Friends,
Could anybody advise me on the best navigation system for a Mercedes E320.
I checked with a Mercedes electrician and he recommended Eclipse 2454. He said we need to remove the factory installed Mercedes radio to accommodate the 2454. Even though I am fine with that idea, after looking at the specs (particularly the size) of the 2454, I am somewhat doubtful if it will really fit in any of the individual bays in the E320 - 2001 model. I am not able to get the technician to answer my queries, as he seems to be on a vacation.
I did consider Pioneer AVIC-N1 also, but am still leaning towards the 2454, as I believe, it kind of gives a factory installed look, as the LCD panel is always displayed.
Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Original MB comand... no worries about whether or not the unit fits... steering wheel controls will definitely work (which may not be the case with most aftermarket units).

Here is a link with more info:
http://www.mbenznl.com/products/comand.shtml

greetingz,

BigSis

 

Thanks for the reassurance. I will go ahead with the 2454 then. Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and everyone on the forum!

 

I wish you nothing less! Thanks.

greetingz,

BigSis

 

...miscommunication?!?!?

greetingz,

 

No... why?... Ah, because of the 'DVD' part in his first thread...

DVD based comands aren't compatible in W210s, only CD-rom comands... I guess that's what you were referring to, Steve? But hey, reading the link should give him an idea about the comand unit as well.... wouldn't it?

greetingz,

BigSis

 

I am a little confused about the recent discussions on the command system. I read the link on the Command system closely.
My questions are:
a) I believe my 2001 model E320 should have the COMMAND system that you talked about, right?
b) If so, the Eclipse AVN 2454 DVD Nav system should integrate with the EXISTING command system, right?
c) If so, how will the technician install the bigger AVN 2454 unit in the small bays in the E320. Will he have to remove that console or cut them up to integrate two bays into one?
d) As long as it fits neatly and works properly after all that customization, I have no problem?
e) Finally, I hear a lot about MB models starting with the letter "W". Are they European? In fact, I don't see the E320 model listed on the site. Could you tell me what is the equivalent of the E320 on the models listed on the site?


Thanks so much in advance for your advise. I am sorry about the barrage of questions. I am a first time user of a MB and am kind of confused about the models and tech. discussions. I am sure many of our other readers with similar issues will benefit from our discussion also! I live in the US if that has any relevance to this discussion. Thanks.......Merry Christmans to all!

 

I'll try to reply all your questions, although I am not as technical as MBenzNL, or Scorchie or Sunman or other forum members...

a) Your 2001 E320 (which is the W210 E-class) uses the CD-rom based comand unit which is described in the link I gave you earlier.
b) DVD based comand is NOT compatible in your car; only the CD-rom based unit!
c) The CD-rom comand can be installed in your dash, but you would need to replace your current wood panel as well. In the following link you can find some pics of comand installs in W210s (like yours):
http://groups.msn.com/MBenzNL/instal...ls.msnw?Page=3 (and following page).
d) Problem... as in warranty issues? That is something you have to discuss with your MB dealership. Although the units MBenzNL sells are all original MB units... and if he installs those comands, it will look as if they came that way from factory.
e) There are MB models starting with W, or with R... That has nothing to do with US or Euro spec cars... it's just how some MB models are called. If you look at the different sections on this forum, you can see what the W and R numbers stand for. For instance: W203 is for C-class from MY 2001 and up. W211 is for E-class from MY 2003 and up etc...

Happy Holidays.

greetingz,

BigSis

 

Let's start at the beginning...COMAND (with 1 M) is what mercedes uses as high end audio headunit (with integrated navigation) and this stands for CO-ckpit MANagement Display and that is what the refered site is talking about.

I don't know what you refer to when you mention COMMAND...but COM(M)AND has nothing to do with the information display in the instrument cluster and or aftermarket navigation systems...

greetingz,

 

Dear Magokare,

Welcome to the forum. First of all don't be afraid to ask questions because that is what this forum is for and eventually after browsing it everyday and reading as much as you can you will eventually understand and appreciate your car better. A lot of us here started like that.. well, I know I did.

Let us get straight to the point....

1) Your car is an E320 otherwise technically known as an e-class W210 model, a model of which was manufactured from 1996 to 2002. Models manufactured from 2003 and newer as Bigsis wrote are known as W211.

2) As far as navigation systems are concerned, more than 99% of the users in this forum (and perhaps elsewhere) would recommend that you install the original Mercedes navigation system. As Steve wrote this unit system is known as COMAND (****pit Management Display) and not only is it the ONLY fully compatible navigation system for your car but it also maintains your car's existing warranty. Any other aftermarket nav system will not be compatible. The COMAND fully integrates not only the nav system but also the CD, radio, telephone, and can be partially but conveniently controlled by your multi-function steering wheel and control (tachometer) cluster. Your existing radio head unit will have to be removed, including the existing wood panel but the new COMAND unit effectively becomes the radio unit and the wood panel will be an MB part as well. It would look 100% seamless unlike any other aftermarket nav system.

3) This nav COMAND unit was available to your car model starting 2000 and many did not opt for it since it was an expensive option ( I believe more than $2,500). So what the members have been doing here for the past three years is purchasing these units from other members here in the forum who can not only offer it at practical prices but also install it for you as well and make sure your system is fully integrated and properly working. The dealers will do this too but only if you pay them and they will charge A VERY VERY HIGH PRICE for both the COMAND unit and the installation.

4) The aftermarket nav systems are good only for cars that never had those systems to begin with and do not have the option to have an OEM system fully integrated into their car models.

So we hope your questions have been answered. If I were in your shoes, I would NOT get an aftermarket nav system and would get in touch with Bigsis and Steve and find out what options you have in getting a COMAND unit and having this installed. Your MB electrician may or may not agree to what you are doing but once it is installed and done he can only scratch his head and say "Looks pretty good.!"

good luck and let us know what you do.

 

Dear Mr.Paxfo,

Thanks a ton for the detailed advise! I truly appreciate that.

I had earlier checked with the MB dealer here in Atlanta and they had said that for a 2001 model they could only fit a CD based NAV system, which is not all that convenient to use. In fact they were the ones who recommended after market ones, saying that those were superior to the ones offered by MB. I will check with them again armed with all the info that I have now and keep the forum posted, as that will benefit other users also.

Best Regards,

 

how so?

For those who know about the search feature on this forum, there is way more info to benefit from on here then your dealer can ever come up with...

greetingz,

 

Magokare,

Your dealer can certainly say anything they want based on what they know, however, from an initial assesment of what your dealer has been recomending to you, it seems to be the exact opposite of what many other members have experienced here as far as dealer recommendations are concerned. What I am trying to say is that normally most dealers frown and discourage MB car owners from adding aftermarket (non MB) items into their MB cars especially if it involves integrating the new item into the cars electronic or mechanical systems. In fact, based on my own personal experience even if you pay them they will NOT DO IT. They actually recommend you only use MB original equipment for a seamless and trouble free integration and still maintain your warranty.

In this regard, I find it strange that your dealer is recommending an aftermarket based DVD system when they should know that your car can seamlessly integrate a CD based but OEM MB system. Perhaps they do not know any better???

Going to the merits of your choices, the only advantage I personally see in a DVD based sytem is that the DVD disk itself has more data capacity and therefore one car uses only one DVD disk as a navigation data source. The CD system on the other hand uses multiple disks and depends on the geographic area that you are using. For instance, I travel from New York to Florida every year, and if I do need to navigate that stretch (frankly I do not need to navigate it because I know it very well already) I would need 3 CD data disks. But how inconvenient would that be? You would need to be traveling for hours and hours before needing to pop in a new CD. If you find that utterly inconvenient, then I do not know what to tell you. If I were using the DVD system I would only need 1 DVD data disk, so how convenient would that be?

But the advantage ENDS THERE. If you use an aftermarket DVD system, it would be a standalone system that would not have the seamless functionality that many members here find so important. The newer W211 cars have that DVD system already but YOU CANNOT use the newer 2003 and newer MB systems into your car. I believe it will not work properly and it would be a major expensive project.

These are my opionions and like I said I am not familiar with the DVD system and its advantages.

Many members in the forum are reading this thread right now and many will agree with what I have written above (silent as they are). If you go to the Mbnznl.com website you will see a lot of before and after pictures of the CD based systems.

 

Dear Mr. Paxfo,

Once again thanks for your well thought of advise. I definetly see your point in going in for the original MB NAV system. I greatly appreciate your detailed and very informative reply. I will check with my MB dealer again and keep the forum posted.

Thanks,

 

Dear Mr.Paxfo,

To update you and the forum on the issue, I checked with the two MB dealerships in Atlanta "RBM of Atlanta" and "Atlanta Classic Cars" and they both said that they cannot install a Mercedes NAV system (not even CD based ones) on my 2001 E320, as the 2001 model was not really equipped to have one. To my querry if I could get a after market DVD NAV system installed, one of them cautioned me that as the installation process may entail cutting into the wiring harness that might make my 100K extended warranty to go void. I checked on that with the other dealership and they recommended that if I get it done through a former employee of their's who runs his own MB auto accessories company, the warranty would not go void, as he knew exactly how to do it.

I checked with that person again on my apprehensions about voiding the warranty and he assured me that he would not be cutting into any of wiring, and that it is all plug and play. He assured me that for whatever reason if I wanted to revert back to the factory installed MB panel and the radio that can easily be done. After speaking with him and the folks at the MB dealership I am kind of confident that this guy will do a good job without voiding the warranty. So, I have asked him to go ahead and obtain the necessary parts including a brand new wood panel to accomodate the larger 2454 that will match with the existing wood decor in my car. I am also getting a rear view camera Fujitsu Model:BEC103 or BEC104. All this should cost me about $2500-2600 (installed).

Regarding comaptibility of the DVD NAV system with the existing COMMAND, he assured me that everything would work, except for the controls for the radio on the steering wheel, which I thought was quite a minor issue.

Thanks once again for all your inputs and I wish you and the members of the forum a "VERY HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

Best Regards,

 

Dear Magokare,

Although, I live in NYC, I know RBM Atlanta and have dealt with them before. They are quite large and have one of the biggest inventories of MBs (used and new) I have seen. (Although I have not seen a lot.) Like you, they too recommended to me to deal with this former MB employee who installs DVD based NAVs. I am surprised that they are still endorsing him up to now. I guess he has a really good reputation with them. Unfortunately, I do not agree to their opinion that CD based MB Nav systems cannot be installed in 2001 E classes. I will not expound on this disagreement anymore as it really is no big deal since you have already made your decision. (Forum members: I don't think SK will be too excited to travel to Atlanta to do an install anyway)

Anyway, what is important at this point is that you have done the most crucial thing in owning a mercedes benz - that is understanding how it works. It can be a complicated car but as you understand it more, particularly by reading this forum a lot, you will get to appreciate what can and cannot be done with it.

Good luck and do send us pictures of your install. Make sure you are present when this person installs your DVD Nav system so you can understand it.

 

There are two real advantage that I've seen on DVD-based nav systems vs. the CD-based COMAND:

1) The DVD-based systems that I've seen will list most ot the cross streets as you come up to them whereas the COMAND system will only list the street in which you need to make a turn.

2) COMAND will not take you to the exact address, but will only get you within a block, and then you'll have to look for the house number. The DVD systems that I've seen allow you to enter an exact address and will tell you when you have arrived, and even tell you if it's on the left or right side of the street.

The big disadvantage, as mentioned by others, is that the aftermarket systems will not integrate into the car as well as an M-B unit.

 

I agree with opinions as to the advantage of the integration issue. (Many will be surprised as to how much people are willing to pay for "integrated system" However, I am more for the "OEM issue" more than anything else. I kinda feel better about my car having original content than aftermarket parts since I intend to keep my car for quite some time. If it were just a bolt, a screw or even a spark plug, then I could go aftermarket. But when it comes to electronics and mechanical systems, I would not take any chances.

But that's just me....

 

I can take you on streets where your systems that claim to take you to the "exact address" will leave you sitting where you don't want to be. At least the designers of COMAND felt that leading you to the correct block and having you actually look for what you are looking for was probably superior to having the navigation take you to the wrong place.

Although the number of places with weird street numbering is relatively small in California (I guess it all depends on the kinds of neighborhoods you travel in), in someplace like London UK (where the COMAND does still function), you might find many more strangely numbered streets that most databases do not correctly identify.

-s-

 

Dear Paxfo,

Thanks for your advise, I greatly appreciate that. I will surely post the pictures once I have the DVD NAV system installed.

 

Does anyone here know roughly how much do I need to spend to get a navigation installed? I have a 2001 E320 with Sports Pack. Can I install it myself if so what do I need? Thanks!

 

Send a private message (PM) or an email to Scorchie and he will set you up with the right significant person who does these things ....

 

Thanks! Scorchie does not allow private messages. I'll try emailing him.

 

U could try to mail this guy.. he's the man..
s_krabbenborg@hotmail.com
Rgds kim

 

Thanks Kim. I emailled the person, waiting for reply.