etenn

I may have misssed it because I was gone for a couple of weeks.
You posted some great information about the Navigation and answered all out questions....but....

What about the rest of the car? Are you having any of the cronic problems we had before? Ticking? Pulling to the right? Audio glitchs? Any of that old stuff on the new one? Hopefully they are correcting this stuff on the line and we won't have to take it in to take care of it.

drb

The only malfunction to emerge so far is the air matic. The item that raises and lowers the car. The third day I received, in the speedo, the image of the car with the up arrow and instruction to visit the workshop. I will take it in this week for the repair. Otherwise everything else works well, some of it better than before. The wipers are quiet. The tires are quiet. In fact the car seems much more quiet when I pass loud trucks...barley hear them. The navigation is significantly better than in my 01. I have traveled to many unfamiliar places, and it is dead on every time. Entering destinations takes a fraction of the time than before. If I fail to take a turn the reroute is almost instant. The map itself is more comprehensive in the amount of information available on the screen. The voice directions are significantly better, more precise and verbose. The split screen is helpful at times involving complex roads. Having this do over is a blessing. The free wood wheel feels great. The keyless go, which I added, is really useful. I did not think it would be last fall, but some MB owners here led me to try it out. Overall, I am much happier with the replacement.

I also added XM Radio a week ago. It is fabulous. The audio system of the car truly complements XM vice regular FM broadcast. Four recent passengers commented, without prompting, on the rich fidelity and one thought I was playing CDs. No one ever commented on the sound system of the original car.

mco

DRB,

I take it the XM radio was installed not by Mercedes since they are using Sirius. How does it integrate with the audio system and where was the tuner put? Is it in the ashtray compartment? Also, what type of tires came with your car?

drb

The XM was installed in the ash tray area by a local audio equipment dealer. The antenna was snaked into the rear and it sits under the rear window out of sight. They thought the metalized tint would cause signal drop out. It happened a couple times on cloudy days, but the drop out is so rare I will live with it. The alternative is to put the antenna on the trunk which eventually will scratch the paint, and I am not too interested in that placement. The only time anyone would visually know XM is in the car is when the ashtray door is opened. I had the alpine model installed which comes with a remote control.

The tires are continental touring 2. The original car had conti, but a different, noiser, bumpier model.

nyca

your XM broadcasts on an FM frequency? there are no auxiliary inputs accessible on the head unit, is that right?

drb

Yes, XM is tuned to an empty FM frequency...88.7. There is one thick wire from the back of the unit but I'm unfamiliar with the head unit connections.