COMAND System going bad...please help
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Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: New Jersey
2007 E350 Sport
COMAND System going bad...please help
Hi All, so my car recently hit 55,000 miles and for the last week or so I noticed by Comand System is pausing while I'm either listening to the radio, cd, on bluetooth phone call, or during a navigation route. It will pause (audio gets cut) for 5 seconds or so and then continue playing music, ect. This happens once or twice every 10 minutes or so. The screen still stays on when this happens, the pause is in the audio and when I have a navi route entered it will automatically recalculate after the pause. I have no idea what could be wrong. I'm out of warranty so I would prefer not to take it to the stealership. Any idea what would be wrong?? I tried removed and re-inserting the Navi CD from in the trunk. I also tried to reset the Navi via the Service button with no luck at all. Anything else I can do to possibly fix this?? Please help. thanks!!!
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 58
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From: New Jersey
2007 E350 Sport
Hi, I lost my presets when I reset the Navi. I basically lost everything that was stored such as recent destinations, my home address, ect. There is no message on the dash or screen. The pause happens very sporadically and is completely unpredictable. Its very annoying especially during a good song or conversation via bluetooth 
Any idea what it can be??
Any idea what it can be??
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From: NJ, USA
2004 E500 4Matic
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From: Atlanta
05 CL65 AMG, 07 Ferrari F430, 03 Range Rover HSE
There are some services that will repair them, however, this is a difficult repair. You may want to check online with some repair services...
Replacement units are about $1200
Replacement units are about $1200
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Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: NJ, USA
2004 E500 4Matic
I remember that someone stated that a software update on the head unit and the AGW may be able to fix that.
Junior Member
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From: NJ, USA
2004 E500 4Matic
One more thing, if the pause is happening without loosing the presets or the navigation data, would that be a failing flash or it could be something else hopefully less expensive to fix?
Former Vendor of MBWorld
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From: Atlanta
05 CL65 AMG, 07 Ferrari F430, 03 Range Rover HSE
If the pause is audio only, then it is possible the amp is failing (overheating). Flash is the memory in the Head Unit that stores the operating system and other information such as presets, recent nav, etc.
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From: NJ, USA
2004 E500 4Matic
can't be replaces? how much would it be?
is that the AGW or something else?
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05 CL65 AMG, 07 Ferrari F430, 03 Range Rover HSE
Yes, in this case, the Audio Gateway (AGW) and amp are the same thing. It can be replaced, generally not worth fixing. Refurb units typically are under $300
Junior Member
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From: NJ, USA
2004 E500 4Matic
Do you have a part number for the AGW?
Where is it located in the car, is it next to the head unit or somewhere else?
Is that easy to replace "DIY" or a dealer job?
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05 CL65 AMG, 07 Ferrari F430, 03 Range Rover HSE
In the trunk, left hand side. Very easy DIY. There are actually several different AGW part numbers that span the W211. You would want to get the part number off your current unit.
Junior Member
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From: NJ, USA
2004 E500 4Matic
Cartronics, great thanks, is that on the side by the navigation DVD device or somewhere in the bottom by the battery but on the other side?
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E55, SL63, ML550
Ok, first of all it could be muliple things... not just the comand, or the AGW. First step is to update software in both. This may not help, as any unit and the optical ring has the ability to take down the whole system. What you really need is first, check codes. This may lead you to the cause. This is the first step, before just throwing parts at it.
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 43
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From: NJ, USA
2004 E500 4Matic
Ok, first of all it could be muliple things... not just the comand, or the AGW. First step is to update software in both. This may not help, as any unit and the optical ring has the ability to take down the whole system. What you really need is first, check codes. This may lead you to the cause. This is the first step, before just throwing parts at it.
is there anyway that I can do any of that without it, like a hidden menu somewhere?
Former Vendor of MBWorld
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From: Atlanta
05 CL65 AMG, 07 Ferrari F430, 03 Range Rover HSE
Yes you would need Star DAS to read the codes (if any), however with a fault like this typically there will be no faults (at least that is what we see in the shop most of the time) - but Iknownothing is correct, it would be good to at least look first.
