random questions about new 05 E
 

As I stated here, the deed has been done and the new car picked up. Have some questions, please bear with me.

1. The lowbeam headlight indicator comes on when DRLs are activated. Should this be the case? It's kinda annoying to have to look at that little green light all day long...

2. At least MB has a rear foglamp, unlike BMW, but why only one? The Audi A6 has two, what's the big deal? I guess costs and the fear that they'll be mistaken for taillights? But if they are mistaken for taillights, so what?

3. Are ashtrays in the front and rear not standard? I don't think we got any. No cigarette adapters/plugs either, just covers over the sockets.

4. Where is the coinholder? It's not that thingy at the right side of the glovebox, is it?

5. It seems you can't open the doors in the rear if the central locking system has been activated. Is there any way around that?

6. Having a difficult time locking the trunk with the valet key. Suggestions? I insert it as far as it'll go and then can still only turn it partially to the left.

7. Anyone else notice that the trunk won't close unless you slam it unusually hard?

8. Where do you keep your manuals? To the right side of the trunk in the net? Under the trunk mat in the spare tire well?

9. How on earth do you get to the spare tire/battery? Do you just forcefully yank the coverings off? If so, it seems like it'd be a bit of a chore to have to replace them properly underneath the restraining tabs and all...

10. I've seen posts about services A and B, but my service indicator mentions service C needed in 13k miles. Is this new terminology regarding MY05's?

Kind-hearted souls who can provide help with any or all of these would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. :)

I have a uk car (E320CDI). Front ash and rear ash trays came with the car and the front one can be removed and rpelaced with a small mat (another posting on here refer to this part). The 'thingy' next to the glove box is described in the manual as the 'spectacles/mobile phone compartment'!

My car doesn't have coin holder (or a cup holder for that matter).

If the doors are locked from inside the car using the central locking or the automatic lock when you drive, any door can still be opened, including the rear doors. Unlocking thecar from outside unlocks all doors (you can change this with the key). Are the rear child locks turned on? This would prevent the rear doors being opened from inside.

The boot (trunk) does need a bit of slam to shut it.

On my car the manuals are stored in the lift up section of the rear centre armrest. They in here fit perfectly.

Access to the bottom of the boot compartment is difficult and it is hard to believe that it is meant to work like that, but on my car it is exactly as you describe.

Hope this helps.

In the USA, we must be getting more manuals than other countries. (there are a LOT of Lawyers in the USA) There is no way to fit the "leather" purse that all the manuals come inside of into the rear armrest... Its almost been a year & my manuals are still on the end table next to my recliner in the den so that I can check the manual for "clarification" ( :hammer: ).

I have absolutely NO clue where I will put this entire MB-USA library, when I am done with my research on how to operate all of the features in my '04. It certainly doesn't fit in the car. I can't see giving away that nice side pocket net space in the trunk to a pile of manuals. I'm surprised MB hasn't come out with a roof mount manual holder :v .

I'm sure you will enjoy the car. Its remarkable how great a car it is, even with its eccentricities! And welcome to the group!

OK, here are some answers:

2. There is only one rear fog light because that's the way it should be done. With one fog light, it identifies the roadside corner of the car and also eliminates confusion with brake lights.

3. The front ash tray should be just in front of the gear shift lever. Push in on the wood and the ash tray will open. In the rear, the ash trays are in the doors. They will also pop open when you push on them.

4. Yeah, that Mickey Mouse thing in the glove box is the coin holder. They do fit loosely and it seems only quarters work well in the US.

5. You can program your car to either unlock only the driver's door or all four doors when you unlock the car. If you program it to only unlock the driver's door, press the key a second time and all the doors will unlock.

6. The Valet key function has been removed from US versions. It was removed so that the mechanism to allow people trapped in the trunk to get out will work. Right now there is no fix for the problem. I've been told that any parts that would rectify the situation have been removed from dealer's stock.

7. Yup, you have to give the trunk a firm push. Moreso than previous Mercedes.

8. The manual package in the US is huge and won't fit in the rear arm rest. It will fit in the glove box but you won't be able to put anything else in there.

9. To get to the spare and the battery lift up the cover on the floor of the trunk and remove it. Unscrew the plastic screws holding down the cover over the spare and the battery, slide it forward a bit and remove it. When you put the cover back on, just push these plastic screws down. They unscrew but don't screw back in. You may have to tap them a bit. Note that there is a spacer between the cover over the battery and the battery that is held on to the cover with plastic screws. Make sure that it's in place when you put the cover back over the spare.

10. I have a 2004 so the FSS system is a bit different than yours. I will say that there is no way on earth I'm going to go 13K before an oil change.

READ YOUR MANUALS and then sit in the car and practice programming the thing. You need to do it to get familiar with it. Check back or PM me if you have questions about programming the car.

Bud

I have had my 05 for nearly two months now.


1. I noticed the low beam busiss also at first. Slightly annoying, but you get used to it. More annoying mes think is yelling at your passengers to put their seatbelt on to stop that nervewracking beeping?

7. I beleive the trunk is made of aluminum and rather light. so no gravity helping u close it.

10. the other day I say the same thing, Service C @ 13,000 mi. Maybe someone else can shed some light.

I am delighted to hear that MB have fitted a little light to tell you when the headlights are on.

I run my lights on 'auto' all the time, but there is no way to tell whether the lights have actually come on, other than flicking up to hi beam and seeing if the blue light comes on! This is a bit primitive.

I guess if you use DRL then the light could be annoying, but I'd be very happy to trade with you!

Okay, thanks to all for the responses. One more question: Should I have gotten a first aid kit, or has that been eliminated to cut costs as well?

So, the UK gets ash trays and the cigarette adapters but the US gets shafted? When did this change take place? (BTW, I'm missing front and rear middle ash trays, not the two side rear ashtrays, and the front and rear cigarette adapters.)

Regarding opening doors from the rear seat, I'm guessing the child locks were enabled. It doesn't say in the manual how to change it, I don't think. Is it just on the inside of the doorjamb?

Not being able to valet lock the trunk is dumb. When did the exact changeover take place? With the 05 models?

This coin holder is in the worst possible location and very poorly designed. Are you really expected to pop open the glovebox and reach all the way across the car to the passenger side door to get a quarter each time? Silly...

:) :) Have the US 05 models got electronic folding exterior mirrors yet?

Good luck with your new car.

Goodnight
John
Night time in Torquay

If you don't have a first aid kit in the storage compartment in the base of the front passenger's seat, and it's not hidden elsewhere, then it must have been eliminated. It may be a legal requirement in Germany (not sure) but not in the U.S.

The base of the passenger seat? Is that where it was on yours? You mean underneath it?

Here are some exterior pics:

http://img4.imgspot.com/u/04/264/21/car1.jpg
http://img9.imgspot.com/u/04/264/22/car2.jpg
http://img4.imgspot.com/u/04/264/21/car3.jpg
http://img7.imgspot.com/u/04/264/22/car4.jpg

[QUOTE=Incendiary]Okay, thanks to all for the responses. One more question: Should I have gotten a first aid kit, or has that been eliminated to cut costs as well?

So, the UK gets ash trays and the cigarette adapters but the US gets shafted? When did this change take place? (BTW, I'm missing front and rear middle ash trays, not the two side rear ashtrays, and the front and rear cigarette adapters.)

Regarding opening doors from the rear seat, I'm guessing the child locks were enabled. It doesn't say in the manual how to change it, I don't think. Is it just on the inside of the doorjamb?

Not being able to valet lock the trunk is dumb. When did the exact changeover take place? With the 05 models?

QUOTE]

There is no center ash tray in the rear. There is a pop-out storage area at the rear of the front console but it's not an ash tray. The ash trays are in the doors.

Are you saying that you have no ash tray in front of the gear shift? If you push on it, does it pop open? If so, are you saying there is no cigarette lighter inside?

I don't think that the W211 has a cigarette lighter in the rear.

My 2004 came with a first aid kit in the trunk and also an adaptor to mount a front license plate. Tell your dealer if you are missing these items.

My 2004 with a build date of 3/2004 does not have the Valet key function for the trunk. As I said, I think it was eliminated sometime in 2003.

The center ashtray in the rear isn't an ashtray? Okay, that's fine then. But it has a cigarette adapter socket, just like the one in the front. Both front and rear are covered over with a plastic cap. I don't remember for sure but I think it says 12V on it. No adapters, though. And yes, it pushes open but there is no ashtray and no lighter in front of the gear shifter. :(

Where in the trunk? Was it under the mat and under the spare tire compartment? And by front license plate adapter, do you mean the one in my first and second pictures? (Is AZ -- that's where you are, right? -- a no front license plate state?)

Congrats on your car. I find that the trunk lid is really hard to close on my CLK also but was told that the pressure can be adjusted so it's not so hard to close. One way you can tell if it's really tight is if it pops open at 100mph when you release the trunk.

There is no front license plate in Arizona. It makes for a nice looking front end.

The first aid kit and license plate adaptor were in the trunk on the curbside behind the netting. Tell your dealer you're missing the first aid kit.

BTW, the first aid kit isn't anything special in the U.S. Certainly not as good as they used to be.

If you smoke, tell your dealer about the lack of the front ash tray. If you don't smoke, simply be happy that you have an excuse to prevent others from smoking in your car.

You can order a Lexus for non-smokers. I wonder if someone ordered your car to please non-smokers.

Yeah, it's possible that it was ordered and then rejected. It had 76 miles on it from delivery. I don't know why, but we were told someone drove it from PA or Baltimore or something, but the service manual is stamped with the MB dealer in Wilmington, DE's name. That's 120 miles away from Vienna, where HBL is located. I wonder what happened there.

BTW, is the adapter just that black plastic thingy? I guess it just snaps on? My BMW has a separate front bumper strip for the front license plate. If you want the license mounted, you have one strip. If you don't, you have another part. Is that how it works for MB, or is it just a snap-on black piece you see in the pics?

I noticed nowadays most new cars have a "Smoker's Package" option since most people don't smoke.

I don't think MB has that, though. Well, at least not as listed on the "Build Your Own" section on mbusa.com.

The front license plate adaptor is that black plastic bracket that's on the front of your car. I think it's held on with screws. On my car there is absolutely no holes on the front bumper so it appears that the dealer has to screw the bracket to the bumper if it's needed.

Don't look at an E-Class w/o a front license plate. It will depress you to see how the front license plate ruins the looks of the car.

The front seats on my '03 have storage compartments with bottom-hinged doors in the front of the seat base, so they can be accessed by the seat occupants. The driver's side is empty and the passenger's side has the first-aid kit in it. The latch for the doors is black, so it's hard to miss with a Stone or Ash interior. If your car doesn't have the the storage compartments, then the Decontenting Committee has been working its magic again.

I have a 04 E500 and the first aid kit is in the compartment located on the front edge of the passenger seat (under your knees). This is where dealer's usually place it.

I have an ash tray under the CD changer but it's removeable. To the right is a lighter. Most companies have removed the lighter and have placed a 12V powerport cap over opening. This is a safety thing since there is power and little fingers can be inserted in the hole. (zap).

BTW I just finished reading the entire owners manual (yes I'm a geek) but you need to understand all the features of the car. The rear power port has a much higher current rating than the front (lighter) port. Just a word of caution if you are going to plug in high amperage devices.

Looks like my slightly used 04 was indeed a better deal. No gas guzzler tax, 4 years and two months warranty (StarMark adds extra year) 3 more years of "free" service. And of best of all less $$$.

Got another question. Wondering what came in your trunk on delivery, other than spare tire/jack/tools underneath the trunk mat. I ask because apparently they neglected to include the ashtrays and lighters that we should have gotten, and the salesman (woman) said she'd order it for us. I'm just wondering if they left anything else out. Especially since there were these empty plastic bags in the luggage bowl underneath the mat that looked like they used to contain some stuff...

Have you read your manual yet? That plastic bag is to put your dirty flat tire into when after you've changed a flat. It keeps your new trunk nice and clean.

I read the whole manual and the service manual before I even posted this thread. Didn't want any RTFM replies... :p And no, the plastic bags are definitely not big enough to fit a spare tire... So we should have gotten a large plastic bag? Is that located under the spare tire or in the luggage bowl, the thing above the spare?