W213 Ambient Lighting Faulty

[james2k2]

Hi all,

So I've taken delivery of a new used 2017 E350d with literally every add-on you could get (except for the ultra high end Burmester - just got the standard Burmester). I originally viewed it in daylight, and having never driven a Merc before didn't have chance to try out the ambient lighting as I didn't know even where the bleedin' menu was for it (although I checked the data card and saw it was there)! Anyway, much to my dissapointment when I collected it I could see the illumination since it was getting dark but with several areas not lit. I got it home and had a bit more of a play ultimately to find everything was switched on and should be working, here's what doesn't (and correct me if I'm making up something that should be lit that isn't):
- Drivers door card/handle/side pocket
- Dual widescreen display
- Central console

Do these particular areas have their own fuses or something? I understand that these will generally be digitally controlled but didn't know if the 'zones' were isolated independently or not, at the same time I would expect the drivers door ambient to be linked with other areas that are working.

If the issue isn't a 'simple wire fault' say, what would we be looking at to get this repaired (like time etc)? I'm sure I've read that the door card needs to be replaced due to the integration of the lighting being so tight?

I've queried it with the dealer as I would honestly rather reject the vehicle under consumer rights (there's other issues too), but they're insisting they have to be able to try and repair it all first.

Cheers!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Hi all,

So I've taken delivery of a new used 2017 E350d with literally every add-on you could get (except for the ultra high end Burmester - just got the standard Burmester). I originally viewed it in daylight, and having never driven a Merc before didn't have chance to try out the ambient lighting as I didn't know even where the bleedin' menu was for it (although I checked the data card and saw it was there)! Anyway, much to my dissapointment when I collected it I could see the illumination since it was getting dark but with several areas not lit. I got it home and had a bit more of a play ultimately to find everything was switched on and should be working, here's what doesn't (and correct me if I'm making up something that should be lit that isn't):
- Drivers door card/handle/side pocket
- Dual widescreen display
- Central console

Do these particular areas have their own fuses or something? I understand that these will generally be digitally controlled but didn't know if the 'zones' were isolated independently or not, at the same time I would expect the drivers door ambient to be linked with other areas that are working.

If the issue isn't a 'simple wire fault' say, what would we be looking at to get this repaired (like time etc)? I'm sure I've read that the door card needs to be replaced due to the integration of the lighting being so tight?

I've queried it with the dealer as I would honestly rather reject the vehicle under consumer rights (there's other issues too), but they're insisting they have to be able to try and repair it all first.

Cheers!

I think it’s absolutely fair to give them the option to put it right. Get it back to them ASAP

 

[james2k2]

Hi All,
So there's been a small development. I decided to check out the fuse that controls ambient lighting as I figured no harm in removing it and reinserting to see if it somehow resets the system. However I've noticed the plastics around that fuse are a bit broken so I've left it for now and there's a fuse adapter in the holder below that along with some dodgy spade connector goes off to some aftermarket device tucked away behind all the panels. What the hell could it be? Any common aftermarket mods that get installed like this? (other than a dash cam, which I don't have) Really hard to get pics, sorry! The car does seemingly have a few other issues like auto start/stop doesn't work (yes, yes I know some of you prefer it this way). The AdBlue level guage doesn't seem to drop either (not a bad thing I guess), but could this be a bypass device perhaps? Any thoughts? I've only just got this car and after being shocked by how poor the economy is on it (like the other day I got 24mpg on a 92 mile run - at midnight with no traffic!) and a few things not 'seeming right' I've tried to reject the vehicle back and they won't accept it.

Cheers!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Tracker?

 

[james2k2]

The device I could see looked quite large, how big are trackers?

 

[unimog]

How long have you had it? Those failed LED strips are $$$ and difficult to replace I'm afraid. Its not a common fault but it does happen.

I would seriously push to have the garage fix it, that economy isn't right either.

 

[james2k2]

Hi unimog.
I've only had it 9 days, and notified them of issues after 1 day so they've agreed to try and fix things. Cheers!

 

[ShaunB]

Start/stop not working is probably just the car battery needing a full charge.
As for tracker size, I wouldn't have a clue, but I did get a very brief glimpse of one being installed - it certainly wasn't tiny.
The MPG definitely isn't right, my E63 would do better than that on a 14 mile drive from home to my office - during the day.

 

[james2k2]

Well I would have thought that too, but it's done 700 miles already with me and I would have expected it to be OK by now.

I want to try and get a better photo of the device so I'll use one of my bendy cameras to see what's what.

 

[ShaunB]

Well I would have thought that too, but it's done 700 miles already with me and I would have expected it to be OK by now.

I want to try and get a better photo of the device so I'll use one of my bendy cameras to see what's what.

Get yourself a CTEK charger, and throw it on charge overnight.
700 miles doesn't mean a lot.
If that contained lots of short journeys, i.e. stopping and starting the car a lot then it takes more life out of the battery than driving puts back in from a stop/start point of view anyway.
Most on here use the CTEK MXS5.0, approx £70 on the wonderful Amazon.
Even if you don't keep this car, that charger will not go to waste.

 

[james2k2]

The 700 miles was made up of some long journeys (I commute 150 miles a day for work). If I get the car gone, I'll be back to my trusty Volvo S60 R-Design - this is probably devil words on here haha. I've had some advice from my solicitor friend who's spoken to his litigation team and they've advised to get it returned as soon as possible for a full refund.

 

[clk208]

Did you buy the car from a Mercedes main dealer?

 

[james2k2]

I bought it from a main Volkswagen dealer. Its been 3 days now since they said they were speaking to their Mercedes dealer and heard nothing. I would imagine they're finding out how expensive it will be to fix haha.

 

[ShaunB]

Hopefully they will get it sorted for you.

 

[Seedy]

the auto start/stop will only come on if certain conditions are met and in this wet weather its hardly met, especially if you have AC on. However that said if you do 150 miles a day I would expect it to work.