mbenz007

I recently purchased a certified pre-owned 2016 C300. Can anyone tell me what this sensor notification is telling me as it was not properly explained upon purchase and it is not mentioned anywhere in the operators manual and a Google search hasn't been much of a success either. It is constantly going off (beeping) and has become extremely aggravating! Hoping to get some guidance here before returning to the service department. Thanks!

dwpc

Looks like a distance sensor that shows how close the bumper is to an object by LED indicator. In my Porsche,it's very accurate and the LEDs turn red as the distance gets very close. Do you have a number of small round sensors in the bumper? Can't tell from the photo whether its OEM or aftermarket.

mbenz007

Yes, there are small round sensors on the bumper, however, I will be driving with no cars around me and this warning light will start beeping with a series of yellow lights starting on the outer edge moving inwards, assuming warning of a potential hazard. When the yellow light(s) get to the center point the center lights red and beeps even more. Because this happens erratically I'm concerned there may be an issue.

dwpc

First question is whether it's M-B or aftermarket. If it's not even mentioned in the manual, it may be a DIY installation. Does the indicator on the dash look original, i.e., match the dash color and finish? You might also look at the fuses to see if there is a piggy-back connection on a fuse; common for aftermarket electronics.

Actually, I liked the Porsche (Bosch) system so much that I installed an aftermarket system in my truck and it performed well too. I wish my 2017 Cab had it in front.

Agent-A01

There is a button to disable it if you want, it's called parktronic.

As for randomly beeping it's likely one of the sensors is pushed in too far into the bumper or you have a license plate that it is picking up.

mbenz007

That's what I initially thought it was as well, but upon further investigation the car is not equipped with the parktronic feature.

Agent-A01

What is your VIN?

That light has always been Parktronic.

You don't have circles on your bumpers?

JAMADOR

Another vote for parking sensors.
Tangentially related, but I get a lot of false alerts from the frontal collision warning, usually at 30-50mph, with no vehicles or objects ahead..

Doa

i had this too, was water in the connectors so they replaced the complete cable tree and the sensors under warranty.
i don't have these sensor lights on my dash though, they are on my display.
maybe because mine is in combination with the 360° camera

Greg52

I get this from time to time, usually there is a vehicle in a nearby lane but not close to me, front only. Can be quite annoying and with no obvious cause, I suppose a sensor is intermittently faulty.

cjaredscott

So I have a ‘16 C450 with Parktronic and I have a few observations. First, I don’t recall that the W205 has a front indicator like that in any spec or year— it comes up in the instrument cluster display for me. While I have 360 camera, I thought it was the same for cars that didn’t have 360 but had the Parktronic package, but I could be wrong. I do have one of these in the back headliner for the rear of the car. That one is not display based. My 2012 and 2013 GLs had it in the front and in the back, before it was made display based. Do you have one in the back on the headliner as well?

My second observation is that it looks somewhat aftermarket. Same unit and (it appears) placement, but it looks aftermarket to me only because the indicators were always dots in the GLs, and I think my current W205 is dots too in the back. I’d have to check when I’m back home (I’m currently away on a work trip), as I very well could be wrong (see below on why I wind up never looking at them). Come to think of it, my ‘13 GL may have had vertical lines. I’ve never looked at the ones in my C450.

If you could post your VIN or your build sheet, that would be helpful. And pictures of the front of your car.

As as an aside, I wish my car had this. The display in the instrument cluster is useless. No matter how I sit or adjust my steering wheel I have to chose between it blocking that when the wheel is not perfectly straight (like whenever you’re trying to park, funny how that works) or I’m having something else I want while I’m actually driving being blocked! Thank you flat bottom steering wheel...

Ultimately, I use the indicators that are around the “car” on the 360 camera display (turn yellow, red based on distance — and also the 360 camera itself, which is super helpful) and wait for beeping. I have never once looked at these indicators in the car for the reasons I described above, which I think is a shame. I wish mine had the traditional sensor display in the front.

On second thought, does the COMAND screen block those sensors? I guess that’s why they could have changed. Still I think it would be better for me there — I can see around it if I remember correctly.