Has anyone else noticed a problem with the "After Start" page of the dash display? I've been driving my C230 Sports coupe now for about 1500 miles and have noticed an apparent error in the calculation of average speed on just this window. Everything else seems to work fine. I commute 18 miles (mixed highway (70+mph)/city (30mph+ lights)) which takes an average of 30 min total each way. Thus I should be getting a net speed of around 36 mph yet the average speed reported at the bottom of this page only shows around 6-10 mph. On longer mainly highway speed trips it maybe gets up to 25 mph. One of the tech's have an answer?

 

My avg. speed has been lower than I anticipated, too, however, I've assumed it's an accurate calculation and not a software glitch (often reads close to 12mph).

I do a lot of traveling at "lightspeed"--stopping & going in the city. I believe all the minutes spent waiting for the light to turn record as 0mph, lowering the speed accrual.

 

this raises an interersting question..... my reset info is always pretty accurate, but the From Start is wierd. Should that data always reset on the start-up ? Mine does not... for instance, if I drive to work, then park for 8 hours, then go home, it remembers the mileage, etc from that mornings trip. I would have expected it to reset... but sometimes, if it's idle for longer it has reset on the same day... very random it seems.

 

I believe the "from start" data should reset after the car has been off for 4 hours. This is mentioned somewhere in the owner's manual. I remember, because my former Passat reset after 2 hours and I noticed the difference.

Also, you can manually reset the "from start" info by holding the reset button while on that screen.

 

Geistmeister, at first that's what I thought to but think about it. 18 miles in 30 min should not leave you with an average speed of 10 mph. I also notice that when I first take off after a long break (this page resets) the reading gets "stuck" 1 mph for quite awhile even though I have been travelling at 30 mph for much of the time.

Jon, I am usually at work for 9 h or more so mine resets for each leg of my commute. Shorter stops then it is cummulative as Mark mentions. It just doesn't make sense that I travel 18 mi in 30 min (car on to car off) and it only registers 10 mph. Mark did your Passat to the same thing? Maybe MB will check into this and give us new software. Any one else disappointed that MB doesn't give us a real time mileage indicator like in the new Passat?
My computer is doing weird things so I hope this reply is readable.

 

Steve H., I think you should add this to your list of to-dos for the dealer. My commute is 15.5 miles and it takes me about 35 minutes. My "From Start" avg speed is usually about 28-30 mph, which is about right.

Until one of the tech gurus chime in here, that's the best we can do. But I have a sneaky suspicion that the computer considers more variables than just time/distance. I'll bet it also considers time at idle, etc.

I've noticed that the reset feature doesn't always work after 4 hours. (9 times out of 10, yes). But, that's what it says in the manual, as MarkL notes. I wish the interval were programmable. I'll ask if they have a "Venezuela" setting at the dealer.

 

MB-BOB,
You beat me to it again! I was just thinking that the computer probably accounts for time at various speeds. So, if Steve drives 70 mph for 5 minutes of his commute, but the rest of the 30 minutes is stop and go, then the average for the 18 miles may come out to less than 36 mph.

STEVE,
Tell you the truth, I don't remember if the Passat worked the same way. It's been 5 mos. since I had it, and also, the computer worked a different way in that you selected each individual function which was displayed one at a time. I remember I used to scroll through the average mph reading on the way to something else without paying too much attention to it. What is the "real time mileage" indicator you mention?

 

May be one of the techs can tell us how this car calculates average speed.

I thought about Mark's option but my stop times are relatively short. My commute is 5 min mostly 45 mph 3 stop signs minimum delay. 15 min highway speed, 10 min 45 mph with 4 traffic lights (50% red; 2 min delay). Also after a fresh tank of gas and full reset, I compared pages (after start, after reset). The reported average mph's were significantly different on each page. That's what made me think that it is a software error (like someone forgot to include the kilometer to miles correction in the calculation for the after start page).

In the 2002 Passat, the dash display shows current (not cummulative) estimated fuel economy. It was nice because you could adapt your driving style to maximize fuel economy for the engine (my scottish side come out). On the C230 you can only monitor whether the "average mileage since reset" is increasing or decreasing.

 

Ah, now that's intriguing, Steve. If at a fillup you reset both pages, I agree you should get similar mph readouts until the "from start" page resets. I'd explain it that way to the dealer so they understand you've done your homework.

 

Oh, now I know what you mean. My '99 Passat had this, "instantaneous miles per gallon". I thought you were talking about "mileage" literally. Yes, I miss it. Every car I've seen with an mpg computer function provides this readout (even my wife's Buick Regal). I figured they couldn't find a place to display it w/ all the other info on that screen.

On the Passat, you scroll for each indicator, outside temp, avg. miles/gal, instant miles/gal, trip duration time, avg. speed. There are two "counters" one for "since start" and one for since "reset". You select the one you want with a little switch under the stalk which has the indicator toggle button.