What a weird, strange, trying day. Skipping over the minor details and frustrations, here's a peek.

GETTING RID OF THE OLD ONE

Had a 10:00 appointment to come by for an appraisal. Supposedly, I would get the car Friday. Something about waiting for paperwork authorization from MB. Things went fine and left just before 11:00. Back in the office just after 11 and fielded a voice mail from the dealership. Said something about me not answering my cell, but there were no missed calls showing... They wanted me to come back as they changed their mind and would not wait on paperwork and wanted me to have the car today. They needed my car to swap out the wood wheel I purchased separately (but from dealer).

Well, that's not a problem since I live 7 miles from the office and the dealership is in-between the two. I had to go home to get the other key and the ashtray. Boom, I'm there...boom, I got the stuff...boom, I'm in the car...BOOM! The instrument panel went crazy and the car locked up.

I don't know what happened. I've never had both keys in the car at the same time since I set the settings key dependent. (Why I did that, I don't know-- it's just me...) The moment I hit the start button on the gearshift, everything lit up. "Instrument Panel Failure - Visit Workshop" "SRS Failure - Visit Workshop" "Get Yo Ugly *** Outta My Seat! Screw the Workshop!"

Okay, okay, I'm paraphrasing on the last one. But I did separate the keys, screw with it for 20 minutes, try to turn the key in the ignition, etc. All this in the blissful Houston climate where the temperature was 2 degrees above Marilyn Vos Savant's IQ and the humidity reading 1 percent above mine.

Moving on to the highly efficient MB 800 number rescue system... After about an hour of talking with 3 different people (one of them twice), they finally realize that when I said I needed a flatbed wrecker, I actually did. The dealership sends one over. I'm guessing my Aloha shirt threw them off and put me in a class where everything I said was meaningless. The guy from the dealership proceeded to do everything I tried to do, including dripping lots of salty sweat on dem nice leather seats. He did think of one thing I didn't ... use both hands to try and jerk da dad gum gear shift outta park! Unfortunately for both of us, it just didn't work.

Eventually, he thought we'd just unhook the battery and see what would happen. Except the only tool he seemed to have was a broken tiny monkey wrench... Realizing my key to survival at this point was my sense of humor, I waited until there was sufficient sweat flowing to threaten a short in the electrical system, and then I went in and got a vice grip. Anyway, that worked. It reset the system and I jumped in and it started right up. No malfunctions. I'm really gonna miss that car -- what a joker!

PICKING UP THE NEW ONE

This is much shorter. I drove to the dealership and dropped off the car. Somehow my loaner was gone, but no worries. Got a ride to work with the Service Supervisor (now that's a good use of talent) and hitched a ride back with a co-worker. It's almost 7 before they finish the car and I've finished the final paperwork. (They close at 7.) I look for my salesperson but she's with a client. She walks in about then and tells me it may be a while (she's with an older couple) so I wait in the lounge. CNN is on. I can tell you anything you want to know about dead Arab brothers or men's prostrates.

An hour later, I'm tired of waiting. I go interrupt and say I'm leaving. We agree to meet tomorrow and go over the Navigation. I go out to the car. Try both keys. Neither will unlock via the Keyless Go. (Remember, I've had this since Oct, so I'm pretty familiar with how it works.) I unlock the car with the key. I try to start it via the shift knob button. (I've got one key out about 10 feet away and one with me). No luck. With either key.

Okay, I have limits. I'm pissed. Nine days from arrival at the VPC to now and nobody has figured out that the amplifiers are faulty? Hello! JD Powers...initial quality...hello! Anybody out there listening?!

Well, I'm just pissed. I go back, interrupt, and say the KG doesn't work and I'm waiting. Dummy. The dealership was closed, they were having a gosh-awful time with some other salesperson's client, and, well, it's about 9:15 before she is free to speak with me. We agree this is unacceptable and supposedly I'll get bumped to the front of the line tomorrow to get this fixed. Whatcha wanna bet they gotta order the parts?

On a positive note, I like the screen and the car seems more peppy and tight than the one I turned in. (And that's saying a lot.) I like the Michelins much better than the Continentals...and I know what I'm talking about 'cause I put 3 or 4 miles on them suckers so far!

Okay, I'll shut up. I had to be silly or I'd just be angry, and that's not going to do anyone much good.

I hope others had a smoother delivery of their new baby than I experienced.

 

LOL :p :p :p

 

hey, sorry about your day. i remember reading in the manual that if you have both keys in the car, and you have keylessgo, you need to use the ignition(key hole) to start the car, that probably was your problem. hope your new car stuff goes well tomarrow

 

there is no way I am ordering this option.

 

Chris, man.. I had NO IDEA your day would CONTINUE like that!! You told me the 1st part on the phone.. but man.. that was insane. I get mine tomorrow.. HOPEFULLY my KG works. I'd hate to tell the wife I added KG, PAID over 1g for it.. and then.. OH the parts are on order.

I think it might be safe to use my mechanical key tomorrow.. JUST TO BE SAFE. Might be a Houston or a Greenway thing. But at least you have a sense of humor about it.

I'll call you tomorrow or something... I can't wait for Part Deux =)

Peter

PS: Didn't they hold your car at the VPC the FIRST time for KG problems? And during "pre delivery" inspection they didn't pick up on this?

 

And that's the very reason I posted this

As long as I got a smile outta somebody, 'cause there was times today I wasn't smilin' much...

 

Sorry to hear about all your problems. Hope it works out. How did you get Michelins instead of conti's? My replacement came with Continentals again.

 

They told me that all the Es for the last few months, sport and non-sport, had been shipped with Michelins (at least to Greenway). Of course, they're the Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 and not the Pilot Sport.

 

My wife's second car came with the MXM4s, did you also notice that now you have the Airmatic notifications on the speedo display when you go from Comfort to Sport? The Michelins are MUCH better tires... Contis are just... blecch! I suppose they got the Keyless Go issues worked out as I haven't had a problem at all with the E55 even when both keys have been in the car.

 

Yeah, the notification is cool -- all 3 settings. Plus, I like how it gives you the direction and street name in the speedometer. Overall, the car seems much more tight and "finished" then my August 2002 build.

They just called. They're waiting for me in the Service Department. Hope they have the KG amps in stock. I'm outta here!

 

gl, hope everything works out well this time!

 

my keyless go works fine. i've been in the car many times with both keys (wife has a key in her purse, i have one in my pocket) and it works without a problem.

Rock.

 

Mine too, many times with both keys and never had problems.

 

Just got back; they have to order a part and it will be next week before it's fixed.

I asked the Service Manager how the car got past the VPC and their prep without anyone noticing the KG failure. His response was an unbelievable, "We're having issues with out Keyless Go option. Most are failing shortly after delivery." What BS! That tells me I'm better off working with the regular Service Advisors. At least they haven't fed me BS. Their response has typically been, "The car's too new and we just don't know." That I can live with.

My salesperson was going to explain the navigation system to me, but it turns out mine is the first E to arrive with the Nav and she just wanted to play with it. I had to get back so I told her I'd figure it out over the weekend and explain it next week when I get the KG fixed.

Time to quit frettin' and get to enjoyin' the new car!

 

You'll find the COMAND II is really pretty easy to use IMO.

 

Tonight I picked up my NAV replacement .. and yes the car is very nice. I have noticed a few "running changes" in the car itself from the late 02 builds. My salesman says the new "command stack" is basically an 04 stack. But anyways....

My KG SORT OF worked... it would work sometimes but not others.. and certain doors worked better than other.. and one key seemed better than the other. SO obviously the system isn't 100% right.. and they are going to look into it. INSIDE the car.. I have NO problem starting and stopping the engine.. but unlocking and locking is sporadic at best.

I also noticed one key constantly keeps "losing" sync with the car.. it requires repeated (2 or 3 times so far.. and I've had the car for 4+hours) "synchronizing" with the vehicle. It of course is the key that SEEMS to work the best.. when it does.

Another than that.. I have to say a big thumbs up. The NAV is truly awesome.. but it may be early.. but I think my HK sound is not as good as it was in my pre-NAV car. Opinions?

Maybe it's a setting somewhere.

Peter

 

congrats on your car, the hk might not be on logic 7, and might be on something else

 

hey chris, sorry to hear about your problems with the keyless go...I'm a non-prepay so I'm chasing MB for the coupon (800-for-mercedes doesn't have me/my VIN/dealer combo on their list, so I'm working it thru my sales guy).

About to start pricing an 04 (as a non-prepay, I'll end up trading my 03 plus the coupon against a new car, at this time an 04).

Did the nav mean you had to sacrifice the CD changer in dash? I recall some post somewhere last year about the NAV black boxes crowding out the pocket used for the in-dash 6 disc changer.

I'm toying with the idea of 4matic, which will be available in the October timeframe....also likely to drastically redo my config (ditch the sucky 406 seats, pick up panorama, solar, AVS, shades side and rear, etc).

How's the nav working out, other than the "can't start the )(*)( car" issues?

-james

 

you can have the 6 cd chaner and the NAV. there is no issue on that. i also believe you can mute the nav audio, and listen to your CD's

 

James,

Took a brief trip to Galveston tonight for dinner. I must say there is a world of difference between my August build and this June build. I'd advise working the deal on the '04. MB went to market early on the W211 and now has it pretty much down pat. There are a myriad of subtle differences that add up significantly. Good luck, Peter. (And yes, the Nav is cool. Not really that intutitive, but workable.)

 

It's not "intuitive" off the bat.. but once you get the "City" Street" number thing down.. finding a house/location is pretty easy.

I have begun adding "destinations" to the memory and now they are as easy as pie.

I may take a trip on Friday to Galveston to Moody Gardens.. and will use the NAV to get me there. Just in case .... =)

Peter

 

ctouhey and NitroShredder, you both eluded to "running changes" and "a world of difference" with your replacements. I have a replacement coming for my original December delivery.

Could you expound on what differences/changes you have noticed?

Thanks

 

The car "feels" tighter. More solid.. maybe a touch heavier. The ride seems quieter.. and I noticed in Sport 2 it's not as harsh (maybe thats the new tires).

The console area.. the buttons for the power rear sunshade and the ESP ON/OFF button are swapped. In other words, if you have the power sun shade.. from the shifter.. the button is RIGHT there.. don't need to move your finger/hand from the shifter over to the right to use it. Meanwhile the ESP is now FARTHER away.. which is fine since you hardly use it (I use the sunshade up/down all the time).

In the MFD, you see messages for Airmatic mode changes.. and if you leave the sunroof open when you turn off the car (I didn't have either in my pre-NAV).

Of course, the NAV is great.. and the screens are all "watermarked" depending on the "screen" you are on(but that's a NAV thing I'm sure). You see CD's in the background on the CD screen, radio waves for the AM/FM, a giant SAT dish for the SAT radio, etc.

Although, I'm trying to figure out the CD Text deal. The manual says on discs with CD Text.. that the name of the disc and songs APPEAR on the COmmand screen. Now that's cool!

Chris, did I miss anything? Oh yeah.. the NEW SMELL again.. and the early post-delivery problems =) These so far are KG related.

Peter

 

The car tracks perfectly straight. Mine drifted to the right the entire time I had it. I also think my seat is more comfortable, although I can't really expain it. It just seems to fit me better or something. The bottom actual seat portion still would ideally be longer, but either I'm used to it now or something is slightly different because it doesn't bother me as much as it did with my initial delivery. There are some little finishing touches like the "Harman Kardon" badges on the lower front speakers. (The system still sounds excellent, especially with a well-produced CD played at elevated volume.) It rained for about 30 minutes on the way to Galveston. Not only were the wipers quiet, they were absolutely silent from the initial swipe. Not the slightest sound at all.

It also came tuned to very responsive driving. I noticed that in city stop and go it adjusts down to be less responsive, but the first time I touched the gas it just lept forward. (Picked it up with 11 miles on it.) I think the throttle computer is working better.

Peter is correct in that the speedo readout contains new stuff. Mine is also in a different color. The August 2002 build had kind of a greyish-blue tone to the messages while my June 2003 build has a yellowish-gold tone.

This is in addition to all the things Peter said, which I do agree with. Really, it's a series of small things that just seem to say, "I'm ready for my close-up now, Mr. DeMille."

 

cool, thanks a lot for the info, im pretty excited about mine. it should be at the dealer on augst 15. i am not sure if you know, but i remember you posted that if your moonroof is open, the mfd will tell you, is it the same with the windows, thanks