Westwind

Hi,
We are going on our first, long road trip to FL on the MB soon. We chose this to flying because of a lot of reasons - and driving the MB is one of them. We are not making any major stops - it will be a straight shot.

As much as I love driving it, I would like to make sure it is well pampered, and not overburdened. Aweeeeeee

This post is not about a problem or complaint, but would like to hear some tips from those who have experience with long trips to make sure the 'darling' stays healthy.

Thanks.

golfster

• Clear bra on the front. Lower rocker panels, too, if you can.
• Avoid following trucks that might kick up gravel.
• The insect rush hours are in the afternoon. Park the car in the afternoon to avoid the bug splat.
• Premium fuel.
• Use the amazing "hold" feature when possible. Saves over exertion resulting from holding the brake peddle manually. It also saves the brake peddle from over use.
• Don't park near other cars.

Or...

Park the car in your garage, take limo to airport, take advantage of the low airfares.

Safe journey and enjoy the trip!

Johnny Mo

If you are concerned about bugs and or rock chips to the front of the car you can always use some blue masking tape to "tape-off" the hood and fron bumper areas to help keep it relatively clean and chip-free...will admit that it does look weird when you are driving, however I did it for my cousin when he bought my Lexus GS400 from me and drove it back home - NY to FLA...he said it was absolutely stellar...tons of bugs splattered all over the tape - peeled it away and was able to do a normal (easy) wash of the vehicle afterwards.

Might not be a bad idea to utilize a radar detector...be sure to reset your "trip computer" before you go - always good to get an idea for gas mileage calc.

Check air pressure all around - top off all fluids, cooler with food/drinks (unless you prefer to play wheel of fast food fortune) Roll of paper towels, small container of baby wipes or equivalent. Ipod loaded with tunes or 6 discs burned with MP3s.

All I can think of right now...

petee1997

What is the point of owning a car if you had to do all that. These cars are made to drive. Make sure your tires are properly inflated for the load and drive it like you stole it. That's what it was designed to do. Otherwise buy a Honda and leave the MB in the garage as a trophy.

K-A

Bring garbage bags so you don't dirty up the interior. Make sure Tire Pressure is good (not too high, as lots of high temp driving will swell up the pressure, and not too low, of course). Don't follow too closely to other cars, try and avoid big rigs as much as you can, pull over to a gas station every now and then to wipe off bug death (so it doesn't affect the paint), make sure you have a good wax or protectant on your cars paint, etc. etc. Use the CC Stalk.

That's if "you care" at least. I don't go into the masking and clear bra stuff, although I should, but I don't like how clear bra's affect the paints shine and look (not to mention it costs as much as a repaint in those sections practically, and masking is just too embarrassing.

This car is a monster when it comes to long distance driving, just eats up the miles, and keeps you comfy, cozy, safe, and interested enough to not doze off.

As far as the engine and mechanicals, you don't have to do squat, as long as the car's well maintained, just get in and go. It'll make it there and back, go through the roughest of winds/rain/conditions, etc. without breaking much of a sweat.

golfster

The OP asked for tips on keeping the car pampered. I obliged.

Firestopper0383

Do what you want but make sure tires are inflated correctly for the journey, check your engine oil, and check your winshield wiper fluid. After that drive like you're going to the races and enjoy the trip.

sknight

I don't know...I drive throughout Europe, several countries at a time, and really, it's not that hard. I get in the car and drive. I make sure to keep extra washer fluid and the car is in good shape. It's really not that hard. Just get in and drive. I used to do Long Island to Des Moines in one shot, only a gas break- 22 hours. Now I drive from Madrid to Dresden. Even in Europe, with all the highway taxes, it's really not that hard to get in your car and drive.

Westwind

Thank you for your thoughts. Currently, I have about 3500 miles on it. So, its been local driving so far, and this would be its first long trip. As I mentioned before, we chose this to flying because it is going to be MB. Normally, I would have dreaded such drives but I am actually looking forward to this one.

I do believe in pampering it. Mainly because I own it, and not lease it. Also, paying for maintenance is not even comparable to other class of cars. At the same time, I know my car - it will drive like a knife thru butter. And I will take it to its limits. And once in a while, will drive like crazy. What the heck.

I know this a useless post, but thanks for your input. Means a lot.

sknight

I would think about it more realistically and look around at the problems people have with their cars. You bought into a brand with notorious problems, which pampering won't work out, and meanwhile, why would you pamper the car, as opposed to driving it normally? That will not have an effect on all the defective components the car is built with. Only not driving will extend the life of the underdesigned components that only last 50k, if you're lucky. NOW is the time to drive the hell out of the car.

park423

All you need is the V8

Wig

Which components are you referring to?

sknight

The ones the car is built with.

Wig

Thanks.

Arrie

What are the "notorious problems" of Mercedes Benz?

What components do you mean that will last 50 000 miles if we are lucky?

K-A

Yes, all, beware, your Benzes will only last 50K miles. The entire car and all its components fall apart and disintegrate after that. No man has every crossed the 50K Miles mark without replacing every component in his Mercedes-Benz.

I know what you mean. I do a lot of long distance driving, and bought a Chevy to handle those trips, as they're taxing on the cars aesthetic. However, I find myself not being able to help myself in taking the Benz quite frequently. It has a great sense of travel-occasion. It's experiencing the car in its most proper and meant-to-be element, akin to a good Sports Car in the twisties, or Muscle Car in a drag race.

The best is when you take it and the weather gets rough, I've driven it through rainstorms, incredible winds that felt like they wanted to blow the car over, had Mac Trucks splash oceans of water on the car which was a great way to feel how the ESC was vigorously working in trying to prevent me from hydroplaning under said Truck, etc. etc. And somehow, it makes it back home looking almost spotless, with that same big confident grin on its face.

Arrie

Just to let everyone reading this thread: About a month ago I read in a news paper of one northern European countruly where a taxi driver put over 1 000 000 km in an E350 as his taxi car. I think it was a 2010 model. Both the car's engine and transmission will be displayed at Stuttgard MB museum. No repairs were done to any power train components other than required oil and filter changes.

Word of wisdom from this driver: "I always keep transmission on S to minimize clutch slip".

sknight

Cool, post that in this thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ml#post4592748

golfster

That explains the E55's explosive performance!

K-A

hyperion667

he can't help it golfster.....LOL

Westwind

12 hour drive Report...

Actually, due to a family situation, we ended up driving to Washington, DC and had to cancel FL. So glad we decided to drive, and not fly this time. Trip ended up being 11 hours.

*This car is certainly a tank. Its heavy enough to stay glued to the road, yet glides so smoothly. My average MPG including city driving was 25 something for a total of 1781 miles round trip. I used highways almsot 100% of the time for the destination, and MPG just for highways was 26.2. Thank you for the tip to do Resets. I found out, there are 3 kinds of resets, and I had fun playing with them.

*Most handy feature was Cruise control. I exploited it to the max. I learnt that once you set your speed, a gentle tap can move speed in 1 mph increments. A hard tap can move it in 5 mph increments. Loved that feature.

*Navigation: I did not take the manual with me. For the life of me, I could not figure out how to mute the volume of spoken directions. I wanted that when kids were asleep in the back. So, basically canceled navigation. Actually, did not use much navigation since I was using major highways anyway.

*Night driving: We left after kids finished school on a friday, so half of my trip was at night. I felt the lights were bright enough to my comfort. Interior Ambient light tends to reflect on side mirrors, and that is a distraction.

*Rain Driving: We encountered a lot of rain. A lot. As someone suggested, I avoided following trucks. However, when they passed, they throw a lot of water at you - this car responded extremely well. Wipers became faster, and the 'tank' did not even shake. My previous car (Odyssey) took a jolt in this situation. I was advised not to use cruise control during rains as it gets confused in the event of hydroplaing. I obeyed that tip.

*Cosmetic mess: When I returned, my car was a mess. Bugs all over the front, and just blah all over. I should have listened and covered my car, atleast in the front. I do not regret it since my kids joined me in a nice relaxing washing session that cleared everything. Fortunately, did not encounter any physical damage, dents or scratches.

*Driving stress: driving 11 hours with no back up driver can be very tiring. Not this car. I am not being overly generous here. I mean it. Not just me, everyone felt relatively relaxed throughout the drive. Did I mention, we even had all the energy to was the car on return...

*Trunk space: We packed two large bags, and two carry-on bags and a garment bag. Everything fitted with ease in the trunk. Had a snack bag that fitted between two kids. A few water bottles fitted well in that space next to leg area of passenger seat.

*Entertainment: I used my iPod for most part when everyone agreed on what to listen. I used another iPod with headphones when kids were asleep. The 120v outlet in back is nice, but I doubt if I will ever use it. There are plenty of 12v outlets in the car, including that cigarette lighter. Did not use much of Satellite Radio as well.

*Analog clock: As much as I am confused why did they even put it in the dashboard, consuming space - I actually used it quiet often. Especially at night, when I turned off the Command screen.

*Coffee cup warning: It beeped several times that night. C'mon, it was raining hard, there were times when I could barely see the lane reflectors, and yes, I was not going straight at times. I believe the car was confused because I was not sleepy at all. I had test driven a 2010, and in that the steering shook. In 2011, it gives you a beep. I dont like the beeps.

*Air Pressure: As recommended by most of you, I kept 32 or 33 in front and 42 in back.

*Dashboard information: I toggled between Trip information to Navi to Mileage information. All very helpful. Mostly I stayed on Mileage screen.

*Fortunately, no close calls that required sudden braking, etc.

Overall, I feel very content with this product. This only encourages me to take more road trips. Hope some of you find this information helpful and encouraging.

Best wishes

ImInPA

Next trip try this for dealing with the bugs...Spray a light coating of PAM cooking spray over the front. The bugs will simply wipe off. An old Florida trick for love bugs.

K-A

Good write up. "Tank", I like that, lol. Yup, this car gobbled up miles and spits them out, it's like you're relaxing while driving, so you're ready to get active when you get out of the car after a long drive.

I think the PSI might be a bit high in the back, I'd lower it to 35 psi normally back there, and when you're hauling a bunch of stuff, and people, high 30's.

The Attention Assist has given me false warning plenty of times. Never once was it accurate (a good thing really, as it means I've never started swerving around due to being tired). It usually goes off if I'm not paying attention to the road enough, causing some corrections, and it always goes off when it's really windy and I'm constantly trying to keep the car from swerving around.

To mute the girl, just hit "Mute" when she starts blabbing about.

Yikes, I personally wouldn't put anything like that near my car. Best bet is to make sure the car has a proper coat of Wax or better yet, Sealant on it.

park423

You can press mute every time the voice comes on but you can also turn it off in the nav settings
This featured annoyed the heck out of me the first week of ownership