dw1

Going to the M-B EPC to check something for my car, I came across the build info note shown below.

I know a little bit of German, and this seems to say that my car was started at the factory as an '06 but finished as an '07. FYI, the VIN for my car is clearly that for an '07, and it has the more "angular" '07 MB C230 sport wheels, but it has at least one feature that isn't on '07's and isn't in the 2007 owners manual: the alarm tilt disable button.

Is anyone's German & knowledge of MB's processes good enough to give me translation of what this actually means? I've translated the words, but I don't know what they imply.

viel Danke

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

__________________________________________________ ______________
PRO 1 - ÄNDERUNGSJAHR 06/1 ABGASTEST
ZU CODE 003,807,UND HW1
VERANTWORTLICH: R.DAIMINGER LOG/LPP TEL. 83434
%LACKIERUNG GRUNDIERUNG UND LACKIERUNG WIE SERIE
(GEMÄß AKTUELLEM FERTIGUNGSPLAN)
%INNENEINB. ÄNDERUNGSJAHRUMFANG 06/1 (CODE 807) BEACHTEN!
%MONTAGE
__________________________________________________ ______________
%FINISH ACHTUNG ! FAHRZEUG IST FÜR ABGASPRÜFUNG IN
WERK BREMEN VORGESEHEN. (SIEHE WERKSTEUERCODE
N2T UND N4T).
%KTS FAHRZEUG AN WVSD SIFI ZUM TRANSPORT NACH BREMEN
BEREIT STELLEN.
FZG DARF ERST NACH ERFOLGTER QM-FREIGABE AN DEN
KUNDEN AUSGELIEFERT WERDEN.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

LILBENZ230

I'm no expert but this seems to have to do with the paint and exhaust system, not anything to do with the year model. Your car's final assembly point was Bremen, Germany apparently.

Nikic

PRO 1 - ÄNDERUNGSJAHR 06 / 1 GAS TEST
TO CODE 003.807 AND HW1
RESPONSIBLE: R. Daiminger LOG / LPP TEL. 83434
% COATING AND PAINTING PRIMER AS SERIES
(According to current FERTIGUNGSPLAN)
INNENEINB%. ÄNDERUNGSJAHRUMFANG 06 / 1 (CODE 807) NOTE!
% ASSEMBLY
__________________________________________________ ______________
% FINISH WARNING! VEHICLE EXHAUST IS FOR CONSIDERATION IN
BREMEN WORK PROVIDED. (SEE WORK TAX CODE
N2t AND n4t).
% KTS WVSD SIFI VEHICLE TO TRANSPORT BY BREMEN
MAKE READY.
FZG MAY ONLY AFTER BEING RELEASED TO THE QM
CUSTOMER WILL BE DELIVERED.



Looks like lilbenz230 was right.
(That is the best google translate could do)

dw1

On-line real-time translators like Google & Yahoo are not really all that helpful when it comes to technical terms.

Again, I know enough German to read the words (certainly more so than "Google translator" can), but I have to wonder why the build note for an '07 car has an initial notation of "CHANGE YEAR (MODEL YEAR) 06 / 01 EXHAUST TEST CODE TO CODE 003,807 [and] HW1", which is the actual translation for the first two lines.

While I appreciate the input, I was hoping that this knowledgeable community had some people who know a bit more German, and a bit more about MB factory processes than I.

LILBENZ230

If you have a 2007 with the anti-tow alarm, you definitely have a unique one. I haven't heard of this before.

amdeutsch

Doesn't say anything about alarms, only smog tests.

LILBENZ230

Yeah but his original post does.. I dunno if that was directed at me or the OP, though.

Assaf

Hi,

As you wrote, these build notes have less to do with German and a lot more with Mercedes processes. I would try to walk through this pile of codes:

Your car is a 2007MY (code=807) pre-production unit (code=003, and also "PRO1" on top of build note), ordered and built to US specs, with usage being exhaust emission testing.

Although the car was assembled in plant 50 (Sindelfingen, and see letter "A" in 11th place in VIN), it was sent to plant 67 (Bremen, for these exhaust emission tests, see code N2T), and subsequently to plant 50 again for QM (quality management?) release (code N4T), as the car is a pre-production unit.

You will also see that code 807 stands for "AEJ 06/1/M/X", which is a shortened form of aenderungen 06/1. That is: change #1 in 2006 calendar. This is the standard nomenclature in Mercedes-speak for 2007MY. the "7" in code "807" refers to the modelyear, as is the 10th digit in VIN, of course.

While your car was shipped ex-gate on March 7, 2006, it was actually completed on January 24, 2006, and then tested. During this same week in January, other PRO1 W203 were also assembled in Sindelfingen.

I hope that answers some of your questions. A really interesting car you have!

dw1

Asaaf,

Thank you VERY much for your detailed reply.

Yes, it is an interesting car in that is is an '07, but with at least one '06 feature (the previously-mentioned "towing" switch for the alarm).

I'm not sure what other '06 features it might have, as I don't know enough about the specific differences.

It does have the Harman-Kardon Audio 20, but does not have speakers in the side panels in the driver's & passenger's footwells. Can anyone provide information on the specific audio options & speaker location, 2006 vs 2007?

Asaaf, I am also curious if you can recommend a source for a "VIN decoder"?

I am quite familiar with on-line sources for other cars (e.g. old Porsches), but not so much for Mercedes-Benz. I have tried the one available at Mercedes-Benz Club Russia, but it is not as useful as I hoped.

Thanks again

Assaf

Hello again,

My pleasure.
As your car is a pre-production 2007MY, it should theoretically include all of the 2007MY changes/enhancements but this is probably not the case, due to material availability at the time of assembly.

As to decoder, MB EPC is surely the best and the most updated... If you have any specific questions, I'll be happy to give it a try.

bdgdl08

The only VIN decoder that I have used is the MB Russia one. It does confirm that you have the tow alarm unlike other '07 cars. It's weird.

W203E35

I thought all benzes have this. Isn't this when you jack up the car and then boom the alarm goes on?

This has happened to me and I thought all benzes have this feature

bdgdl08

To save money, the feature was taken off of the 2007 C classes. As a result, we no longer have a button in the dash, just a blank with a red light that blinks when the alarm is active.

acr2001

There's a pretty large list of features removed in 07 which off the top of my head includes: telephone pre-wiring is gone, upper compartment in the center console is gone, oil quality / level monitoring is gone (dip stick is back), satellite radio pre-wiring is gone, cheaper looking door pins (ok, to be fair some like them better). Headlamp panel is black regardless of the color of your dash. Foglights appear to be downgraded (on the model I had anyway). Antenna on top of the rear window is gone (part of cell phone pre-wiring).

e1000

FYI, oil level monitoring was removed in 06 with the introduction of the M272 engines.

dw1

Ok, this is getting even more interesting....

This car has:

- the antenna at the rear edge of the roof, but I have seen photos of other '07s with this. (Maybe this is an option associated with the "integrated phone" package.)

- a center console with a top compartment (i.e. the lid swings to the right or to the left to reveal a small compartment, and also swings back to reveal a larger compartment). This is clearly indicated as an option in the '07 owner's manual.

The headlamp panel is black, but so it the dash & interior. The car does include the '07 "integrated phone" option package, but I have yet to install a phone cradle.

Btw, the '06 manual (which I downloaded from the mbusa site) does reference an engine oil dipstick, in the same way the '07 manual does.

It appears there may be differences in optional vs standard items between '06 & '07, but not much in the way of total equipment that be different between the two model years.

bdgdl08

Sounds like you have an '06 to me, LOL

dw1

No, just a well-optioned '07....

BTW, as of this writing it has 11k miles on it.

bdgdl08

Completely off topic, but what year is your 911?

acr2001

The upper console and window antenna are part of the cell phone package which became optional in 07 as you noted.

dw1

Yes, I seem to be accumulating cars from the Stuttgart area - Zuffenhausen & Sindelfingen. (Well, my wife & kids drive US-brand cars.)

My toy:
1987 Black/black Carrera 3.2 sunroof coupe w. f/r spoilers, SW chip, Fabspeed euro premuffler, Dansk 1-in-2-out, Euro ride height & corner balance, bump-steer spacers, CDR-220, rear bumper mod, white front lenses, extended-hub sport wheel, etc., etc. 67k miles. Purchased from the original owner, a few years back.

For anyone interested in this or any model Porsche, I strongly suggest the Pelican Parts Technical BBS at http://forums.pelicanparts.com

One could say that is an active forum. The "Porsche 911 Technical Forum" (covering the pre-964 model 911's) portion of that board has >1.7 million posts, in >152k threads (as of this writing)!

Heck, there a forum just on 911 engine rebuilding that has >78k posts!

Pelican is a great & very knowledgeable company to deal with when buying parts, by the way. And they carry some Mercedes Benz parts!

bdgdl08

One of my dream cars is an '87 911. Maybe one day.

Utahkompressor

I thought all US-order have to start with 5-letter VIN such as WDBRF...
How come yours start with WDB203???

dw1

My standard VIN does start with WDBRF52... What you are seeing at the beginning of this thread is the M-B internal VIN. When one enters the standard VIN in the M-B EPC, one can get the "works" vin, and that is the one used for M-B internal documentation.