noka

After posing the question last week (i.e. what does delayed availability in the brochure mean in tangible terms), they called me back to say that (for MY 2005 at least), they will not bring the digital climate control to the US. I don't know if they can be trusted (judging by my past experience with bmwusa)

Rgds,
Norm

rguy

No digital climate control and ( in my opinion) there never will be. Remember the revolutionary clamshell style passenger seat for the E-class? Where is it? Remember the E55 4matic? Where is it?

I think MBUSA is full of it on when they will have stuff for the most part. Delayed availability to me means slim to none chance of ever being available because we don't want to **** people off who bought their car. They pull stuff like this all the time, like launch editions of vehicles being de-optioned and people who ordered 05 clk55's getting only one multi-contour seat without notification to the customer that they had changed the meaning of the option.

My point is that you have to accept the vehicle for what it is. If you wait until they come out with everything, you probably will never get one. Hope this helps.

noka

I resigned myself to the dials (although the pollen filter is included the "rest" warming feature is not but maybe I wouldn't use it that much anyway). However, the sticky part now is the phone install (see other post).

Rgds,
Norm

beemaze

No digital climate control !?? I was going to wait and see if I could order that as an option. The dials remind me of my Honda.... Sheesh, even my '94 C280 has digital climate control to some extent.

nlpamg

Yep, that's been my biggest gripe with the 2005 w203. WTF was MB thinking? Even my 97 C280 had a digital CC. Dumb stuff...

noka

It still has "automatic" temp control, just no digital display. I'm not going to let it stand in my way as the display with Nav is full of other goodies. Quite frankly, in cars I've had with the digital display I'd set and forget most of the time.

Anyone know if the C55 has a readout of "outside" temp and a warning if it was approaching icing conditions? I did kind of liked that in other rides.

Rgds,
Norm

rguy

The readout of outside temp is in the instrument cluster, and the warning that it is approaching icy conditions is that it reads between 37 and 32 degrees fahrenheit.

So as long as you can remember the freezing temp of water and that within 5 degrees of that is the beginnings of ice formation, I think you will be very happy. Especially, I think you will like that the outside temp is much more accurately to be described as road temp as that is the true purpose of the thermometer.

MB (well this is true of every thermo I have actually seen on an MB) puts the thermometer very close to the ground which is why when you start up your car in the summer it reads about 40-50 degrees fahrenheit higher than true outside temp. At highway speed the thermometer becomes a more accurate indicator of ambient in the summer.

I don't mean any harm by my post, I just want the accurate portrayal of mercedes technology to be brought forth.

Everything mechanical pretty much runs like a rock. Performance is good to outstanding. Ride quality is not butter like, but amazingly composed for the level of handling it provides. Brakes are great when braking is left up to the driver. Electronics start out as good ideas, but usually don't work very well. Price is worth every penny (actually a bargain, we are just spoiled), and it won't get you chicks. But neither will any car, at least not the type you are looking to spend time around. There are exceptions to every single statement above, but these are some of the rules of thumb. Mercedes are awesome vehicles, and I am not sure there is any other road car I would want to have in a crash. Don't know why I waxed philosophical here, but I already typed all this stuff, so might as well let everyone read it who wants to do so.

Nickerz

When I first learned of the non-digital display, I was a little confused too, thinking why wouldn't a $60K car have something that seems so common place in some of the basic cars today? Others brought up a good point about this, which was that the digital display was a kind of a PAIN to wait until you reach for your desired tempature. With the manual, you simply dial it in in less than a half second and it starts working. I guess you had to hold the button down for like 10 seconds to reach the normal temps with the digital.?

Nick

noka

I can't say for MB because, as I mentioned, I am not an owner ... yet. My past BMW digital climate controls would change almost instantly but it was multiple presses, especially if you hold it down and over/undershoot. The only issue I see with the dial is that there are only a couple of numbers printed around the dial. With no display, if you want to set it to say 70-degF, then you would have to start from a printed number somewhere and count clicks, which by my estimation the other day seemed to be 1-click per degF. Maybe not that big of a deal once you get used to it. I'm more concerned with how the system performs (i.e. I'd like to set it and forget it and not get cold air when I want warm air and vice versa).

Rgds,
Norm

noka

So you get actual outside temp and then some "bong" or "flashing digits" between 32-37 degF?
If I park in an outside lot, even when sunny, wouldn't the (shaded) road temp under the car be cooler (i.e. certainly not 40-50 deg above ambient)? I could see if I suddenly stopped on the highway, with the road baking in the sun, that it would probably read high. Not sure I understand.

I appreciate striving for accurate portrayals. However, if you don't mind my saying, you seem to be a bit jaded in some posts of yours I have seen. Usually informative, however. Have you owned MB for a long time and finally seeing the true nature of the marque (probably no different than what others feel about other manufacturers after living with them for a while. You eventually get to see some warts on the initially pretty face).


Rgds,
Norm

rguy

(1) No bong, no flashing digits, just brain power. You have to be vigilant. They leave that part up to you. Since it is front and center in the dash, you can see it as often as the clock, tach, and speedo. So, I don't mind not having a warning. I just want everyone to know exactly what temperatures they should look out for. Most people think 32 and below is dangerous, but really 37 and below is dangerous. I see too many people rolled over in ditches because they thought 33 degrees meant no ice.

(2) The conceptual issue you are probably having trouble with is the effect of shade and insulation. When you have a tree, you have lots of shade, from morning until night. When you park your car, the ground is already heated up plus you get reflections that bounce between the car and the black ground surface all day long. Since your car really never cools down (because the air around is so hot anyway and you park it three inches from the equivalent of an emergency rescue blanket for hypothermic patients) and the fact that blacktop absorbs heat like a mother that pavement stays toasty all day long. If you want to experiment, take your shoes off after work one day and stick your bare feet under your car. That is going to be pretty scalding hot. Be prepared to yank it away. Just for fun, the underside of our cars are either metallic and conductive or black, plastic, insulative and hot. I hope this is a better explanation, but trust me when I say that my thermo reads (on MBs) around 120 when I get into the car after a day on a surface lot and ten minutes later it might read around 95 degrees on street cruising and maybe another five minutes later at highway speeds it will read about 88. That should put me in a 30-40 range, I must have been smoking something or exasperated when I said 40-50. Anyway, my apologies about that fact.

(3) I don't mind you saying I seem a bit jaded at all. I just (as you thought) have over ten years of ownership experience and 6 MBs under my belt, and it gives you a feel for the flavor of a brand. I just want everyone who comes hear to hear the whole story and not just: that car is tight, wow it's fast, I love the acceleration.... these things are all true, but just like any other car striving for greatness, some things are failures or off-peak. When Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear extraordinaire) tested the lamborghini (spelling?) gallardo, he said that the germans fixed a lot of the problems, but that when you want an exotic car you want the italians to do the food and the germans to build the kitchen (or something like that). He thought the gallardo let the germans build the kitchen and do the food in it and that although a superior product came out, the flavor was gone from it. It was less lamborghini, and less special for it. This is what I get at in some of my posts. Mercedes have a lot of problems, but they are special soulful expressions of german passion, and that passion has blinders on every once in a while. No manufacturer is going to build the perfect car...largely because the perfect car lies in the eye of the beholder and is different for everyone. So I guess the perfect car would magically change to perfectly fit the spec of the beholder's wishes, but that isn't going to happen. It is just like work. Every job has it's crap parts and you just pick the career where you can live with the crap. I can live with Mercedes' crap. I love everything else about the car, and it wouldn't be a Mercedes to me if it were different. So there you go...maybe I am just a little romantic about the brand, but they have me for life as long as they don't get too carried away.

I hope this helps and have a very happy thanksgiving. I like talking with everyone here, and am so happy that our cars are driven by what by all accounts seem to be good people that I wouldn't mind hanging out with from time to time. Good luck with your quest in getting a c55. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but then, the crap I can live with and you might decide you can't live with it. Let the fun begin.

mrkbbd

The c55 i looked at at my dealer had digital climate, it had a 2 blue and 2 red buttons plus a digital read out.

beemaze

That's exactly what it looks like in the C-class 2005 brochure.

Then it looks like the previous poster's dealer is full of....turkey.....

Happy Thanksgiving.

noka

Are you in the US? MBUSA said the digital climate control is not coming to the US (for 2005 anyway), so I can't believe you saw one if you are in the US. If you did, what state was it in and what dealer?

Rgds,
Norm

noka

We know the 2005 C-Class brochure (I have one) shows a digital climate control with "delayed availability". Can anyone confirm if they have seen a C55 with digital climate control in the US? If so, where?

Rgds,
Norm

noka

Bueller? ... Bueller? ...
Anyone?

cntlaw

I was a bit late to read this thread so I would not go into details
My 2cents, with this so-called digital cc on my SA made RHD C55,
since the AUTO mode never does what you what , so I think it is just a waste of time. Apart from the LCD display that looks different from the non digital two knobs , I just don't know it makes much difference from my auto air cond on my ex W210 E320 2001 facelift .

noka

The C55 standard climate control has an "auto" setting also w.r.t. temp control. Howeve, the digital has additionally:

1. separate air dist. control for driver/passenger (standard is single control).
2. charcoal odor filter.
3. rest feature (warm air for some time after car turned off).
4. humidity sensor to prevent window fogging inside.
5. arrow keys and up/dn arrows for temp setting (obviously).

Rgds,
Norm

cntlaw

I see...may be that's the reason why the passenger never feel he has the right temperature just because the air cond does some other less important things smart

mrkbbd

I am in the US, they had three on the lot, and for some reason that one did not have the manual dials, it had the e500 controls. The other two had the manual/ not digital but none of them had navigation.

noka

Can you PM or e-mail me the dealer name and location so I can call them?

Rgds,
Norm

beemaze

mrkbbd

You're keeping us in the dark here. Which dealer??

gbahri

I would rather have the manual contorl then the POS electronic control I have on my clk. It takes me an hour to get to my temp.

noka

The manual controls are "electronic" controls. It's a matter of pushing a button and seeing it on a digital display vs. twisting a dial and no display. I don't think it takes so long to press a button a few (or several times) to set the temp. I've had similar systems in other cars. If the car takes longer to get to the set temp, that is another issue but one, I think, unrelated to the type of system. Just my $0.02.

Rgds,
Norm

MassiveAttack

The C55 with the digital climate control at mrkbbd's dealer might be a 2005.5. Perhaps the "delayed availability" status really is true.

Can someone determine if there are any differences for 2005.5 or second half of the 2005 model year?