Hi, just browsed thru the section briefly and I am impressed. Very informative stuff. Just got my E550 last week. Black/Almond, P2, Multicontour seat, Parktronics. Love it so far. My questions (pardon my ignorance, and please guide me to appropriate thread if it already have been discussed)

1) Is there a way to turn backup camera on R WITHOUT anything running on COMAND. i.e. Do I actually have Sat, CD, radio or something running, just so the camera shows up? Because if I turn the 'ON' button, camera does not come up. I like to keep the display off, and do not play anything on my short commute. Please assist, because you can certainly do this on a Lexus - it faithfully comes up everytime you put the gear in R.
2) I know you cannot transfer MP3 to the HDD. Is it true even if the MP3 are recorded on a CD?
3) Media Card: I understand it requires an adapter if you want to use an SD, CF card. Can anyone please suggest what kind of adapter to buy, and what would be the best place to get it, besides the pricey MB dealership?
4) USB: Any suggestion on how to use a USB flash drive to play songs? The interface in the glove box has iPod connector and AUX.
5) That leads to my next questions: I have hooked two iPods, one on iPod connector and other on AUX, in this case, the AUX option becomes greyed out.
6) Audio: The manual says there is no way to 'stop' audio music, but you can 'pause' it by pressing the 'mute' button. No big deal, but hey, some people want to stop audio without actually turning the whole COMAND center.
7) Permanent menu on the Speedometer: As you know, you can choose between a) Outside Temp or b) Speed in km/hr. My comfort level is by lowering seat, and keep steering low. However, that blocks my view of speedometer. I like the permanent speed in km/hr option, but wish I could change it to miles/hr. This way I dont have to glance at the speed dial.

Thats all for now. Dont get me wrong - I am not complaining, but just picking your brain for any known workarounds. I love this car, it looks fantastic, and drives great.

Thanks.

 

1. No, Selecting reverse will switch the auxiliary video input (to which the camera is connected) on so that it overrides whatever is currently displayed on COMAND but it won't power-on COMAND.

2. You can transfer MP3s/WMAs to the HDD (eg from a memory card or CD) but I've found the HDD not to be very user friendly in terms of subsequently finding tracks (ie you need to think about structure) . I therefore only upload pre-recorded CDs recognised by the Gracenote DB to the HDD and select entire albums from there. There are plenty of other options for storing MP3s (iPod/Card/CD or DVD-ROM/Flash). I even read somewhere (on a MB official site) that some external HDDs connected via USB will be recognised.

3. You can get a PCMCIA card adapter from many computer component type stores or laptop stockist (PCMCIA is the form factor of the cardbus slot on laptops/notebooks). I'm in Europe so can't help with store names. Over here PCMCIA adapters are available to accept SD/XD/Sony Memory Sticks etc. etc. I've seen 9 into 1 adapters. Attempt to try before you buy if possible. Some brands give problems.

4 and 5 I don't think you'll be able to use a USB drive and iPod (or two iPods) at the same time. How would you select them on the menu anyway? You sound as though you want to access a lot of music but pay attention to the limits in terms of folders and tracks. There is little point going for the largest memory cards and USB drives if you can only access 4000 tracks.

6 I think PAUSE is STOP to all intents and purposes. In a car, the supposition is that a user usually doesn't want a CD to return to the start of track one every time he changes sources or turns off the ignition. Unlike at home, in the car we often don't get to finish what we are listening to so PAUSE is appropriate (whether manual or automatic) while STOP is added complication. Nothing is being worn out so don't worry.

7 This has come up before and I agree that users should be able to change the unit of speed. However, I believe in some countries it is illegal not to have a speedo reading in the units used on that countries speed limit signs. In the UK, for example, the display permanently displays Kph (no temperature option) because continental Europe is metric while UK, uniquely in Europe, is imperial. It seems you can choose to drive in a metric territory and still elect to have Mph and outside temperature displayed. The short answer is that it is designed (perhaps sort-sightedly) to cope with this type of scenario rather than as a supplementary read-out. That said, I seriously doubt that it would be something they can't change at your dealership in minutes with some persuasion.

None of my answers are gospel since there are market differences and, as I've said, I'm in Europe (and talking about the coupe).

 

You need to obtain USB cable to be able to connect USB drive. At least it was for later W211 model and seems nothing changed. I do not know if the cable is coming for extra charge or you can just ask for it.

 

For question 1, I probably should have added that you can turn the display off and it will awaken when needed (ie when you make a selection or, presumably, when you select reverse) but COMAND remains on. I don't think this is quite what you want.

Dema is right about the USB cable, which I would have thought you got with the iPod cable. But again, you'll have to choose one or the other and I'd guess most people with an iPod connected would never get around to using the USB cable.

While in theory, you could connect a large USB HDD and render even your iPod redundant (one on the compatability list was a Western Digital 'Passport' 250 GB), it would seem COMAND's limitations on the number of directories and tracks per directory would make most of the extra capacity unusable. I am ready to be contradicted on my understanding of these limits. In any case, the iPods overall convenience means it wins out in my opinion.

 

Thank you Beausoleil for the detailed response. As you can tell, I am still exploring the features. I am getting a hang of backup camera issue. I have learnt to put audio on pause, leave COMAND on, and move on with life. Agree, it has to switch aux video to camera. Also agree that HDD is not that user friendly, and that is why wanted to consider CF or SD card adapter. I already have a 120G iPod connected so, a 6G HDD is not my issue. However, there are times when you have a few new albums and just want to listen to them to see if you really want to add to your iPod collection or not - stuff you would normally not go thru the hassle of syncing via iTunes, all that. What I did not know was, I can disconnect the iPod cable, and connect a USB cable to use a flash drive (basically to listen to new files on the fly).

I will search PCMCIA adapters, and that would be a great option to use SD or CF cards.

One quick question - when I kill the engine, the audio keeps playing until I actually open the door. Is there a way to stop audio when I turn engine off? No big deal, just wondering.

Thanks.

 

Not that I'm aware of. My last couple of cars have been the same. Overall it is more useful than not if you consider that COMAND is also the telephone control (and TV/DVD - things you might not want to interrupt when pulling over). This set up avoids the situation where you pull over to listen to a telling off from our wife or husband and accidentally 'put the phone down' by turning the key. Turning the system off is only a button push away so making this function configurable would seem like overkill.

BTW, did you net get the USB cable as part of your cable set?

 

I totally understand the logic behind that function. In fact, there are times, when I am on the phone, reach home, but still on the line. So I turn off the engine, and finish the call rather than keep it running. However, it would also help if turning off COMAND would shift call to the phone automatically. Maybe it does, but I have not figured that out on the iPhone (4).

My car (P2 package) came with 2 cables in a Y shape. One end goes to the system, the other is split - one has iPod connector, other has AUX stereo input. Where's the USB insert?

Just a side comment - in this day and age, why would they even put a cigarette lighter and an ash tray? Total waste. I know some come without it - and has a 12V instead. I should have looked at that option. In the back, I do have a 12V and a 115V.

 

Just a side comment - in this day and age, why would they even put a cigarette lighter and an ash tray? Total waste. I know some come without it - and has a 12V instead. I should have looked at that option. In the back, I do have a 12V and a 115V. WESTWIND

I agree! ha! and cup holders too! at least they come out.......
it's funny, we eat, drink, talk, work and tons of other stuff while we should be paying attention to the road; reminds me of that Bill Murry picture where he's typing while driving and a couple of other things......lol......
we're Americans! hehe, we need that stuff........I wanted to get a coffee grinder in my
e550, but that wasn't offered, guess it'll have to be a mod.......

 

I have a feeling the call will switch to the phone. I can't remember where I saw this or whether it has to be set up. I'll have a think.

My car (a coupe) came with 3 cables. Maybe it's market led.

The ashtray thing . . . In the UK, some or most manufacturers made the ashtray a delete option years ago and would replace it, in most cases, with a trinket tray and 12v socket at the customer's request, with no cost adjustment either way. Mercedes, I notice, now charge extra for an ashtray and lighter (about £30.00) at least for the UK. A rip-off but it shows things are shifting towards your position. Here, restrictions on smoking in public places extends to company cars that might be shared with work colleagues.

The 115v thing is a good idea that I'm not sure we have (it would need to be 240v anyway). I could be mistaken as I've yet to inspect a 4-door.

You should have 12v inside your glove compartment also.

 

We have atleast 2 12Vs. One in glove box, one under the vent on center console in back. I believe there is another one in the trunk - not sure will have to check. If I had known, I would have opted to have another 12V where the lighter is. Not that I need so many, but its better than the lighter. I will probably use the ashtray to store change.

Enough about the bad stuff...
I cant get over the thrill of riding this car. The suspension is so comfortable, and (almost) relaxing. I understand the Comfort (or E-Economy) mode will pick up the car in 2nd gear, and S-mode will pick up in 1st. I mostly stay in E mode, but if I have to go uphill at low speed, I change it to S. I have not tried to change the Suspension to Sport yet. Not sure what that will feel like. I did try it during my test drive, but dont even remember it now.

The other thing I love is the engine. I have 3 friends in town that bought E350, and they almost convinced me to get that one. I agree, there is not much difference between the two except for the engine and of course price. But once I test drove the E550, nothing made sense.

Anyway, thanks guys for your wisdom. I look forward to read other ideas and concerns on this forum.

 

You've had this car how long and you haven't looked in the trunk or tried the Sport button? There's no car I've had in 35 years that I haven't explored and prodded to within inches of its life inside a couple of days.

The Sport button will firm up the ride and change some of the engine and gearbox characteristics so that it holds onto gears longer for better acceleration and a sportier drive. I think it also locks out 7th gear. I paid extra for it but the novelty soon wears off.

Your fuel consumption will worsen, which I imagine is less of a concern for you than in good old $8 a gallon England. The E500 (as we call it in Europe) is unpopular here as we get the Diesels. The E350 Diesels (3 litre turbo) put out more torque that the 5.5 litre petrol anyway and yet return 32 mpg in the city, 50 on the highway. I just read in a UK report on the soon to be announced new BMW 6 series, that the Diesel variant of the current model outsold petrol versions 7 to 3 since it went on sale.

Here's something to replace your useless lighter:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-LED-CA.../dp/B001P9IBL0

.

 

I admit, I have not explored everything. Got the car this past saturday. Thats how I am, just learning the car slowly. It gives me a thrill everytime I discover something new. I dont intend to read the manual completely, but hoping I could cover the COMAND manual in more details time permitting. It has so much, and I am surprised how little people know about all the features. As someone started that thread about whether you knew more than your dealer salesperson. So true. Never a big fan of sport suspension (that is why BMW was so easy to rule out), but it came at no cost, and of course, once in a while, I do like to 'take the car for a ride' for a change.

When you pay extra just for the muscle (350 vs 550), I am least concerned about gas. I do watch my driving habits, and that is why my speedometer is set on mileage bar, just so I learn new skills on driving economically. Lexus RX actually gives you your miles/gallon numbers (both average and after last fuel refill). In a lot of countries, diesel is much more cheaper than petrol, and thus diesel engines are more popular.

Thanks for the link for flash light. Interesting

 

You can get your average gas mileage (and miles driven) for the current journey and overall (since manual reset). Press and hold the 'BACK' button on the left of the steering wheel (the isolated one) and select the trip menu. It's in the main user manual rather that the COMAND book. Mine is obviously different so can't give a page but check the index under 'Trip Computer'.

I'm intimidated by the sheer size of the books too. Ain't forums great?