Only 250 miles on C400 and Comand is dead ~ issue resolved
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2015 c400 4Matic
Only 250 miles on C400 and Comand is dead ~ issue resolved
Well, technically it's only the radio, telephone, nav and media. 
I can still control the air con through Comand. I drove it Friday and everything was fine. Was away all weekend and didn't use the car. Got in this morning and I noticed the rearview camera didn't come on when I backed out of the garage. Then I noticed nothing was working.
I could use the small screen in between speedo and tach to toggle to radio, media, nav and tel, but in each instance all it would say is "off", except that the nav worked in telling me my direction and location, but I couldn't use the main screen for any input. Also, the voice command buttons don't work.
So, off to the dealer after only 6 days! From reading elsewhere, it seems the Comand system is temperamental. I can only hope it's a software flash.
Other than that Mrs. Lincoln....the car has been wonderful to drive. I know the Comand system is not particular to the C class, but I guess I hoped the bugs had been worked out by now.
I can still control the air con through Comand. I drove it Friday and everything was fine. Was away all weekend and didn't use the car. Got in this morning and I noticed the rearview camera didn't come on when I backed out of the garage. Then I noticed nothing was working. I could use the small screen in between speedo and tach to toggle to radio, media, nav and tel, but in each instance all it would say is "off", except that the nav worked in telling me my direction and location, but I couldn't use the main screen for any input. Also, the voice command buttons don't work.
So, off to the dealer after only 6 days! From reading elsewhere, it seems the Comand system is temperamental. I can only hope it's a software flash.
Other than that Mrs. Lincoln....the car has been wonderful to drive. I know the Comand system is not particular to the C class, but I guess I hoped the bugs had been worked out by now.
Last edited by WCBenzDrvr; Oct 27, 2014 at 12:12 PM.
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From: Whitefield, NH
2015 C300 Sport: Palladium, Premium, Multimedia, Leather, BLIS
Wow! In the month I've had my C300, COMAND has worked flawlessly. I haven't heard of a total meltdown like this before but, with complex electronics, anything is possible.
Hopefully it's just a loose connection somewhere. Good luck and please post the fix when you get it back from the dealer.
Hopefully it's just a loose connection somewhere. Good luck and please post the fix when you get it back from the dealer.
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2015 c400 4Matic
Okay, back from dealer. Three points to make:
1) I am an idiot.
2) When picking up your car, spend more time with sales person in acclimating to the car. I was in a rush b/c had antsy kids with me at the time.
3) MB makes it next-to-impossible for Comand newbies to intuitively understand the system.
Soooo, I thought about making up a big story to somehow blame MB for the Comand system not working, but in the end, somehow the OFF button had been depressed. It was not by me and I suspect one of my children was playing in the car, but that's not important. This is the button above the Eco button on the right of the touchpad. I was never told by the sales guy that you could actually turn off the system with that button. I thought it was for the Eco setting but obviously I was wrong and had I not short-circuited the introduction process, I probably would have learned that.
Still, while I can understand the on/off button controlling the radio/media/nav, I didn't understand that it turned off the screen even for the rearview camera. More confusingly, I could get the screen on by using the large "Menu" button on the center console, but that only let me use the air circulation system, and if I pressed back, it would shut off again. And I did spend 10 mins with the manual and another 20 online trying to find a hint, but nothing popped up to me.
Okay, enough justifying my incompetence. I was very apologetic at the dealer and thanked them for looking at it so quickly. I've never been "that guy" before, but first time's a charm.
1) I am an idiot.
2) When picking up your car, spend more time with sales person in acclimating to the car. I was in a rush b/c had antsy kids with me at the time.
3) MB makes it next-to-impossible for Comand newbies to intuitively understand the system.
Soooo, I thought about making up a big story to somehow blame MB for the Comand system not working, but in the end, somehow the OFF button had been depressed. It was not by me and I suspect one of my children was playing in the car, but that's not important. This is the button above the Eco button on the right of the touchpad. I was never told by the sales guy that you could actually turn off the system with that button. I thought it was for the Eco setting but obviously I was wrong and had I not short-circuited the introduction process, I probably would have learned that.
Still, while I can understand the on/off button controlling the radio/media/nav, I didn't understand that it turned off the screen even for the rearview camera. More confusingly, I could get the screen on by using the large "Menu" button on the center console, but that only let me use the air circulation system, and if I pressed back, it would shut off again. And I did spend 10 mins with the manual and another 20 online trying to find a hint, but nothing popped up to me.
Okay, enough justifying my incompetence. I was very apologetic at the dealer and thanked them for looking at it so quickly. I've never been "that guy" before, but first time's a charm.
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Okay, back from dealer. Three points to make:
1) I am an idiot.
2) When picking up your car, spend more time with sales person in acclimating to the car. I was in a rush b/c had antsy kids with me at the time.
3) MB makes it next-to-impossible for Comand newbies to intuitively understand the system.
Soooo, I thought about making up a big story to somehow blame MB for the Comand system not working, but in the end, somehow the OFF button had been depressed. It was not by me and I suspect one of my children was playing in the car, but that's not important. This is the button above the Eco button on the right of the touchpad. I was never told by the sales guy that you could actually turn off the system with that button. I thought it was for the Eco setting but obviously I was wrong and had I not short-circuited the introduction process, I probably would have learned that.
Still, while I can understand the on/off button controlling the radio/media/nav, I didn't understand that it turned off the screen even for the rearview camera. More confusingly, I could get the screen on by using the large "Menu" button on the center console, but that only let me use the air circulation system, and if I pressed back, it would shut off again. And I did spend 10 mins with the manual and another 20 online trying to find a hint, but nothing popped up to me.
Okay, enough justifying my incompetence. I was very apologetic at the dealer and thanked them for looking at it so quickly. I've never been "that guy" before, but first time's a charm.
1) I am an idiot.
2) When picking up your car, spend more time with sales person in acclimating to the car. I was in a rush b/c had antsy kids with me at the time.
3) MB makes it next-to-impossible for Comand newbies to intuitively understand the system.
Soooo, I thought about making up a big story to somehow blame MB for the Comand system not working, but in the end, somehow the OFF button had been depressed. It was not by me and I suspect one of my children was playing in the car, but that's not important. This is the button above the Eco button on the right of the touchpad. I was never told by the sales guy that you could actually turn off the system with that button. I thought it was for the Eco setting but obviously I was wrong and had I not short-circuited the introduction process, I probably would have learned that.
Still, while I can understand the on/off button controlling the radio/media/nav, I didn't understand that it turned off the screen even for the rearview camera. More confusingly, I could get the screen on by using the large "Menu" button on the center console, but that only let me use the air circulation system, and if I pressed back, it would shut off again. And I did spend 10 mins with the manual and another 20 online trying to find a hint, but nothing popped up to me.
Okay, enough justifying my incompetence. I was very apologetic at the dealer and thanked them for looking at it so quickly. I've never been "that guy" before, but first time's a charm.
On a Passat I rented, someone had changed the language to Dutch, how the heck was I supposed to even find the way to change it back since I cant read a lick of Dutch??????? STUPID!!!!!
BTW ALWAYS RTFM!!!!! At least gloss over it.
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2015 c400 4Matic
^^^
Yep, it's a good illustration of how hard it is to make the complex simple. In some ways, MB has made it foolproof as there are three ways (at least) to switch from radio to media to nav, etc., but I agree -- why on/off? I've never been in a car with that before. And to your point, I did read the manual (all 3 of them), but it is surprisingly hard to find an entry for "how to turn on the Comand screen" (at least it was for me).
Yep, it's a good illustration of how hard it is to make the complex simple. In some ways, MB has made it foolproof as there are three ways (at least) to switch from radio to media to nav, etc., but I agree -- why on/off? I've never been in a car with that before. And to your point, I did read the manual (all 3 of them), but it is surprisingly hard to find an entry for "how to turn on the Comand screen" (at least it was for me).
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2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
I've done that... Freaked out and until I realized you could even turn it off
That's why IT people always ask "have you restarted the computer, is it plugged in, have you rebooted?" ... As annoying as it is to hear that, lol
That's why IT people always ask "have you restarted the computer, is it plugged in, have you rebooted?" ... As annoying as it is to hear that, lol
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17 E43; 21 GLS580
^^^
Yep, it's a good illustration of how hard it is to make the complex simple. In some ways, MB has made it foolproof as there are three ways (at least) to switch from radio to media to nav, etc., but I agree -- why on/off? I've never been in a car with that before. And to your point, I did read the manual (all 3 of them), but it is surprisingly hard to find an entry for "how to turn on the Comand screen" (at least it was for me).
Yep, it's a good illustration of how hard it is to make the complex simple. In some ways, MB has made it foolproof as there are three ways (at least) to switch from radio to media to nav, etc., but I agree -- why on/off? I've never been in a car with that before. And to your point, I did read the manual (all 3 of them), but it is surprisingly hard to find an entry for "how to turn on the Comand screen" (at least it was for me).
Out Of Control!!
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2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
The 400 page total is also a "small" impediment. Reading through pages of menu structures is as fun as having a colonoscopy and really not helpful at all. Nothing replaces sitting some hours fiddling with the whole system and navigating the menus to find out where things are. It sure helped me on my Acura. I probably spent 5 hours total just sitting in the car running through menus and submenus to learn it. At least in the Mercedes everything is in one spot. Acura now uses 2 screens each one with its own menu structure. The middle one is for the radio and never ending media possibilities, the upper one is for everything else but also runs radio functions. Major pain in the rear. I cant wait (sarcasm) to fiddle with Command!
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2015 C300 Sport: Palladium, Premium, Multimedia, Leather, BLIS
The online COMAND manual does show the on/off button under the volume control and does explain its use. It also mentions a mute function which I've never seen.
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2015 C300 Luxury
Yea, I tried out that "OFF" Button and it turned off the iPad Screen. It makes no sense, there should be a "Display off or Sleep" feature, but not something that says "OFF".
In any case, the only real purpose of the "OFF" Button (I would think) is to turn off the display during night time driving.
In any case, the only real purpose of the "OFF" Button (I would think) is to turn off the display during night time driving.
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2015 C300 Luxury
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You can mute the audio by pressing the volume control wheel straight down rather than rolling it to increase or decrease the volume.
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Volvo V70, C300 soon
Is the option to turn off the screen while keeping the screen operating hard to find?
