and automatic lane changing on motorway when cruise control engaged - just signal and the car does the rest. February this year the car was written off after a collision at 80 kmph on a priority road with a car that failed to stop when emerging from a side road. A near identical model (build date December 2020) has the same packages but both of these semi-autonomous features are missing, and the VIN decoder includes an entry 8B8 Active Parking Assist Reduction (UN R79).

That Mercedes-Benz can be held culpable for compliance with UN Regulations for the Automotive Industry, I think not. That their dealers appear to be woefully ill-informed about the changes - certainly, but the likely redress is highly questionable. Can the features be (re)enabled... I guess, unlikely.

 

[Fastcar155]

As has been variously noted along the course of this thread:

1. The basis of the changes is United Nations Regulation 79 PDF here - not the EU, not anyone else.
2. The changes became effective in 2021 in order to pave the way for Level 3 Autonomous Vehicles to be permitted in Europe and elsewhere (Report here)
3. The impact on Mercedes-Benz: anything below the S Class does not have fine enough sensors to comply with the new regulations.

I received a new C Class (build date January 2020) with parking and driving assistance plus packages. Two features: self-parking as advertised, and automatic lane changing on motorway when cruise control engaged - just signal and the car does the rest. February this year the car was written off after a collision at 80 kmph on a priority road with a car that failed to stop when emerging from a side road. A near identical model (build date December 2020) has the same packages but both of these semi-autonomous features are missing, and the VIN decoder includes an entry 8B8 Active Parking Assist Reduction (UN R79).

That Mercedes-Benz can be held culpable for compliance with UN Regulations for the Automotive Industry, I think not. That their dealers appear to be woefully ill-informed about the changes - certainly, but the likely redress is highly questionable. Can the features be (re)enabled... I guess, unlikely.

Hi , I can only pass comment regarding the MB dealership I purchased my car from.Thet did some service work on my car and this alteration was forebidden by MB.Reply : How should know MB told us nothing.

 

[markjay]

There's still the commercial element, where something has been sold but not supplied. MB should have done the right thing and actively engage with the customers to resolve this in one way or another (e.g. ofer some sort of compensation), but instead it seems that they have chosen to keep very quiet about it and only pay-out to those who persevere and actually take them to court (or to the Ombudsman). Perhaps they worked-out that it will be cheaper overall to it this way?

 

[JBN]

I am not defending Mercedes-Benz, and I have no vested interest. I was especially p******d off that a car eight months old with 14,000 km got written off by an idiot, with the saving grace being that no one was seriously hurt, and replaced with something that is not exactly the same. Am I annoyed at losing the functionality? Yes. I am just trying to stick to the facts. Our experiences probably differ anyway since MB Switzerland is not MB UK, although nothing was said or done about this to me by the dealer here. As all of them are importers I doubt that they saw a discount from the factory so they are in all likelihood going to sidestep the responsibility.

 

[fredfoxuk2]

As has been variously noted along the course of this thread:

1. The basis of the changes is United Nations Regulation 79 PDF here - not the EU, not anyone else.
2. The changes became effective in 2021 in order to pave the way for Level 3 Autonomous Vehicles to be permitted in Europe and elsewhere (Report here)
3. The impact on Mercedes-Benz: anything below the S Class does not have fine enough sensors to comply with the new regulations.

I received a new C Class (build date January 2020) with parking and driving assistance plus packages. Two features: self-parking as advertised, and automatic lane changing on motorway when cruise control engaged - just signal and the car does the rest. February this year the car was written off after a collision at 80 kmph on a priority road with a car that failed to stop when emerging from a side road. A near identical model (build date December 2020) has the same packages but both of these semi-autonomous features are missing, and the VIN decoder includes an entry 8B8 Active Parking Assist Reduction (UN R79).

That Mercedes-Benz can be held culpable for compliance with UN Regulations for the Automotive Industry, I think not. That their dealers appear to be woefully ill-informed about the changes - certainly, but the likely redress is highly questionable. Can the features be (re)enabled... I guess, unlikely.

Not sure point 3 is correct, it works on my CLA 200. It was delivered date of 12th December 2020, I collected it on the 8th January 2021.
It has the option "8B6 Park Assist with cross-traffic function (UN R79)"

 

[JBN]

What works? Lane changing or self-parking, or both?

 

[JBA35]

I just bought an AMG A35 and this has happened to me also. Was due to take delivery of the car last week and after a week of no communication I called Mercedes to find out where my car was... only to find out the order has been placed on hold so they can "update" my car to remove the automatic park assist feature. As the feature is listed on my order sheet and included in the list price it appears I am now paying for a feature that is no longer present on the car. I'm due to speak to the sales manager tomorrow to try and get some compensation as there's no way I'm paying for this feature when I don't have it. Can anyone tell me how much I can argue should be deducted from the list price? I have no idea how much the active park assist should cost.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I just bought an AMG A35 and this has happened to me also. Was due to take delivery of the car last week and after a week of no communication I called Mercedes to find out where my car was... only to find out the order has been placed on hold so they can "update" my car to remove the automatic park assist feature. As the feature is listed on my order sheet and included in the list price it appears I am now paying for a feature that is no longer present on the car. I'm due to speak to the sales manager tomorrow to try and get some compensation as there's no way I'm paying for this feature when I don't have it. Can anyone tell me how much I can argue should be deducted from the list price? I have no idea how much the active park assist should cost.

If your car has not yet been supplied and paid for, then you’re in a much stronger position than others - you could simply choose not to proceed, and whilst I’m not a legal expert I think you would be within your rights to do so if the car being delivered is not as ordered.

If it’s a cost option or a significant part of a cost option package then I would be surprised if the dealer charges you for it. If they do then the ability to walk away from the deal gives you more leverage to negotiate that the cost be removed, and potentially an additional discount too.

If they don’t reach an agreeable reduction in price, just walk away from and find another. That will of course be inconvenient for you too so you need to factor that into whether to walk or not. Being able to gives you an advantage though.

 

[Peter S]

Found this:

I can’t see anyone else having referred back to this post by markjay, but apologies if they have. It reads as if the hands on / and off detection is the cause of the issue doesn’t it? So perhaps some MB models aren’t fitted with this particular feature, resulting in the non-compliance with the new regs.

My 2019 E350 has the driving assistance pack, with Lane Assist and Active Cruise. It also has Active Park Assist, which works reasonably well, though has a tendency to park a little further from the curb than I would, and is a little more conservative in its assessment of whether the space is big enough than I would be. It all works in my car, as it should given its age. My car does have hands on / hands off detection though, because with the driving assistance aids activated it will drive semi autonomously for a period of time, then remind you with a bong and a graphic of the steering wheel with red hands to put your hands back on the wheel. If you don’t it deactivates. You can leave it for around 30 seconds before it’ll do that, though it does seem to depend on the type of road as it feels as if it goes further on straight roads before the warning sounds.

It is an impressive system though...it‘ll brake for corners, steer and accelerate. I like to get a move on when driving, but even to me the car takes a relatively sporty approach to the speed it’ll take a corner. Roundabouts though it insists on doing at 10mph no matter what size the roundabout is!

 

[Alfie]

Not sure point 3 is correct, it works on my CLA 200. It was delivered date of 12th December 2020, I collected it on the 8th January 2021.
It has the option "8B6 Park Assist with cross-traffic function (UN R79)"

Quite possibly your car was built before September 1st.

 

[Deleted member 159894]

@JBD

Are you able to shed some light on this?

 

[Freak]

So the supplying dealer has suggested that I take it to my local dealer for investigation, they will arrange this on my behalf.

I've had the car since 26/3 and highlighted the issue to them several weeks ago, the whole purchasing process was done remotely due to Covid so I'm wondering what my options are here after I assume my local dealer will conclude it's been disabled.

Could I reject the car, distance selling rules perhaps?
Could I ask for compensation of sorts as I've paid for something I haven't received?
Anything else?

 

[JBN]

I can’t see anyone else having referred back to this post by markjay, but apologies if they have. It reads as if the hands on / and off detection is the cause of the issue doesn’t it? So perhaps some MB models aren’t fitted with this particular feature, resulting in the non-compliance with the new regs.

My 2019 E350 has the driving assistance pack, with Lane Assist and Active Cruise. It also has Active Park Assist, which works reasonably well, though has a tendency to park a little further from the curb than I would, and is a little more conservative in its assessment of whether the space is big enough than I would be. It all works in my car, as it should given its age. My car does have hands on / hands off detection though, because with the driving assistance aids activated it will drive semi autonomously for a period of time, then remind you with a bong and a graphic of the steering wheel with red hands to put your hands back on the wheel. If you don’t it deactivates. You can leave it for around 30 seconds before it’ll do that, though it does seem to depend on the type of road as it feels as if it goes further on straight roads before the warning sounds.

It is an impressive system though...it‘ll brake for corners, steer and accelerate. I like to get a move on when driving, but even to me the car takes a relatively sporty approach to the speed it’ll take a corner. Roundabouts though it insists on doing at 10mph no matter what size the roundabout is!

Per the links in my post #187 above, it is about the sensitivity of external detection not whether your hands are on the wheel. My facelift C Class assembled in December 2020 still warns me if my hands are not on the wheel while cruise control is engaged, but all semi-autonomy is missing.

 

[Peter S]

Ah that’s a shame. I’ll be very disappointed if an over the air update takes the functionality away from mine.

Though I think the park assist has changed recently, unless I’m imagining it. I’m sure it used to park itself when you accepted the space. But now it wants you to engage reverse. Either way it then steers, brakes, changes gear and accelerates again my itself, which is more than our Mini Clubman does. That has park assist, but it requires you to brake and change gear. Bit perhaps I‘m confusing the 2. Certainly the MINI is a neater parker - closer to the curb and central in the space