E-Class Coupe (C238) & Cabrio (A238) 2017 - E200, E220, E300, E350, E400, E450 [Coupes &Cabriolets]

My E400 just started itself...

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Old 10-18-2018, 11:47 AM
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2018 E400 Coupe
My E400 just started itself...

So, just now I'm sitting in my kitchen, the car is in the garage, locked. Suddenly I hear the sound of a working engine, I open the garage door and sure enough - the car is started up while still being locked, the garage door is closed, the key is in a drawer inside the house. I put my hand on the handle to unlock the car, the car unlocks and the engine shuts off. Now, my question is WHAT THE HELL WAS IT? I know the car can be stared remotely using mbrace, but I never set that up for this one. Was that hacked by somebody? Was it MB engineers accidentally running a test in the production environment? If the car can be started remotely from the key (can it though?), was it a short in the key? What if it starts when nobody's home or sleeping and works for several hours filling the garage with exhaust gases (back in the Soviet Union they used to kill people and dogs like that)? Any ideas, guys?
Old 10-18-2018, 01:55 PM
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Wow man, that is super weird... I hope you can come up with an answer... Did you ask the dealer about this?
Old 10-18-2018, 03:00 PM
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Not yet, it just happened today, but I definitely will, and will post the result here.
Old 10-18-2018, 05:43 PM
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Christine?
Old 10-19-2018, 11:05 AM
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Originally Posted by SteveE400
Christine?
LOL... 1st thing which came to mind as well!
Old 10-19-2018, 01:25 PM
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Originally Posted by slavko
So, just now I'm sitting in my kitchen, the car is in the garage, locked. Suddenly I hear the sound of a working engine, I open the garage door and sure enough - the car is started up while still being locked, the garage door is closed, the key is in a drawer inside the house. I put my hand on the handle to unlock the car, the car unlocks and the engine shuts off. Now, my question is WHAT THE HELL WAS IT? I know the car can be stared remotely using mbrace, but I never set that up for this one. Was that hacked by somebody? Was it MB engineers accidentally running a test in the production environment? If the car can be started remotely from the key (can it though?), was it a short in the key? What if it starts when nobody's home or sleeping and works for several hours filling the garage with exhaust gases (back in the Soviet Union they used to kill people and dogs like that)? Any ideas, guys?
There are multiple online reports across several automobile makes and models of this same problem. Scanning a few quickly, I saw lots of opinions on the possible cause but no definitive solution. Most opinions suggested either wiring, solenoid, or remote starter malfunctions. You might want to dig a little deeper than I did to see if there's an obvious solution. It'll be interesting to hear what your MB service people say. In any case, good luck. And please let us know.
Old 10-19-2018, 01:27 PM
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Maybe she just wanted to go for a ride.
Old 10-19-2018, 03:57 PM
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Nobody asked the OP - Does the car have an aftermarket remote start kit installed? Or, could the owner have accidentally activated MercedesMe's remote start app? Could the selling dealer have set it up to show another customer prior to selling it to OP?
Old 10-19-2018, 05:51 PM
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At least the OP knows if they get in a wreck the car will be fixed by morning...at a bit of a cost.

Originally Posted by SteveE400
Christine?
Old 11-03-2018, 11:52 PM
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Ain't computers wonderful!

I think that your model has remote start from an app on your smart phone.
This might explain it.

Modern engines produce so little Carbon Monoxide that they might not kill you.
They are also reported to shut off when they have consumed most of the oxygen in the garage.
I'd check my CO detector batteries just to be safe.

By the way, my E350 wagon lowered all four windows halfway as I walked away from it.
Twice in five years.
Old 11-05-2018, 02:53 AM
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I don't not believe in parking a car in a garage attached to a house, and leaving the battery connected. Too many stories of cars just catching on fire, the self starting is a new one to me.
Old 11-05-2018, 04:19 AM
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The frozen north...

In this part of the country, we use our garages in the winter. We try to leave the streets and driveways clear for the snow plows. We don't have a problem with fires, but every few years we lose someone to CO.
We also have a law that prohibits idling. So warming up a car to melt the ice on the windows is illegal. A law we tend to forget when six inches of snow shows up overnight.
My car parks about six feet below my pillow. Yes, I have CO and smoke detectors. Also, any summer only car, has a battery switch and trickle charger.
No, I don't own a Pinto or a Tesla. To be fair, the fires in those cars were triggered by impact damage. They didn't ignite when parked.


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Old 12-15-2018, 01:02 AM
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One possible scenario: the eco engine shut off turned the engine off temporarily when you came to a stop and parked your car.
You noticed engine was off and most likely forgot to press the ignition kill button.

The way way eco works is that the car will start again when temp in cabin reaches a certain level. Car will start to maintain your climate control setting. So after you parked eventually eco would startup.

Last edited by Will_e400; 12-15-2018 at 01:07 AM.
Old 12-15-2018, 01:36 PM
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I would think the moment you took your foot off the brake, the engine would fire up as usual. That and I really would like to think that once the door is opened that Eco start/stop would be turned off.

Originally Posted by Will_e400
One possible scenario: the eco engine shut off turned the engine off temporarily when you came to a stop and parked your car.
You noticed engine was off and most likely forgot to press the ignition kill button.

The way way eco works is that the car will start again when temp in cabin reaches a certain level. Car will start to maintain your climate control setting. So after you parked eventually eco would startup.
Old 12-15-2018, 10:31 PM
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I notice if you just open the door when in Eco and not hit the kill button a red message comes up on the left screen saying vehicle is still operative. More than likely that is what happened. But just as a additional safety measure I always leave the drivers window down just a little and the car unlocked as those are two things that are a prerequisite for the remote start to operate. Obviously if I'm planning on using remote start I leave the windows up and the car locked. Parked in my garage though I'd have no reason to use the remote start.

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