Service sequence for W211 E320 CDi (and more)

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nickgee

New Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
18
Location
London, UK
Car
W211 E320 CDi
Hi all, I'm new to both this forum and MB in general.

I've had my shiney E320 CDi for about a month now, and it's quite clearly going to be a fabulous car! :D

I've got a few questions, and never seem to get time during the day to call my local dealer - and I'm not sure that y'all aren't a better source of information anyway...

My questions:

1. How long does this engine take to "bed in"? Does the engine get quieter/more economical as this happens?

2. Is there a typical service sequence for this car (eg: A, B, A, C) and if so, what is it?

3. When I was choosing this car I'm sure I read about a feature called Tailback Assist where the car would automatically apply the brakes in slow moving traffic if you lifted your foot off the accelerator. However, I can find no reference to this, only SBS Hold - which is very useful. Does it exist?


Thanks in advance...
 
I'm sure you will find plenty of help here; I know I have.

nickgee said:
1. How long does this engine take to "bed in"? Does the engine get quieter/more economical as this happens?
The economy on mine improved by a few mpg over he first 2000 or so miles but I can't say I have noticed any change in sound (although mine is only the 220 which is noisier than your 320).

nickgee said:
2. Is there a typical service sequence for this car (eg: A, B, A, C) and if so, what is it??
It seems to depend how you drive it as it might skip an A.

nickgee said:
3. When I was choosing this car I'm sure I read about a feature called Tailback Assist where the car would automatically apply the brakes in slow moving traffic if you lifted your foot off the accelerator. However, I can find no reference to this, only SBS Hold - which is very useful. Does it exist?
It appears they have abandoned this feature in later models, as mine doesn't have it either. The car I test drove had it but I did find it strange and didn't like it much. I am so used to lifting off the gas to 'coast' gently that I found myself stopping when I didn't need to. I possibly would have got used to it and may even have begun to like it but as I haven't got it I just like to remember how bad it was :) .
 
Depends on how you drive but run in can take up to 15,000 miles. However, by 5,000 should be OK. Yes, noise does reduce, performance will improve and mpg increase.

Service interval varies. Mine jumped from an A to C. Think service interval is now "normalised" at 20,000km (12500 miles) and will vary up or down around that depending on use.

The SBC Stop feature is useful in really slow stop/start snail pace traffic but otherwise I never use it. End up with foot hovering over brake wondering if it is going to stop in time. It always does but usually a few yards short of where you would want to! SBC hold is great though.

Enjoy your car!
 
Thanks guys.

Good news on the mpg front, I'm getting about 33mpg at the moment on average, and perhaps can look forward to 35mpg in a while.

I'm hoping that the engine quiets down a bit, since to my ears (having come from a petrol BMW) it sounds a bit agricultural (especially from cold) and I don't remember the test drive vehicle as being so noisy. But that car had 10k miles on it.

I pretty sure that from new the car was indicating 12k miles before a B service, now it's saying 14k before a C service, having done 2.5k now.

Does that seem possible, and is it a good thing?
 
nickgee said:
Thanks guys.

I'm hoping that the engine quiets down a bit
I pretty sure that from new the car was indicating 12k miles before a B service, now it's saying 14k before a C service, having done 2.5k now.

Does that seem possible, and is it a good thing?


Yes it will become more silent. At first you get a bit of a tinny sort of noise which I was told would reduce as some carbon built up inside the exhaust just aft of the turbo. Sure enough it did. Fuel matters: run it on BP Ultimate, stick some Millers Diesel Power Plus in as well and performance will improve and combustion becomes less harsh

Service interval is much the same as mine. A "C" service should not amount to that much more than a "B" service.

Only blight I have suffered over 15 months has been a very small diesel leak and a few others have experienced this as well. No big drama but an irritation. Mine was down to something really, really simple: iffy spring clips on the low pressure supply pipe. Hopefully this is sorted on yours but if you do ever get a strong diesel pong from the engine compartment best thing to do is call out Mobilo ASAP. Only takes a tiny seepage to stink and if you leave it diesel residue gets spread about a bit and is a pain to get rid of.

Mobilo should be able to fix it on the spot :)
 
I will go along with what has been said about improvements in mpg as it runs in.

My first service was a B at 17000 now shows D at 27000. Depends how you drive and long or short runs etc.
 
Mines on nearly 38k and seems to be getting noisier and the fuel consumption is struggling to get above 30mpg. In saying that though it is nearly due a service, which I must book, and I'm running round like an idiot at the moment so that probably isn't helping the fuel consumption.

Still a terrific car though and I wouldn't be without it:D
 
We have the 320CDI and a short while ago we were given a new demonstrator E-class petrol 200 Kompressor, both my wife and daughter mentioned how much noisier the engine was compared to our own vehicle.

Servicing has been dealt with.

SBC Stop, if it is not listed in your manual then perhaps new vehicles do not have it? Mine is a January 04 buid and it has both SBC settings.

I don't think however that Stop has ever beenused apart from to check that it works.

You can only activate this option at speeds lower than 10 mph. To activate SBC Stop move the cruise control lever either 'up' or 'down'. To deactivate push the speed control lever away from you, or pull it towards you. You can also de-activate it by pressing the cruise control lever.

As stated you must either be travelling at less than 10mph or stationary, plus either in 'D' or 'N'.

Good luck,
John
 
Thanks for all your comments and advice.

John, I'll give your instructions for SBC Stop a go tomorrow. I think that Ady is right, and the feature has been discontinued, since I didn't see any reference to it in the manual. Mind you, it is almost 500 pages long!

Once again, thanks!
 
nickgee said:
I think that Ady is right, and the feature has been discontinued, since I didn't see any reference to it in the manual. Mind you, it is almost 500 pages long!


Hi Nick,
I suspect you and Ady are right. My manual is 536 pages in length and SBC Stop is on page 243.

There is also the COMAND manual which is a further 212 pages in length.

To date I have only heard of one person that has regularly used SBC Stop as a regular feature, so it has never been that popular.

I wonder what else has been 'left off'?

Regards,
John
 
Originally Posted by glojo
I wonder what else has been 'left off'?
The puddle lights under the door mirrors is one that I was dissapoined by. I was looking forward to them as it is pitch black in our office carpark. The lighting provided by the fogs, etc help but they don't light up the curb by the side of the car and I often trip on it. :mad:
 
Ady said:
The puddle lights under the door mirrors is one that I was dissapoined by. I was looking forward to them as it is pitch black in our office carpark. The lighting provided by the fogs, etc help but they don't light up the curb by the side of the car and I often trip on it. :mad:

Morning Ady,
You just beat me to it, I was going to ask that very question. They are a nice feature which I have always looked on as an enhancement and is perhaps a backward step.

Has your vehicle got the air vent in the centre arm rest? I believe it is connected to the same temperature as the centre vents. Handy for perhaps keeping certain items cool in our 'hot' summer months.

Activating charcoal filter.
Have you got an option for activating this? It can be used in situations where the driver deems it necessary to re-circulate the air within the car.

REST feature
This option can be used in the more 'Northern' areas of our country that have colder weather :cool: . With the engine switched off you can still heat the car for up to 30 minutes using residual heat. Like the previous option it is operated by pressing a switch that has an indicator light that activates when the system is operating.

PLEASE, please do not think I am trying to boast, brag by asking these questions. I am simply curious to see what Mercedes-Benz have 'omitted' in newer models and perhaps 'forgotten' to tell customers.

So our list is:

Definite
Puddle Lights

Query:
Air con Centre Arm Rest
Activating Charcoal Filter
REST feature

Take care,
John
 
glojo said:
Morning Ady,
Query:
Air con Centre Arm Rest
Activating Charcoal Filter
REST feature

Air con in centre arm rest: Yes.

Activating charcoal filter: Not sure. It has the recirculating mode but no menion in the book about activating the filter. How is it done on yours?
I can close / re-open all the windows by holding down the recirculate buton for 2 seconds :cool: .

REST feature: Yes.
 
Ady said:
Air con in centre arm rest: Yes.

Activating charcoal filter: Not sure. It has the recirculating mode but no menion in the book about activating the filter. How is it done on yours?
I can close / re-open all the windows by holding down the recirculate buton for 2 seconds :cool: .

REST feature: Yes.


Hi Ady,
Activating Charcoal Filter:
I have dived into the huge reference book and it appears that this option is only available on the Thermotronic system (4 Zone) It is switched on\off by the button next to the REST one on the Thermatic system. It has a 'solid' white arrow to the left of a silhouetted arrow, both pointing to the right.

There are indeed some brilliant features on the E-class and at long last it looks like our Easy Entrance\Exit feature is working correctly.

Bye for now,
John
 
I have the Thermotronic Climate 4 Zone system, but no charcoal filter. Just an 'AC Off' option. No idea why - and its something I've asked about.

Clarky.
 
Just checked.

I have Luxury Climate Control.

Thermotronic isn't an option on the list ! I wonder if its another thing that was dropped ?
 
saorbust said:
Just checked.

I have Luxury Climate Control.

Thermotronic isn't an option on the list ! I wonder if its another thing that was dropped ?

Morning saorbust,
I think I understand what you are saying. As we both know, there are two types of air conditioning. The standard and the 'Luxury' or Thermotronic\4 Zone. The feature we are refering to, comes with the 4 zone, or perhaps should we say used to come with the 4 Zone.

Where the standard air conditioning has the AC Off button I have the button that I described in my earlier post.

All these items are well documented in my manual, (page 202 refers) but once again it appears that this has suffered in the course of time.

Good luck,
John
 
Hi John,

I have the luxury 4 zone climate control. Check the pictures of my car on the thread (http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9931) - its clearly visible. However it doesn't have the charcoal filter.

I think they have three levels of air con -

Standard
Luxury (std on E500 and above)
Thermotronic (which I can no longer see on the options list, and wasn't on the options list for our car at time of ordering) - has this been discontinued ? As you rightly say - this appears to be a 'used to be option'.

Clarky.
 
saorbust said:
Hi John,

I have the luxury 4 zone climate control. Check the pictures of my car on the thread (http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9931) - its clearly visible. However it doesn't have the charcoal filter.

I think they have three levels of air con -

Standard
Luxury (std on E500 and above)
Thermotronic (which I can no longer see on the options list, and wasn't on the options list for our car at time of ordering) - has this been discontinued ? As you rightly say - this appears to be a 'used to be option'.

Clarky.

Hi,
There is now no doubt in my mind that your vehicle does NOT have the same 'Luxury' Climate Control as my vehicle.

Both you and I have specified exactly the same option, but I have an 'extra' facility that has now quite clearly been removed.

So,
No Puddle Lights
No SBC Stop
No Charcoal 'thingie'

I have attached a picture of my manual which highlights the page and the picture of the switch.

I do not have the switch 'AC off'. That is where this switch is located.

Fingers crossed that I can post this message.

Regards,
John
 
Interesting thread. What with dropping these features, and MB making the latest E320CDi engine much less economical, it seems to me the perfect car would be around John's car's age! Earlier car's like mine and Brian's didn't have SBS Hold or the option of command.
 

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