MCF

My Mbrace was not activated by the dealer when I picked up the car. Called dealer and they advised $300 for a year. Does this sound right and isn't it free for some period of time? Is it worth it??

F18BEN

I just got my 2011 E and received 6 months free. Then is was just under $ 300 for the year. (18 months).

MCF

Thanks. I got such a good deal on the car I am not gonna worry about $150 for six months. Do u all think Mbrace is really worth it? What can u do with it?

MagicJack

I am one of the group that got their car before nov 09 which had teleaid instead of mbrace. I am going to switch over to mbrace this mid nov.

This will be worth it for me. I have a hi mile commute with a majority on rural roads. I was hit by a truck last year and the sos button was pretty awesome. The guy knew my location / car info and that airbag or etr's had been activated. He contacted the police.

I really look forward to using search and send again too.

220S

fwiw, TeleAid gave me a much better deal than MBrace. TeleAid is coming on board with a lot of new stuff now too (better smartphone integration, etc.) They are still the provider for BMW and Rolls Royce.

To the OP: I'd call both companies and bounce prices off them. They're competing for customers.

BPhillyBenz

My Mbrace Remote Lock Function hasnt worked for 1 month (it orignally worked for the first 2 months). Everytime I call, they give me a different answer. Very frustrating...After going through this I will probably stay away after my 6 months is up.

MCF

Is there anywhere where u can see all the Mbrace functions?

BPhillyBenz

http://mbrace.mbusa.com/mbrace-page.htm

MCF

Thanks. Went ahead and activated Mbrace today. Got 30 months. Of course downloaded the free app to my phone and it says the remote lock/unlock is not compatible with my car, which my car is listed as being compatible (2011 E350). When I get home tonight and I will call them and see if they can remote lock/unlock car - that is all I really care about. The locate feature would be cool if you didn't have to be within a mile of the car - would like to 'stalk' my wife all the time..hahahahaha...

LRM1

Also keep in mind depending on your insurance at least partially pay for itself.

MCF

Yep, already called them. A little bit of savings, but not much.

LRM1

Doesn't cover the whole thing, but you do save something.

vselva

Mine was purchased in July 09. I missed to switch to mbrace this July, so teleaid automatically renewed until next July.

I prefer the mbrace for the few nice additional features. Teleaid stopped their search & send feature back in Nov 09 since MB switched to mbrace (so I was told by Teleaid).

I'm looking forward to switch to mbrace in coming July when teleaid expires.

MCF

So far I am happy with Mbrace. iPhone app locate feature and unlock feature work perfectly. I called Mbrace and their customer service was great. They also unlocked car per request. I asked why the lock feature from iPhone would not work and he advised they are aware of the issue for 2011 vehicles and an update is on the way and they will call me when the update is done.

BPhillyBenz

They told me the update would be ready 3 weeks ago...don't hold your breath.

MCF

Not a bog deal. Don't see why I would want to remote lock. As long as I can remote unlock I'm happy.

BPhillyBenz

Your better than me...I can't tell you how many times I get to my office and think "crap...did I lock my car?" Sucks getting old...

jinx420hat

Search n Send is one of the best features of the whole car, I had some problems initially with it but it got taken care of plus the on nav traffic is pretty useful as well. Beyond that theres the piece of mind in case of an accident, overall I think its a "worth-it" product.

reckrab

I must be missing something, but how do you lock your keys in the car with smartkey? I thought it detected the key inside and wouldn't let you lock it.

MCF

Not sure if you can but there may be a situation where you don't have your keyfob with the mechanical key and need to get into car. Hope I never have to worry about it.

I did not get Mbrace Plus, so how does this navigation feature work with Mbrace? Is it tied into the navigation of the car and how is it different than the route the car navigation picks?

JhonnyLever

I thought the MB Navigation with Traffic used Sirius traffic. What additional traffic does the MBrace Plus feature provide?

petee1997

Personally I don't see any benefit with mbrace or tel aid. Now that we have roadside assist, sat radio traffic update,bluetooth,navigation with points of interest, what is the purpose of this stuff? Keyless entry prevents you from locking the keys in the car. There is theft recovery but these cars are next to impossible to steal by joy riders. That leaves professional theft. In that case the car will not be recovered.
I would be interested to know how many times any of you actually use this. Several of my cars have had this feature and during the free period I have never used it and therefore did not renew the service when I had to pay. I believe the purpose disappeared with the advent of highly optioned cars.

220S

Traffic through MB navigation is in conjunction with Sirius radio. But if you want personal voice delivered traffic and route assistance, then you hit the "i" button and say "traffic." This is the way it works with TeleAid, but I'm assuming there's a similar feature with MBrace (fwiw, I use TeleAid as my service instead of MBrace.)

K-A

I agree. I feel it'd be money spend for something I'd never use, and something that my life wouldn't really be affected by if I don't have it.

I called in one time to see if I could get directions to an individual location my Nav didn't have on POI, and the guy said I had to give my Credit Card so they can activate it for me. They wouldn't use the CC for the trial period of course. I just said "nah" and didn't bother.

El Cid

Had Mbrace for six months and then cancelled it. To me, not worth the cost at all.