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C180CDI "Stop-start stupidity" and more issues

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Old Apr 28, 2012 | 09:31 AM
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Angry C180CDI "Stop-start stupidity" and more issues

2012 C-class facelift, C180CDI automatic

I wonder who came up with this system and did he really think at some point: "Jeah, its perfect now..."

I had high hopes for this new system as there are serious traffic jams where i live and even more traffic lights that are on 24/7, but sadly im dissapointed, to the point where this thing is giving me more trouble then its worth...

Issue one: ECO-thingy in my dash
Soooo, green means next time you stop, engine stops... Why does mine go yellow every now and then? Manual doesnt really give a proper clue to what turns the system off.
Seemingly "floor it" and it goes green... Jeah, economical driving, put your foot down and things are green!

Issue two: the letter "P"
Why the ¤&"%"¤"! does it START the engine when i put the gear-lever to "P"!? I aint going anywhere when im in "P" so why keep the engine on!? It seems putting in "R" forces the engine to start... Ehh, brilliant.
The perfect way to tell "im stayin put" and the engine stays on.

Issue three: No HOLD-integration
The brilliant "HOLD-feature" from E and S-classes FINALY came to C-class. A near-perfect tool to use with the start-stop aaaaaand... No.
I dont want my engine to stop at EVERY god damn Stop-sign, why cant it be part of the HOLD-feature to begin with?

Issue four: sudden starts
So, im sitting in traffic, HOLD engaged, not touching pedals, suddenly: "wroom!" engine starts... Why?
Ive been testing this, it seems the time the engine stays off varies. After 30s -4min the engine fires up on its own and stays on. Why? Cant exactly be low battery, the car is 4 days old and has 2 batteries ffs.

Im VERY dissapointed with this system or more on how its controlled and how its tought out, if it ever was.
Im also not sure if mine is working properly to begin with, i allmost hope its just gone nuts or stupid. One time i put the HOLD-feature on, engine stopped, then suddenly started again, stopped, started again... I actually let it do that for quite some time before i pulled the key out.

They finaly gave the C-class the HOLD-feature so i cant imagine why they didnt link the stop-start to that. Perfectly controllable that way.

Our previous C200-CDI had 334000KM on the clock and drank nearly 10L / 100KM and it was diesel... My E420CDI does less then 13 even if i put my foot down, thats a frigging TwinTurbo V8 twice in size! No problems were ever found in the engine so i had some hope for this new one being a bit less thirsty. Diesel is over 1.5 euros a litre and petrol nearly 2€ so fuel-economy does matter for a company car doing 100k km a year in traffic-filled town.

QUESTIONS:
- Any way to alter the Stop-start function on when and where it does its stuff... Hoping to link it to the HOLD-function. Wishfull thinking jeah but having to pay nearly sixty grand for this, i believe i have the right to ask for it.
- Seat-belt warning-beeb, how do i turn that off? Its a Taxi-car, and by law ppl dont need seat-belts in a Taxi, so they hardly ever use em... I actually do, but the beeb is driving ppl nuts and me into insanity.
- Rear seat-belt warning(?) with 3 people seating comes on the dash every now and then... Even if there arent anyone there. Normal? So, my car is stupid, but haunted too?
- Any way to get actual cold air out of the seat AC, i hear a buzz but if i lean on the seat i barely feel anything coming out of there. Not very strong that thing now is it...
- Auto-dim rear-view mirror, i ordered one but it doesnt have light-sensor in it like my E-class has, just that lever, normal? Sure wont dim eighter, thinking i was sold some empty air here.
- Seat/mirror-memory. I was told "its in the key", put yours in, everything moves into place set to that key. Noooope... There are those 3 slots for the seats, but i have to keep pressing them untill things move into place. Why cant i just press once and let them move about, why do i have to wait while i keep the button pressed!?
- Extra seat-edjustments were supposed to be tied to the memory too... Nooope, just the dials in the side of the seat. Normal? Do work tho, but not exactly what i paid for.

I apologise if i seem a bit angry and my english - while utterly pissed off might be bit harsh to read but i've worked very hard for the last three years to save up for new car and as it is a taxi-car, its quite important and large part of my job and i spend about 9-13 hours a day sitting in it so it needs to be quite good too.
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Old Apr 28, 2012 | 06:40 PM
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Small update, got the car back from one of my drivers, told he turned the stop-start just off.

First time driving in the dark: pitch black and no automatic high-beams... I was told it had such, normal? The lights also point quite low and i cant turn high-beams on unless i constantly pull the whisker on the wheel.
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Old Apr 29, 2012 | 12:01 AM
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Originally Posted by peelo
Small update, got the car back from one of my drivers, told he turned the stop-start just off.

First time driving in the dark: pitch black and no automatic high-beams... I was told it had such, normal? The lights also point quite low and i cant turn high-beams on unless i constantly pull the whisker on the wheel.
We are beginning to wonder if you have read the manual.
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Old Apr 29, 2012 | 04:22 AM
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Originally Posted by RLE
We are beginning to wonder if you have read the manual.
You seemed to find a polite way of explaining the issue, I might have used different words.
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Old Apr 29, 2012 | 09:37 AM
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Originally Posted by RLE
We are beginning to wonder if you have read the manual.
Correct me if im wrong:
Push whisker forward to turn on auto high beams. Icon lights up in the dash.
Nope, nothing happens. Also, the lights auto-adjust pointing as low as possible as soon as the car moves. Means i can barely see ~8m in front of me.

Is there a way override the auto lights / ILS or just turn it into manual?
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Old Apr 29, 2012 | 06:03 PM
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If the lights are looking down at the road they are either out of calibration or the software is corrupt/micro processor damaged. Can be adjusted with Star & a lightbox. Recycle sensors through their full range.

Nothing is supposed to operate as you explain. Read manual & take the vehicle back to your friendly dealer & get them to sort it out.
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