PCH_4.2

Excuse my ignorance, but I have an '04 E00 w/ entertainment and appearance pkg & sunroof. I am looking to add Comand into my car without going thru the dealer route and at the same time, maybe saving a few dimes. What are my options?

I apologize if this has been asked before.


Thanks, PCH

PCH_4.2

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ToyCollector

I would contact Scorchie on this site or MBenZL. Both are active on this site, and I would get a euro one if you did not want to do Satellite Radio.

fazooley

For sure get the Euro one. Contact Steve(MbenzNL) on this board for the comand unit. Whats nice with the Euro is you get Video DVD playback directly from the headunit, RDS, and a polite lady with an english accent for navigation. Steve will also def be cheaper than the dealer, check my posts for pics of my e500 with the Euro Comand.

Fazooley

W210

Does European COMAND have the 'Home' button in the navigation?

fazooley

It actually dosent have the home softkey which I do miss, however; it adds a P.Code softkey which will allow you to enter in the zipcode of wherever you are going instead of going through and putting it in manually. I actually think the P.Code key is much more useful than the Home softkey IMO.

Fazooley

gmdebruyn

RDS seems to be coming available here in the US. at least those yahoo maps/directions now offer you traffic speeds/etc and i'm assuming that is RDS. does the Euro command unit work with this RDS? has anyone tried it?

Barry45RPM

I can't believe that US Spec navs still do not have this feature. Almost every time you are going someplace you know the zipcode. Input 5 numbers and you have eliminated the need to peck in " P o r t _W a s h i n g t o n,_N Y"

...and if you dont know the zipcode, you'd make sure to get it rather than peck in all of the above!

Are you Listening MBUSA?

steph280

It would be even better if they can allow entering of phone number to search for destination like Toyota navs do.

ATS

You can get most cities in under 5 keypresses. You enter the first 3 and then hit list. Done..

gmdebruyn

i wish they would just release a mercedes command unit SDK (software developer kit). can you imagine the great changes we could make. and add...

Brav

I have the Euro unit. RDS is great. And I can play a DVD with 3000 MP3s on it as well, with song names (well, file names) etc. Dont really watch movies at all, only on trips with passengers. The British accent is a lot nicer too!

If you don't already have navi, the price of poker tripples as far as your retrofit, but will still be 1/3 the cost if the dealer did it. Looking at 2500 for euro unit, I think 1K credit for your old COMAND, and then another 2-3K for DVD drive, GPS stuff and installation.

I agree that its pathetic that MB has such an odd avaiability of common technologies such as RDS, navi functions, street names without zooming in all the way, steeringwheel/preset issue, etc.. Almost every station here has RDS and I love it.

A cheaper option if you dont care for Euro is getting an 05 US spec. But I'd go for Euro personally since you're going thru the hassle. Current 05s have DVD and I think RDS can be turned on with StarDiagnose or 357 trick. Search the forum there is a lot on this.

Recommend MBenzNL (Steve)

Barry45RPM

Yes, but some of the cities Are NOT truly alphabetically listed, such as when the name of the locale has an additional wording appended, such as ",Village of" which you aren't aware of in advance, and may not even be visible on the screen if the town name is long enough, so the street location you are searching for will not be available to you if you were to choose " Town name" versus Town Name, Village of" which may be listed a couple of page downs later. a Zip code is much more specific than the above, and can contain no spelling errors or missing information. Thats why today's Zip+4 eliminates a whole address. In 9 numbers your exact house is singled out for delivery from the whole US... no street name, no town, no city, no state... Just 9 numbers.

Its all in the programming... and obiously, its in there, just turned off for the US market.

gmdebruyn

Brav,
1) explain to me how RDS works with your Euro unit? Where do you live? Does it show congestion on a map, or do you only have the option to reroute to avoid traffic (like we can now to avoid bridges/tolls/etc.)

2) 05 US Spec - RDS / DVD. I've done a lot of searching, even before I read your article. If you have any information on either of these (I've given up on getting the possible DVD to work (no straight answer on whether it is a DVD or CD drive in there)), I'd be very appreciative. I'd love to activate RDS. I've accessed the NAV service menu where you can change the voice to the British accent/etc. but I saw nothing there referring to RDS.

Please get back to me.
Gareth

Brav

RDS is not traffic announcements - that is separate and not available in the states. Its for radio text broadcasted by the station. Song info, etc.
MB changes hardware with their underwear. Most 05s have DVD drive in the COMAND, some dont. I dont know how to tell. I wasn't able to get RDS to work with my US system. Probably need StarDiagnose. Best bet is to email MBenzNL. He will be down here later this month. Activatind DVD will be the same thing- SD. Prices might be the same for both so I'd go with euro unit.

Barry45RPM

RDS stand for "Radio Data System", which is a song title/artist or a greeting or even a printed comercial message transmitted to all radios capable of receiving RDS. Its sort of like Text Messaging to a FM radio. Many radio stations never change the message they transmit so that it always displays something like... "Rock On. NY's Classic Rock Station"

glojo

Hi Barry,
Do you now see the error of your argument concerning how the US dictates what goes into the 211 Worldwide?. Yes the E-class does have different specifications for the US, but quite clearly none, in my opinion are better options. (SBC Hold is a brilliant example)

The RDS abbreviation you give is correct, but its most important contribution here in Europe is not the name of the singer, but urgent local traffic information. This will cut in over the current program, DVD, or CD that is playing. Plus of course the European COMAND has TMC with Dynamic routing which will automatically update your navigation system and divert you away from reported delays, or accidents without any input from the driver.

Bye for now,
John

A cool morning in Torquay

Barry45RPM

I didn't mean to say all of the demands made by MBUSA were for the good of the CAR, only that they were made & MB obeyed. Deleting items in a car and dismissing them as too complicated for operators to understand is WRONG, when the fact is they are poorly designed or programmed/executed by MB engineers. (Most of the cars problems are SOFTWARE programming related, and NOT hardware related!!! The hardware works- the software is sloppy & obtuse & does not adequately perform the task for which it was requested to be written.)

I could pick 5 frequent posters from this Forum, (you included) take them to MBUSA for a discussion with MBUSA's AND MB Germany's engineers & solve most of the W211's obvious problems in 2 weeks, without requesting changes that would either be expensive or country specific.

MB is playing "catch up" in this age of "gee-whiz" automotive computerization. It is suffering from inexperience in this area and putting the "accent on the wrong sy-LLA-ble", so to speak. Using fiber optic cableing in a car, and crappy software programming is a PERFECT example of this dunderheaded stupidity. Its like designing an ax with a calculator in the handle to add up your strokes....

Deleting features other Luxury (& near Luxury) cars have implemented perfectly, and dismissing them as too complicated and unnecessary, is as stupid as ordering a bedroom door that comes in too short, and hiding that fact by putting thick tile and carpeting on both sides of the door. Its not hidden, and you have an expensive, poorly excecuted door.

I can see, leaving some features out as long as the dollar is not strong against the German currency, because they HAVE to or the cars will simply be too expensive here which will result in too low a sales volume to make a vast dealer network viable. The cars are built like tanks due to MB building the best car they can, rather than the best car for the money, and this costs money, but all things have a high limit to what the mass market will pay for them.

alewifebp

Barry you are right. I work in computers, and the only reason that you don't put features (or in this case, keep features in software) is so that you can sell different versions of the software at varying price levels. Like you said, the hardware is there. Since the hardware is what really makes up the cost of the components of the car, not including those features adds more complexity to the software. And in the end, a 20K Accord will still have a better navigation system than you.

And your comment about if MB asked posters from the forum questions about the car resonates very true. And this is not specific to MB only. I would LOVE to, for FREE mind you, talk directly with MB's engineers for hours about a litany of things. In my case, HQ is only about 5-10 miles from where I live. Please, you know my phone nubmer, MB. But seriously...

I also get the idea that MBUSA is the ******* child of the family in some ways, and that basically what's good for Germany is good for everyone.

yyzmb

Nt

glojo

Good morning Barry,
Your points about MBUSA are no doubt very valid, and I have most certainly been very vocal about my complaints and have always wrote formal letters to Mercedes-Benz UK.

The active headlight issue was resolved.
Mobile telephone problem was a fault with the telephone sim card.
**Folding mirrors have had 'upgraded motors'
**250 Mp3 Folders can now be wrote thanks to a second 'upgrade'
** Full post codes can now be programmed into Navigation system 'upgrade'
** Individual program memory for seats now work perfectly 'upgrade'

** This highlights upgrades by Mercedes-Benz that rectify problems reported to them. In a way I am defending this manufacturer for listening to its customers and then carrying out the necessary action. BUT... To me it highlights a gross lack of development of the product before releasing it to the general public. We, the customer are finding basic design faults which the manufacturer then rectifies.

I have had other minor problems that were resolved but these were individual problems only relevant to my specific car. I am thinking of the kinked pnuematic pipe in the rear of my vehicle that made horrible audible noises. Kinked piping for the massage function of the front seats.


What is standing out though is regional problems, I try to monitor global issues and not just country specific items. In the US it would appear there are a number of complaints about the very cut-down version of the SBC system. In the UK there appears to be a problem with leaking diesel in the low pressure return piping. Out of nine people questioned, eight had experienced problems, some of which had repeat issues. I am the odd one out that has not had problems.

If members are wondering why I mentioned the 250 Mp3 folders, then I will very quickly explain. Mercedes-Benz upgraded the DVD COMAND to read Mp3 files. They claimed it would read up to a maximum of 250 folders and I believe 255 files. However after wasting numerous DVD's it was found that the COMAND would read less than 100 folders. I see no sense in the requirement for 250 folders, but sure enough Germany has now corrected this problem and when a car goes in for repair or service the dealer will 'upgrade' the COMAND, and it now really does read up to a maximum of 250 folders.

Finally I am EXTREMELY pleased with ALL aspects of our car, I am delighted with its performance and the options. Everything works perfectly and I have NO outstanding problems. The US SBC problem is no doubt very real and it is to be regretted that you do not have the excellent full system.

Regards,
John

A cool morning in Torquay