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Towing with an A207 E350 CDi Cabrio

SoftTopWilko

New Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Messages
17
Location
UK
Car
2013 E350 CDI Bluetec Convertible
Does anyone have experience of towing with an E Class coupe or cabriolet diesel? I am specifically trying to establish what, if any, mods are needed when towing a caravan.

I bought my 2013 model just under twelve months ago specifically to tow a caravan, checking firstly that it was type approved and had sufficient towing capacity for the caravan we wish to tow. I had a towbar and 13 pin vehicle specific wiring fitted by my regular towbar company who went to great lengths to find a bar which would suit my AMG body kit with no bumper cut, even coming to my house to take measurements from the car. They found a detachable towbar which suits and is type approved and fitted it for me.

I now have two problems. Our local independent MB garage says they do not have access to the computer to activate the towing relay, and our local MB dealer will not do it as they did not fit the towbar. In addition whilst reading the owners handbook I'm sure I read somewhere that modifications may be needed depending on the trailer being towed etc.

With these issues in mind I emailed MB Customer Services asking what if any mods were needed and where I can get the towing relay activated. There initial reply was that they do not recommend retro fitting towbars and therefore could not comment on either point. Having gone backwards and forwards with Customer Services up to and including the CEO's office their stance has changed to "we do not recommend towing a trailer with the E350 cabriolet and cannot offer advice on using it as a towcar". This is despite the VIN showing a gross train weight and the handbook listing towing capacities for the car, even nose weight limit and rear axle loads when towing a trailer, and the fact that our local MB main dealer quoted to fir a tow bar to the vehicle.

So I am now at an impasse.

Is it standard that independents don't have access to activate the towing preperation (I think it is called code 550), if I keep calling around might I find one who can, and what mods if any have people made to these cars when towing?

Any advice would be much appreciated. I really like the car but my wife is quickly reaching the opinion we should sell it and buy a BMW 435d x-Drive

Any help would be much appreciated.
 
Many independents have online access to MB Germany, required for coding retrofits whereabouts are you?
 
Short answer: try asking the fitter who fitted the towbar whether they can activate the electrics, many can. If your fitter can’t then phone around a few other fitters as they may be more likely to do it than the average Mercedes main dealer.

Towbar fitters fit towbars on many Mercedes every year, whereas your main dealer very likely haven’t even fit one - if a customer asks and is prepared to pay more than a fitter would, then the dealer will outsource the fitting to a specialist, which likely includes coding the electrics.

As a result, and bearing in mind that Mercedes and your main dealer don’t know who did what to the vehicle electrics, then I’m not surprised that they are unwilling to take on the risk coding the electrics. There’s risk that it will not be straight forward, they don’t usually do it, and there’s little financial gain.

Being a convertible I’m surprised it’s type approved for towing but even more so because it has an AMG styling, however it sounds like you’ve already confirmed the position there. A few years ago I contacted umpteen fitters and towbar manufacturers for quotes to retrofit a towbar on a Mercedes ML (SUV) and the first question was “Does it have AMG bumpers?” and if the answer was “Yes” then the computer said no - the records of every manufacturer and every fitter said it was not possible.

The actual position for the ML was that cars with AMG styling kits were NOT type approved where as AMGs were type approved. It took a lot of effort to get a reputable fitter, manufacturer and Mercedes to recognise that the records were incorrect but I did. Records were update, but have since been reverted!

Good luck getting it sorted!
 
I'm in North West Leicestershire, so quite handy for Leicester / Derby / Nottingham / Nuneaton / Burton / Tamworth hence do have a lot of MB indies reasonably local so I'll start a ring around. I have already contacted the company who fitted the bar and they cannot code it, but have sent me the instructions for doing so. It is literally plug in, access circuit xyz, activate setting abc, disconnect and away you go. The relay works as in supplying lighting etc to the van it's just things like deactivating rear fog lamps and parking sensors with a trailer attached, and the all important bulb failure system which needs to be done.

We deliberately chose the E class as it's one of the few genuine cabriolets, as in rag tops rather than retractable tin tops that can tow a decent sized caravan. Saab 9-3's could but they are a bit long in the tooth now and good late examples are getting quite expensive. This car was a year or so older than we normally buy but we had quite a specific list of options we wanted to have, plus a preferred colour choice so there were not too many options available. It's a one owner, low miles full history car so we were happy. The E350 with it's manufacturer 1800kg limit and 1900kg plus kerb weight means I can pull my 1600kg twin axle well within the cars "supposed" capacity and even fully laden it falls within the Caravan Club and other organisations 85% max gross / kerb weight recommendation. The only thing which is a bit low is the nose weight which at 75kg max could do with being higher, but we don't actually load the van above 1500kg anyway so at 75kg it is 5% of actual laden weight which is considered acceptable, and being twin axle it is more stable than a single anyway.

Type approval for towing can be a bit of a minefield but MB manage to make it a total war zone. Body styling kits, for example have no effect on a cars type approval so a car with similar engine power, suspension and braking capacity should be type approved across all models in the range regardless of what body styling is attached. It can of course make a difference to towbar fit as it may obstruct the bar or ball making it unsuitable or requiring of modification such as bumper cuts, but it should still be approved.

I don't think MB's technical department really know what they are talking about, a problem I have never encountered before when dealing with JLR, Audi and BMW or even Renault with the old Espace. The 4x4 is due for renewal this year, in fact it's overdue but we were waiting for the GLS to reach the three year old mark which is the age we tend to buy used, but our experience with Mercedes over this car probably means that this, my seventh Merc will be the last. We are thinking of replacing our current mud plugger with something a bit smaller now, perhaps an XC60 or even a Range Rover Evoque, though I'm not sure I am ready for a return to Land Rover's legendary unreliability. There are already lots of horror stories around the web about failed diffs, flywheels and clutches on relatively new, low mileage cars. Not something you want to hear on a car which will be used for towing.
 
Just to add that physical mods. for towing are pretty much unheard of these days (e.g. in the past supplemental coolers were sometimes fitted, but I've never heard of anything like this with a modern MB), and that with some cars the coding can link to the ESP (so it reacts differently when the car knows it is towing). So worth having it done. Good luck - hope you get it resolved.
 
We had to have, or at least were advised to have a trans cooler fitted on the Espace as it didn't have a real cooler, just air cooled via fins on the sump. For my own peace of mind I am thinking of having the uprated cooling fan fitted to the Merc. I can source an original equipment model from the manufacturer in Germany at just under 300, and our local garage in the village will fit it.

I just find the different messages from MB so frustrating.
 
I had a towbar on my 2010 e350 cdi Cabrio. the supplier - North West Towbars in Stockport coded the electrics to the car ...

The relay works as in supplying lighting etc to the van it's just things like deactivating rear fog lamps and parking sensors with a trailer attached, and the all important bulb failure system which needs to be done.

all of this worked. They supplied an electrics kit with the towbar and coded it to the car.
 
I can't answer your question but I still have a 2012 E-coupé/cabriolet brochure which I think will be the same model as yours albeit, as a 2013 car, yours might be the facelift model.

Towbars are listed under the options section, option number 550, however, listed as Not Available for the Sport models (ie 'AMG' body styling models), only shown for the SE. Whether that's purely down to the bumper shape or whether they're homolgated separately, I don't know, as they're not exactly the same, as a 350 SE will not have the cross-drilled front discs, other things being the same. It was 'please discuss with your Retailer any specific electrical towing requirements'

It could be that the MB dealer doesn't want to do it because their computer might show it not being a 'listed option', liability issues etc.. I'm surprised that it's not simply a case of connecting to STAR.
 
According to the instructions I have been given it seems to be just that, connect to star and activate code 550.

I would be interested to know if the brochure you have lists technical specs, and if so does it show a maximum towing weight for the E350 BlueTec Cabriolet?
 
The brochure is dated/effective 1 June 2012.

It lists the 350CDi but it's referred to as E350 BlueEfficiency. I can't recall now but the BlueTec terminology might have come in with the facelift norvwhether BlueTec meant it had AdBlue. Either way, I can't see it altering the weight figures much, if at all.

For the E350 CDi cabriolet, figures (in kgs) are:
Kerbweight 1,865
Perm GVW. 2,315
Load capacity 390 (soft top down 300)
Towing capacity - unbraked - 750
Towing capacity - braked - 1,800

If it's a petrol 350 cabriolet, towing figures are identical but


As an aside, I know that mudflaps were only available on the SE, not for the 'Sport', and that was simply down to the bumper profile.
 

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