W211 Comand Sat-Nav Fault

[DieselE]

A couple of days ago, I was following a route set up in my Sat-Nav when suddenly the system decided I was off-road. From then on, the system decided that the car was located roughly 120 miles South West of its actual position. Driving back from London on the M40 was interesting as Comand entered the English Channel somewhere south of Dorchester!

The car is still under warranty and also covered by Service Plus so payment is fortunately not a worry. It's more a comment by my Service Team Manager at the local dealer "We've ordered a new aerial for your Comand. I used to work for Saab before I came to Mercedes and have seen this sort of problem before and it's always the aerial". I may be wrong but this does not smack of scientific fault finding.

Has anyone else experienced a similar fault and, if so, what turned out to be the problem?

 

[miro]

First of all you would want to interogate the software versions of all fibre optic devices in the optical ring. You bring all the software up to date, install the latest map and test again.

Service advisors should always evaluate the car before making suggestions.

 

[DieselE]

Thanks for that Miro. The map is 5.1 (ie the latest) and when the car was booked in for its service, I'd already asked the dealer to check the Comand unit software because the red/yellow cars are on the wrong side of the road. The main fault actually started only on the day before the service visit. Whether they've carried out that check remains to be seen.

 

[miro]

Thanks for that Miro. The map is 5.1 (ie the latest) and when the car was booked in for its service, I'd already asked the dealer to check the Comand unit software because the red/yellow cars are on the wrong side of the road. The main fault actually started only on the day before the service visit. Whether they've carried out that check remains to be seen.

Almost every module in your car can be flashed and they should be checked at least once a year for updates.

You would be amazed how often a software flash fixes the problems people talk about. It can only be done by someone with a diagnostic.

 

[plgibson]

Had this same problem when mine was six mths old back in 2003. Told by dealer they replaced aerial. No problems since.

 

[glojo]

Had this same problem when mine was six mths old back in 2003. Told by dealer they replaced aerial. No problems since.

I think it is a very good 'guess' for a garage to say the aerial is the cause, BUT I go 100% along with Miro on this.

Fortunately DieselE's car is covered by the warranty, but would we be prepared to pay for a new aerial before simply carrying out the necessary flash upgrades? Just like the dealer my guess would be the aerial, but ........

Regards,
John