pa28pilot

Well it's pretty clear that MBUSA has a big pile of pre-authorized accounts that Sirius allocates to users at the time of initial activation. This is fine if you're only going to ever use the one radio in the car, and no other Sirius services. It can get complicated if you want to add other receivers or use their free Internet feeds.

When I first activated, I received a mail message to the effect of
"Welcome Mr. MERC9834240324" or somesuch. Apparently, because MB pays for the first year of service, they understandably don't want to cut loose control over the account. What was weird was that somehow my previous activation of the Internet services, and my actual account information had completely vanished.

The service was working fine in the car. When I called Sirius to ask why I couldn't get the Internet service anymore, they said my account provisioning had been messed up and basically did another new activation. To their credit, they changed my anniversary date to reflect the newer set-up. I can't complain about that.

Brian_I.

I'm telling you, when I bought my car last year I was told the renewal was going to be $250 and they never said anything about having to pay extra for the concierge service. I think they're just trying to juice us for more money here.

ElDiabloJoe

Dang! First they dump the free 48 months of maintenance, now this?

Hellllo Lexus, I'll be visiting my local dealer when the time comes to replace my 03 W211.

EDJ

MB Fanatic

I got the full package on my 2006 E350. I hope things change for the better now that Zietsche is taking over the reigns at DCX.

CE750

While I completely agree with you about the nickel and dime that MB is doing these days... Don't just go to Lexus, write MB a letter, or email then on their MBUSA site and let it be known you're unhappy with this. I think if enough of us raise a stink about stuff... they'll listen.

I did a huge deal with them over the MB Tex seats in the back of the car (when their salesmen and website said leather surfaces front and rear) and now they are removing the info from their website and I'm sure a memo will go out to their salesforce explaining what's MB Tex, and what's leather.

Benz-E-r

Drive into the Mercedes dealer on the Harley however and they will likely treat you just the same as with the E. At least around here.

Brian_I.

So should I get it or not? :p

dacbiet

My renewal is coming up too and I'm just keeping the basic package. I've only used it once, when registering for the service.

If you don't respond they'll automatically charge your credit card on record. Isn't that thoughtful of them?

SAguirre

I just let the service renew itself. I have a 2004 E so I still have an old version of the communication module. This means that I have to pay a per minute charge over and above the standard annual fee. I asked my dealer if it was worth upgrading the system to the 2005 model and they told me that my car still would have better coverage since it could still use TDMA cell towers. This is also the reason why I still use my Motorola V60 that is TDMA.

When I drive on I 25 South of Pueblo and into New Mexico and around Leadville, CO there is NO MORE GSM service. My Tele-Aid and AT&T/Cingular TDM still work perfectly. I have Satellite Navigation and the Hands Free Linguatronic phone. Why do I still have Tele-Aid?

I think that it is cheap insurance. I have never locked my keys in this car yet, but if I do I don't want to have Billy-Bob with visible but cleavage trying to pick my car open when I am in a lesser developed area of the US.

I have tested the unlock feature once about one year ago and I once reported an accident in the Mall here in Longmont. The Tele-Aid folk were able to call the police and give them the exact coordinates since they had the GPS signal with the map of the parking area. I was impressed, then put on my latex gloves and gave first aid.

So I am still renewing it again and again. I have however, asked MBUSA to try and make another plan that will only cost if you use it. I would be happy to pay $50.00 each time I have to unlock my doors or if the Airbags deploy, but I guess they would not make any money on that plan.

Get it,

Steve

DWP

I agree with Steve's reasoning for renewing TeleAid, but I'm not quite so sure of its usefulness since I recently tried to actually use it for the first time (after paying $480) and it couldn't connect. I explained the circumstances in another thread, which I won't recap here, except to say that I was on a mountainous, rural stretch of I-5 in southern Oregon. TeleAid gave me an "attempting to connect" message, with intermittent static, for about five minutes, and never did connect. My cell phone had no trouble connecting to the Sprint network; Sprint and (I presume) other cell carriers try to provide continuous coverage along interstates, even in rural areas. When I called the 800 number for M-B Roadside Assistance, they couldn't locate me. The car presumably knew where it was, but couldn't tell anyone.

Does TeleAid in fact use the AT&T/Cingular TDMA service, so that any coverage maps for that service would also delimit TeleAid coverage? If so, was the fact that TeleAid failed and Sprint CDMA worked just a variance in the coverage of the two networks?

SAguirre

I have no idea who they use, BUT I have noticed, when I was first trying the system, that every time I was out of service with AT&T TeleAid did not work. If I was roaming with my cell phone, TeleA. did still work.

This is an interesting question, anyone know the answer for sure?

Steve

Brian_I.

Okay, I guess I will just let the standard coverage renew on my CC. I am going to miss the "cool" factor of the Concierge though.

nantucketsleigh

Decided not to activate Tel Aid in my 2006 E500. Tried to activate twice. First time I could not get a response from i button so I phoned Tel Aid. Was told a tech would call me back. No one ever called. I phoned Tel Aid the following day let them listen to "can not complete call as dialed". Guy on the phone asked me to press i button again and when that didn't work he had me press the emergency button which did nothing but disable all other electronics in the car for about 15 or 20 minutes. When I asked how to get electronics to work Tel Aid said go back to dealer. Two days later got a call from Tel Aid saying they were having some issues with a local carrier but everything was ok now and I should press i to activate. Told them to forget it.

Alex Veksler

Am I missing something here?
Why there is a talk of separate fee for Concierge??????????????

A month ago I got an offer to renew.

I quote: "Your tele aid BASIC package includes Auto collision Notification, Emergency roadside assistance, Anti-Theft Alarm Notification, Stolen Vehlce recovery, Remote door Unlock, Route assistance ($2.95 per use), CONCIERGE SERVICE, and customer care Information".

Annual suscription: $240

optional is Tele Trek for $75/year ---and that is it.

CE750

has to be a typo.. call and confirm, then post what they tell you.. I'd love to know, maybe they dropped the price.

pa28pilot

Yes, because I asked MBUSA a while ago.

Dear Mr. pa28pilot,

Thank you for your recent internet inquiry and your interest in Mercedes-Benz Tele Aid service.

Tele Aid utilizes a dual-mode digital/analog-based hardware device that operates on a CDMA network. If the CDMA network is not available, the device will attempt to connect using the analog AMPS network. Our CDMA network is provided and maintained by VerizonWireless. Please note, the Tele Aid service is only available if you are within operating range of the designated wireless network.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any additional questions you may have.

Best regards,
Customer Care Department
Mercedes-Benz Tele Aid

CE750

Teleaid is basically T-Mobil..

http://www.t-traffic.de/en/t_traffic...esbenzteleaid/