craign

I picked up my nav replacement last week. I have some issues, Cd Changer won't load Discs, Dealer installed phone which MB made the dealer move to the new car instead of ordering with factory phone has very poor sound quality, Car pulls to the right.

I called the dealer to complain, and while I was on the phone, the entire Command system went dead. Phone, radio and nav do not work at all. If I press the power button, The MB logo shows on the screen for approx 30 seconds, then the display goes blank.

I am very disapointed, I brought the original car in for the same issues that everyone seems to have (alignment, audio gateway, heated steering wheel, engine tapping, airmatic) and they had it for two weeks.

This problem seems very similair to one of the problems I had with my 745i that caused BMW to buy it back. I think that the nav/radio/phone in the 745i is manufactured by harmon/Becker the same company that manufactures the Command system in the E500. That scares me!

Has anyone had any issues with the new Command?

bmms8

wow, sorry to hear about your new car craig i hope it doesnt take the dealer long to fix it. i havent heard anything like the stuff that happened to you, sorry once again

Otto

craign,

your car has the old version of software. you merely stop by your dealer and mention that you want to upgrade your "audio gateway".

Otto

rayscar

Sorry to hear that craign. My COMAND is working great so far

bmms8

rays, is it true that you can view pics of big hotels and stuff? and colleges? my salesman told me you can view pics, tia

nyca

old software? he just picked the car up last week.

NitroShredder

I dunno. I have been able to "pull up" details on various POI's (points of interest).. which includes the street address, and phone #.. but haven't seen any pictures.

nguyent281

you should take your car in for the pulling to the right problem. i took my car in last week for it and they had to replace something called the bolt kit and i had to pay for it. i got into a big arugment with the services guy about how it was suppose to be replace under warranty. But it was a wear and tear item so i couldnt do anything about it. they are only covered for 1yr. or 12k mile. i had 12120 on my car. that pissed the hell out of me.

ctouhey

Which dealership in Houston? What is the build date on your car?

rayscar

I've read most of the COMANd manual and it make no mention of pictures and I haven't seen any pictures of POI's just s ome basic info and their telephone number so i don't thinak that is correct.

etenn

This is a known "defect" with the W211 and should be handled under warranty regardless of the mileage. There is no way "wear and tear" can cause the need for a bolt extension service. The very fact that a "bolt extension kit" for a new model car indicates that it is a known defect.

Search this forum for "bolt kits", "pulls to the right", etc. You will find thread after thread on this subject. Print some of it out and talk with the General Manager of the dealership.

If they still take this crazy stance call MBUSA and ask who you can talk to about this dealer service problem. I would send copies of some the threads to the dealership and also to MBUSA if you have to go that far.

alewifebp

I agree with etenn. Assuming we are talking about the widely known defect of pulling to the right, this is an issue that is covered under warranty, period. The dealer was giving you . And what a crappy dealer, that with only 120 miles over, they are counting that as over 12,000 miles? Jeez, you think they could cut a little slack for a guy?

nguyent281

i went to greenway mercedes. My god thier service sucks ***. they did not even call me back once for an update on my car. i waited a week for a call and then i had to go up there in person and ask them whats wrong with my car. i will not buy anything from them anymore.

E500 Sport

I'm also having problems with my new Command unit although not as major as yours. After using the command for a few weeks i notice that alot of times my nav unit gets lost. When i activate the GPS Position display I notice that when the Nav gets lost only 1 or 2 GPS Satellite Signals can be picked up (GPS requires picking up 4 Satellite signals in order for it to work). I wonder if it's caused by the hi-buildings in the NYC where I live. Has anyone have similar experience?

NitroShredder

I never have.. although I usually leave the GPS setting OFF.. so I don't get the data at the bottom. I have noticed it doesn't always choose the route I would have usually.. but then again it has more data to go by.

I will say the first time it led me home it decided to enter my subdivision by the back way.. now it selects the front way (preferable). Maybe it learned when I ignored it the first few times.

I'll check the GPS thing too.

Peter

slipnby

I've used GPS for many years. I've used Alpine, Magellan, Garmin and MBs' devices. I think the 'lost' problem is primarily in the data bases. Some of the lost events are repeatable across systems. In my area, there is a section where each GPS system has refused to recognize in routing. Each one has routed around the area. I always drive through that area, and the GPS will instruct me to u-turn until I get past it. The alpine/garmin/MB systems each react the same way. This is a well traveled area. A few years ago I called NAVTECH to inquire. They were aware of the area, and promised an update in a future release. I'm still waiting.


When outside major metro areas, I've seen certain characteristics missing (this week end I saw an entire gated community missing from the data base, but all roads around it were present).

Another situation could be solar flares. I've noticed when flares are high the error rate can increase. Back in the CB radio days, the radios would go silent more often during flares. While tall buildings can be a problem , the gyro is supposed to compensate for the brief 'loss' period when the satcom signal returns.

bboerit

I haven't had any problems other than the one already mentioned where the system chooses a route that I wouldn't normally take (ie not the shortest distance)... The other problem I noticed, comparing non-NAV to NAV is that the radio reception in the new NAV car isn't as strong as it was in the old car without NAV... I get static at times when I didn't before...

craign

I have had a couple od BMW nav systems and they always get lost in NYC. When they lose the GPS signal, they revert to tracking mileage and turns and eventually they get off course. My car ussually ends up in the middle of the East River (as I head west for NJ, the car on the display heads east). This happens more often when I park in a garage or deck.

Double Eagle

I'm also a boater and have used a variety of hand held GPS's on boats over the years. The GPS system requires a clear look at the sky in order for the signal to be received properly. Buildings in New York will definetly interfere with it as you will seldom have a clear look at the required four satellites. Similar problems can occur in heavily wooded areas with trees blocking potential signals. If you have a canvas cover on a boat's flybridge the handheld GPS may work but it will not work if you have a hard gel coated, fiber glass cover. Vehicle GPS's will usually not work in a parking garage for the same reason.

The trouble with the new NAV in Houston could be due to the Audio Gateway fix for failure to operate in high temperatures not being installed in the new NAV replacement vehicles. I haven't heard when this fix will be available but since the NAV works through the Audio Gateway for the voice commands it will probably fail along with the rest of the Audio systems--radio, CD, and phone if temperatures are high. You would think MB could get a fix for this major problem more quickly than it's taking them. I am due to get my NAV replacement car this month and will ask about this problem as my current audio gateway fails in high temperatures.

abhansali

Question: I have a 2000 Honda mini-van with Navigation. On my system, you can actually type in the name of any business (like I typed in the name of my own company) and it comes up in the Navigation with phone number and then you can just tell the navigation that it is your destination. We use this a lot, just as a rudimetry phone book. For example, if we are looking to call a certain restaurant, we can just type in the name in the Navi, and it will show the phone number (of course, not all business always come up, but considering it found my company address/phone number, not bad)....

Does the W211 Navi have this capability?

Apurva

rayscar

No I have not seen this feature. You can get phone numbers of POI's by hitting the Info soft key but you can't just type in a business name and get a phone number.