MB_E500

Has anyone installed the OEM phone/Bluetooth sys in W211 (2006 E500 with nav, sat radio)? I spoke to a Hi-end audio installer the my Benz dealer (Barrier Mercedes-Seattle) reccomended and they said stay away from incartronics/mo-bridge. The firmware constantly changes and is not stable and could damage the car's firmware?. I want to DIY install but not sure what parts I need to buy from the dealer. The other option is Parott which by-passes the oem controls which i do not like.....

PS 2003-2004 E-Class Owners: Benz offer a new module that you can plug into the teleaid system that gives you bluetooth with oem controls: $699. 2006 onward has a new COMAND sys which it doesnt support.

baxterdown

Is your car pre-wired for phone? look in the center console. Do you have a connector that looks like this?



PS. The picture is of an ML. The connector on the E-Class in not on the bottom of the console but on the back.

Jose

Benz-O-Rama

You can absolutely retrofit it. I did my 2004 and it was a piece of cake. Unfortunately for you, the 2005+ cars are a bit more expensive to retrofit than the 2003-2004's and are a bit more difficult to install. Here's the parts list and instructions if you want to give it a shot.

2005+ Phone Kit

jditom

I just did the Mobridge unit for BT and iPod and it works great. It is the same unit that incartronic uses. I did my install and think it's a bargin.

gaazmon

Wait, what you mean by this? When did they come out with this? Will it work if you still have the old analog teleaid instead of the digital one like the 05+?

MB_E500

Not sure but the Benz dealer indicated 2003-2005 E-Class is supported by this bluetooth module. 2006 onward has no support and you have to install the whole phone system......

MB_E500

Are these part numbers and instructions valid for 2006 W211 E500? Thank you.

gaazmon

Are you talking about the puck-with-tail unit?

jaygoldstar

If your vehicle is not pre-wired, definitely go with the Mobridge system, it's cheaper (should be $1199 installed) and it gives you the iPod interface, which works pretty well. If it is prewired don't make the mistake like I did of using the Viseoo piece, go with the Motorola, much better!

MJ50

yes, it only works with 03 and 04 models...

ygohome

yep, puck with tail works awesome on 03 and 04 benzes. we just recently installed it in our 04 s series and works like a charm with my bluetooth verizon pocket pc/phone. gives the same features I get in my 07 e350.

for 05+ model years, unless you already have the MHI plug in your center console, you have to install a lot of expensive MB hardware. $2000+

that mobridge sounds like a good solution and at half that price for 05+ model years that didn't come prewired.

MJ50

does ur bt phone connect all the time?
cuz mine sometimes doesn't pair up...

gaazmon

How well does the puck with tail work? Those it work with all phones? Will it allow phonebook download and controls via the COMAND system??? If I have the Analog teleaid will this still work or do I have to upgrade to digital teleaid?

MJ50

it works with all BT phones
full controls via steering wheel, VCM and COMAND
phonebook d/l will vary by phone and provider...
will work on 03 and 04 W211s...

ygohome

works with or without the digital conversion. I had the digital conversion done in our S series but most people stay analog and the results are the same.

As mentioned, any bluetooth phone will work with the steering wheel and command controls on 03 - 04 model years if you get the "puck with tail". Some versions of the bluetooth drivers on some phones though do not allow downloading of the phonebook contact list to the command system.

for example, my verizon xv6800 with Windows Mobile 6.0 worked awesome and my contacts automatically transferred to the command system. I then upgraded to Mobile 6.1 and they changed something with the bluetooth OBX in that version of Windows. My contacts would no longer transfer to the command system So I wen't back to version 6.0 and it works great again.

Go to your dealer and test your phone on an existing benz with the puck installed. Or tell them, incase my phone doesn't work, can I return the puck? BTW, print out the part number and stuff because most tech advisors are oblivious to the "puck with tail"... most advisors only are aware of the puck that works with the cradle... and some advisors are very stubborn to believe the customer. lol. I fired my last advisor cuz he refused to believe me when I told him about it.

Most likely it will work though.

Good luck,

Ben

ygohome

yes, my verizon xv6800 with mobile 6.0 works everytime.

I tried upgrading to mobile 6.1 on my phone and my contacts stopped synching with the command system... so I went back to mobile 6.0.

Be sure bluetooth is activated on your phone prior to starting your car. You have 30 seconds and then the puck will stop searching for your phone. Otherwise you will manually have to put the puck into "discovery" mode for it to search for you phone again. I leave bluetooth on all the time on my phone.

Also, if you have a headset, turn it off otherwise my verizon won't pair with the puck if its already paired with my headset. BTW, I don't use my headset very much at all anymore. Its more of a hassle than its worth.

MJ50

my iPhone's BT is always on...
but regardless of that, it sometimes just won't pair...
and sometimes, when i manually attempt to pair again, phone won't accept correct PIN...
i know way around it to make it work but it's just PITA to do so for BT...

ygohome

AHH, iPhones... I've read the bluetooth puck is a little quirky with them. But I've also read of people having no issues at all with the puck and their iphones. I wonder if there is a firmware update from MB for the puck to work better with iPhones.

Anyways, I did some googling and came accross this...

http://gizmodo.com/5018227/mercedes+...special-cradle

Not sure, but it says in the article that it can be retrofitted. And it would charge your iphone too, which is a definate plus. I didn't see any part numbers though. Maybe do some more research on it and see if it is something you want to invest in or if it even works with the 03-04 e series... it may not

ygohome

oh, and if anyone with an 03 or 04 model year wants the puck with tail...

here are the links showing part #s and description of it. Helpful for when you go in to your parts department or talk with your service/tech advisor

http://www.wireless4mb.com/page19/page33/page33.html

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/pdf/B67875855.pdf

lkchris

Part number B67875855 that is.

Try that number without the B here: http://www.mercedespartssuperstore.com

MJ50

i can prolly just get the cradle and use it as a charger.... it'll prolly be the most expensive car charger....

for full integration, u'll need full phone kit....

i wonder if dealer can update the firmware on the bt puck...

gaazmon

So, I have a Palm Treo 650, anyone have any experience. Now, my car didn't come with anything extra for the phone, meaning whatever was standard (so I guess just the pre-wiring). So all I would need is the puck with tail and have that wired to the car?

Lol, yeah my own uncle who works on our benzes and has his own shop was telling me I had to buy a whole cradle system with the bluetooth thing for that also. He didn't know about the puck with tail.

gaazmon

Here's something interesting for people with cradles already:

http://www.itjustworks.co.uk/viseeo-...-bluetooth.htm

MJ50

i never had good BT experience w/ treo...

MJ50

interesting... wonder how good it really is...