Hi, I own a 2016 Mercedes C300. I currently keep getting the "Stop Vehicle, Put in Park, Leave Vehicle Running" message with a picture of a battery. Although I read one forum post talking about an overheating transmission, I am 99% sure I just need to get a new battery to correct this. I did a bit of research and can purchase the correct battery from either batters+ or an auto-parts store for around $260. However the places I called told me they would not install it because the "battery reset" thing needs to be done to the car and can only be done with one of those $1K diagnostic tools. So I called a local european garage and they quoted me damn near $800 to change the battery.

I am not paying $800 for a new battery. I watched a few videos and it looks easy as hell. Just remove the covers, ratchet like 4 bolts and that's it. So my plan is just to buy the battery myself and replace it myself. My question is this: How important is the battery reset? Is there a chance I could damage my car by not doing this? I am guessing the battery would come with some sort of warranty, so if it overcharges it or something and the battery dies I wouldn't care too much about that. I just don't want to risk damaging the actual electronics in the car. If that is a possibility I might have to take it to the dealer or find a cheaper garage to do it.

Just curious if any of you have every changed their own battery and if so, did you worry about resetting the battery indicator or whatever?

The other thing I am thinking of is me replacing the battery myself and then going to a garage and telling them to just reset the battery thing on the car, surely they would do that for $50-$100, right?

Thanks,

Austin