Jaxwired

Dislikes
Defaults to comfort mode on start. Terrible.
Downshifting could be smoother. But I do tend to stop quickly.
To go from LOW temp to HIGH temp requires holding the button down for like 10 seconds.
Glove box door has a ridiculously small opening. This is a terrible design.
System keeps losing connection to my USB connected iPod classic. Has happened many times for no apparent reason. Annoying.
Auto volume adjust. Thank God is can be disabled. Works poorly.
Heated seats auto step down. Would prefer it just stayed on selected setting.

Likes
Gorgeous exterior. Positively love walking up to my car. Best looking car in my work parking lot IMO.
Gorgeous interior. Had it a month and still wow'd when I get in.
Easy to keep clean. I've had black interiors before that were hard to keep immaculate, but I love these AMG floor mats. The material is super easy to keep perfectly clean.
The power. This engine has a LOT of power. And it's effotless. When I want to accelerate it delivers in spades with zero strain. It pulls hard.
Handling decent and the car is fun to drive. Doesn't handle like a GTI, but it's still excellent for the car size and weight.
Sound system is excellent once you adjust the EQ and turn off the horrible auto volume adjust feature.
Keyless go. Love just walking up to my car and it opens. I never take my key out of pocket now.
Seats! The seats are superb. Firm and supportive yet comfortable as hell and highly adjustable. Plus memory!! So nice to not have to re-adjust the entire seat if someone else drives my car.

Overall, love the car.

miketc

Heated seat get hot quickly and get really hot where I never give it a chance to step down by itself.

icycrazydesi

i agree i don't know why people are complaining about the heated seats automatically stepping down..mine works so fast sometimes I turn them down myself.

Default to comfort mode is annoying though..I hope Mercedes comes up with some software upgrade to fix that where it goes back to the last default mode.

HRD2PLZ

I agree that default to comfort mode is annoying. I'm curious if that is the standard in other MB models as well?

StanNH

Not sure why the temperature adjustment would be an issue. It's one degree per click which is pretty much the way all cars work. There are two buttons for the two front zones, but they can be synched to work as one.

Heated seats are fine, and I don't mind the fact that it will drop down one level when it gets hot.

Auto volume is a fine way of effortlessly distorting your sound and making it sound awful ... an interesting feature which I disabled immediately.

Glove box door really has to open more to be easy to use. As it is, it's tough to get anything out of it.

The default to C, and the inability to store the last Agility setting, is an annoying oversight. There's also no Sport+ steering option in the Individual menu.

WCBenzDrvr

Agree with all of these. I really enjoy driving my c400, but hate adjusting the drive style every time I turn on the car. I also like the nav system.

Jaxwired

Many cars have a physical dial for temperature. You can twist the dial to max or min in a fraction of a second. I'm one of those people that don't like to use "auto" for the climate system. I manually set the system. This time of year, I frequently want the temp set to max in the mornings, but by afternoon it's hot and I want the AC on so I set the temp to min. Try going from max to min. It's very slow. Like I said, takes probably 10 seconds of holding the button in one direction or the other. Would like to see a way to make it jump straight to 90 or 60 (max and min).

I suspect that most people that don't use the "auto" mode are like me, we only use max and min temperature settings. I never set it to anything else. When heat is on, I set the temp to 90 and I control the volume with the fan speed. When AC is on I set it to 60 and I again control the volume with the fan speed.

miketc

I want to screw up my sound, where do I find the auto volume selection?

miketc

Maybe you should give 'auto' another try. The car goes full, max or low depend on the temperature of the car until the desire temperature is reached. I don't see why one would need manual to do exactly the same. I could be wrong but that's my experience.

c400benz

1 of my dislikes is my bluetooth syncing with my note 4. i try to play youtube music from my note 4 via bluetooth and in the media menu, and it NEVER works. like literally 1 out of 100 times. call me old fashion but i wish i could just plug in an aux jack and listen to music that way like on my old car. bluetooth is a major annoyance. if anybody has tips on syncing the phone to the car better then id love to hear them

Tjdehya

That's weird, the only two buttons I touch are on and off.
I have mine set to 73 and when its cold outside the heat turns on automatically. When its warm outside the a/c turns on automatically. When its ~73 outside, I turn it off and roll the windows down.
You should embrace technology and just let the auto climate control do its thing. The stuff you are doing manually, the car will do for you.

The reason why the car defaults to Comfort is because that is what the EPA fuel rating is based on. MB has been doing this for about 5yrs now. I don't know this for a fact but I imagine that all car manufacturers are doing this lately to lower their overall fuel consumption rating.

rakaye47

On my Sport+ mode, the steering is set to SPORT

Are you sure Sport+ exists for steering?

rakaye47

Regarding temperature setting, it is more user friendly to have it as a knob, so you can go from COLD to HOT in 1 fast motion.

ddeliber

+1 on the climate control. It doesn't get warmer faster by setting it to 80 or 500 for that matter, it just keeps on blowing full on longer (same in the other direction). It stops/slows down where you want it, you don't have to get too hot or remember to turn it down.

in 2012 the BMW f30 was set up the same way, defaults to comfort with *** enabled. Some time in 2013 or 2014 they allowed you to ask your dealer to change it to remember the last setting because of complaints from their customers. The car still comes from the factory configured to default in the mode where the mileage numbers were calculated. It is just a matter of flip a switch in software. Maybe it was just with ***, but still, it is doable. I think this is one of those squeaky wheel type of deals.

StanNH

I thought it did, but now I'm not sure. In Sport+ mode, the steering feels a bit heavier, so I thought there was a Sport+ steering mode. I'll have to revisit this whole scenario.

Jaxwired

The reason I avoid auto and have for years is that when you first get in the car it sets the fan to max. The fan on max is loud and obnoxious. I don't ever use the fan on max. In fact it sounds so obnoxious in most cars it actually makes me wonder if it's reducing the life span of the climate system. It can't be good for it to be straining at hurricane speeds like that. Now if the climate system wasn't so stupid to go straight to max fan output anytime you get In the car on a hot day, I'd be more inclined to use it. I will admit that I haven't even tried it in my new c400, but what I've described above is how all auto climate systems I've encountered in the past work.

miketc

The fan on auto is not loud at all; at least on heat since it's winter in NJ so AC is not tested. Give it a try and let us know. The noise is loud and obnoxious when it is on the max front defrost mode and I have a thread going already.

Sportstick

A note of experience from the W204. I cannot prove this association, but there seems to be a high correlation between those who use manual HVAC settings and development of a moldy odor coming from the vents. There were/are lots of threads on this over there, but the thinking is that the AUTO setting includes strategically timed drying cycles with compressor activation, regardless of temp setting, to keep the "plumbing" in a dry condition to deter growth of unwanted smells. I can't remember one case of anyone who used AUTO having to go through the dealer's HAVC ductwork cleaning process, although there were several reports of non-AUTO users having this needed

B737NG

I use auto all the time and it just looks after the temp in the car, I use the AC in the winter as this pulls out moisture from the air and keeps the ice off the inside of the windows. It all works well and is quiet.

BoboPolo12

Count me in as another one who thinks the auto climate control is working wonderfully. I only need to adjust it a few degrees every now and then, but I think it's great.

rakaye47

Dislikes:
1. No dedicated song SKIP and PREVIOUS buttons
2. Not that much legroom in the drivers seat, mainly the leg area is not wide enough because the center console is wide and the left armrest sticks into my leg space.
3. The 7 speed transmission is decent but could be smoother.
4. Car should start up in INDIVIDUAL agility mode, not comfort.
5. The HONK sound when you lock the doors doesn't sound very classy. They should change the sound.
6. The doors are very light because of the aluminum panels. I would prefer steel panels that feel more substantial.
7. There is no cigarette lighter in the center console to charge my phone.
8. The AC controls are finicky sometimes. Sometimes there is a delay when I change the air flow from face vents -> leg vents. Sometimes I can't turn on the AC by pressing up on the FAN SPEED switch.
9. Steering is really disconnected, even on SPORT setting. No road feel at all.

Jaxwired

Can't you charge your phone with the USB connections?

parkwood

Whilst it is only anecdotal evidence my experience backs this view up. Have run all my cars that have auto air con which inc audi as well as mercs on auto. Have never had any issues with smells from the systems. A friend of the old school who turns his air con off to save fuel.....has had issues with his. It seems to me the auto system does indeed keep the system smell free and also the gaskets etc in good order due to regular lubrication from use whereas those systems shut down are more prone to leaks as well.
When you are asking the system to demist a windscreen surely you want it to clear asap, that means a good strong airflow.....that will generate noise but it really does not last that long! Well not in a car where the system is run in auto.......

miketc

rakaye47, there is a cig lighter in the center console and a cig ash tray too. Are you sure?

Sportstick

Indeed. I set the system in my 09 W204 to AUTO on the date of delivery in late 2008 and other than an occasional MAX COOL, it remained in that selection for six years until I sold it this past August. Never noisy, always worked perfectly, zero smell concerns.