Hello Guys:

Finally, after waiting a week my car has arrived. It is 2004 E500 Obsedian Black w/ appearance + premium package, DVD nav. So far, I have been driving 10 miles only (picked up from the dealer). I'll post some comments later.

Few questions here because I never own Benz before:

1. Handbrake:
I picked up the car this morning, started the engine, and I checked if the handbreak is ON. However, the display on the board didn't say anything. I pulled the handbreak (P), nothing showing up either. The board didn't say like if the (P)/Brake is on or not. I have tried to pull it several times, but again the board didn't say that. Is this normal? Or I need to do something else? I am just afraid that I am running the car with (P) still there.

2. Using steptronic gear (that's what it's called in BMW):
Say I am in steptronic/tiptronic mode, how do I return the gear to Automatic Mode? In BMW, you have to shift to the right. I am not sure with MB. So, this morning I use it in Automatic Mode all the time.

3. How long is the break-in period? 1000 miles?
4. This car has 7G tronic or something? Does it equal to 8 speed manual?
5. What do I need to check to see if my car is free from defect? I noticed few threads lately and some owners experienced like humming sound on the radio, etc, etc.....

I think that's all my questions. Sorry to sound like an idiot. I am just totally new to MB, but I surely hope I can get some inputs and I'll enjoy the car as much as other people here do. Would like to try 5.0L V8 7G-tronic machine ROARRRR..........................

 

Ipolo, I do not know what you are talking about. No handbrake in My E500, or any that I am aware of in the US Market.

 

I think that's the term he's using for the parking break even though it's not a handbrake. Anyways, I'm pretty sure the only indication you have that the parking brake is engaged is if you try to move the car while it is on. I know that on the new C's, if you do that, there is a red warning with chimes on the dash's multi-function display to let you know that the parking brake is engaged. I would guess it's the same on the E.

 

First off, congratulations on an awsome car, your going to love everything about it, looks like you've got a pretty nicely equipped one too! I'll try to help you with your questions.

1. parking brake indicator should be a red led that spells out "brake" and lights up when it is engaged. it is located in the lower part of the clock inside your instrument cluster.
2. steptronic or "touchshift" in mb lingo is very straightforward, nudge to the left to downshift, to the right to upshift...after the second highest gear (6th in your case) you nudge it to the right once more to engage drive, or just keep it pressed to the right and it'll go up gear by gear until you get to drive. The nice thing about the transmission is that it automatically selects the optimum gear for you when you nudge it the left for about one second or less, weather you are accelerating or decelerating,,,in other words, your on the highway cruising at 75 in, say 6th gear, and you nudge the gear shifter to the left for a sec and you'll downshift to the best gear for acceleration (probably third in that situation) and the new transmission can even skip gears from what I understand...same for decelerating...you're approaching a light doing 45, braking lightly, nudge down for a sec, and you'll go down to second and feel some engine braking...its a pretty cool feature, easy to use, but takes a little getting used to...

3. as for beak-in, see your manual or ask dealer or both...

4. not sure if it equals 8 speed manual , but i do know it offers some extra features (and gears, obviously) over the 5-speed automatic.

5. as far as your car having defects, you will know (i hope ) if anything goes wrong,,,if you've read all the threads on here regarding people's problems, i'm sure you have a pretty good idea of what to look out for...

good luck with everything, I hope this helps a little.

 

IMHO, the first thing anyone should do when they buy a new car is sit down and read the manual TWICE

 

What you reffer to as "handbrake" is nothing more than a brake that activates everytime you stop the car. It works fully automatic and comes in handy when you stop the car uphill son you don't have to keep you foot on the brake pedal.

 

The parking brake cannot be pulled. It sounds to me you are pulling the parking brake release and thinking that is the brake itself. There is a pedal on the left side of the foot well that you press to activate the parking brake. Once you activate it, the red brake light should appear. To deactivate the brake, you pull the lever you are referring to. It doesn't sound as if your sales person did a stellar job going over the car with you. Spend some time reading the manual, enjoy your car and post any questions you may have. This is a great forum to share experiences, ask questions and get well informed input.

 

Can we set combination of digital speed and NAV on the digital display (the one in near speedometer)?

I have programmed few radio stations. So, when I press button 1, 2, 3, and so on on the radio, it will go to the assigned radio station. However, if I use button on the wheel/steer to choose a radio station, the system is trying to search a radio station one by one. What I want to do is if I press the button on the wheel/steer it will go to radio channel #1 #2 #3, as I already programmed before.

Any advice?

 

As stupid as it may seem, we don't have that option.

 

advice: you should have been reading this board before you bought the car!