Hello All,


I bought a Canadian edition 2012 E550 4matic and just got confirmed by the MB Head office and my dealership that

my car did not come with media interface plus. This is suppose to be a standard feature on a E550 in Canada. There are around close to 100 cars that are affected in Canada.

This part can not be installed at the dealership level. So my dealership is providing me two options, take credit for MIP or they will reverse the transaction and I get a new car, unfortunately the identical car will not be here until sometime in Feb, that means

I will be without E class, dealership will provide me a loaner car (c-class).

Also wondering if the media interface plus accessory available in the USA is different from the one getting installed in Canadian vehicles?

I am debating if I Should take credit or get a new car. The car is detecting Ipod as a USB device and not as an ipod meaning I cannot control my ipod fully through command unit, it does not list ipod playlists. This is one of the most notable inconvenience that I have experienced.

Folks who have media plus interface in there cars, please tell me if beside loosing ipod functionality, I am missing on anything else.

For phone I use Blackberry and I can see text messages but it does not read aloud (is that also MIP) feature? I do not see any of my emails on the command unit though.

Any feedback will be helpful.

Please note I have to take the decision in next couple of days...


Thanks in advance.

 

Me? I'd take the C loaner and order another car. You get to drive their car through the crummy weather and maybe you can get them to upgrade you to a E350 for those two months, but I guess it depends on the size of the credit and how important the features are to you.

 

man, congrats on the 550
if this media thing is the only thing bothering you, and you really want it then I'd take the loaner and wait until the new year you know?
you'll have just what you want AND your 550 will be even better after the rental
sorry to not be any help.....

 

Are you talking about Media Interface ipod integration or Media Interface Plus Accessory thing?

 

In canada there is no MIP accessory available as media interface is suppose to be standard. I would assume in Canada Media Interface ipod integration is what I am missing as I have two connections available in the centre storage area (USB, Aux) what I am missing is the ipod connector...

Anyways I have had the car for only just over 3 weeks and I got this dissapointment confirmed, currently I am leaning towards ordering a replacement rather than credit. The installation at the dealership involves lot of work (removal of seats, carpet, command unit, dash, wiring...) hence likelihood of chance of more problems...according to the sales manager he would rather order a new car for me.

 

+1 for loaner and new car. The two months will go by in no time and you will appreciate your 550 that much more. I'm not an Apple fan but I can't imagine listening to my music collection in the car without full iPod connectivity.

Congrats of the 550 BTW. You will love it

 

get the new car...the problem is gonna bug the hell out of you...cuz if I was you...it would bug the ***** out of me....LOL!! Congrats.

 

Doesn't that technically make you a fan of Apple products?

 

Like you I have just taken delivery of an Canadian E550 sans the media I/F. Unlike you I knew this when I ordered the car, as the build list provided did not include Option 518 Media I/F. Of course you would have had to know it was **supposed** to be there to actually know it was missing. I also knew that the car would not have a 6 DVD changer. So I'm not as disappointed as you. But I have several DTS disks, so it is a bit of a pain.

Practical considerations:

1. The Bluetooth connectivity works just fine with an iPhone. Can stream music from my phone. Haven't tried it with my iPod but it should work just fine.
2. You need to buy a iPhone/iPod USB cable. The supplied USB seems to charge my iPhone fine.
3. The USB I/F will not read a modern iPhone/iPod. Old ones which present as a USB disk can be used as one.
4. An SD memory card is cheap; buy one and put all your music on it; forget the missing I/F, life's too short
5. A USB memory stick is a replacement for the SD card. Haven't tried my 1T USB disk yet, but it should work. Of course I really don't want to leave a disk in the car, too hot, too cold too much vibration etc.

As an aside, get to try out my 1 day old E550 in the snow today, should be good with the Michelin Alpins.

 

How stupid am i?

I am a Mercedes-Benz salesman & i got my 2012 E550 2 weeks ago....annnd i didn't know it wasn't going to have Media Interface. MB had listed on the internal intranet that it was supposed to be standard equipment when i ordered the car. On December 1, MB changed their equipment listings on the intranet to show that Media Interface was now optional equipment (the car was already en route).

In the end, it's not that big a deal for me, even though i had my old iphone loaded & ready. The USB stick is just as slick, so i don't reaaally care too much. If i want to play from my phone, i just use Bluetooth Audio.

I see it as a minor annoyance...but i wouldn't wait 2 months just to connect an ipod.

Plus, i already sold my E55.

I have found that over the past 18 months, we really need to watch our orders more closely. MB will change packaging mid-year, mid-cycle, etc. They seem to have more issues with parts suppliers than in the past, especially with wheels, head units, & sports pkgs.

This new 4.6L is awesome. I got mine in Diamond White with Natural Beige & Black interior, with the open-pore matte finish wood....the wood might actually be my favourite part of this car.

 

Hardly stupid

Irritating it is, since the USB port does not charge my iDevice either. Glad I didn't throw away my chargers.

However, a 32 GB SD card is on its way, and in the meantime I am experimenting with playlist format to see if there is one the car likes.

Anyone know, m3u, txt files, xml ??

 

If they are offering you a loaner and your full money back till you get the new car then take the deal. You can't lose you have a car that has been titled and not what you want, they are giving you a out with no financial loss. This is a no brainer. It is very rare to get a deal like this. Like others have said it really depends on how bad you want these features. It sounds like you won't be happy with the car in the long run without them.

 

Thanks to all who replied.

I did opt. for going with ordering a new car and I got a loaner (c-class). After talking to sales manager he says that probably close to 140+ cars are affected in Canada and person who is responsible for organizing the parts before the assembly of the car did not realize that media (518) option is standard on the canadian specd. car. (apparently she was new to this job...)

 

I know you already made your decision but I would reinforce it by saying it was the CORRECT decision. In my older 1998 E class Wagon, I had my iTouch / iPod connected to my Comand auxiliary via a wire. Audio came out of the car speakers but the iPod / iTouch was a pain to control while driving because I had to look down the iPod to change songs, etc. Sometimes I have had to ask my daughter to change songs and she had to reach over to do so.

Now with this new 2012 wagon, I have my iPod / iTouch integrated using the media integrated wire and it has been GREAT. Everything on the iTouch is totally controlled with the Comand and it shows all the songs, playlists, artists, etc. My daughter is quite happy... and so am I. You made the right decision.

 

If your E350 has Bluetooth streaming those cables are not necessary since they don't charge your iPod/iPhone.

I currently have my Blackberry 9860 for phone and my old iPhone 3GS for bluetooh streaming. They both connect to the system but the iPhone will mute when my Blackberry gets a call on the system.
There is a slight quality difference so if you are an audiophile you should re-order the car you will not like this additonal compromise.

I find that there are way too many variations on North American versions of both the C and obvioulsy the E. It seems like MB in Germany is shipping them over with what ever head unit they have that matches closely to the car's original specifications. Glad they are selling so well, not happy they are treating customers like this.

 

Leslielp -

Just to clarify, currently I am driving 2012 loaner C-class, it has media interface installed. I checked and it does charge the ipod as thuderbolt icon is shown also have not taken it out of the car for almost a month.

Anxiously waiting for my 2012 E550...

 

l am using the Media cables from my GLK. i will try with the cables that came with my C300. i noticed the bag these cables came in have similar product numbers but not identical. i was reading another post on here about using the cable setup to stream the iPhone video to the head unit. i will check it out and post my findings. i have a feeling my older iPhone 3GS will disappoint.

 

Hi everyone,

New to the forum over here

I've had the same problem as Victor's - i.e. missing MIP in a Canadian-spec E550 with VIN WDDHF9BB9CA567798. Not only is the MIP missing but the CD-changer is also missing (I'm not sure if that is part of MIP though we were advised by the sales consultant that the car will have one). The standard equipment list indicates that 518 MIP is included but does not mention the changer.

I'd like to know if any one else, esp. Victor, could shed some light on their experience in exchanging the car for another 2012 E550 - the dealer in Montreal, Canada is not being as helpful as we'd have liked.

If its easier, we can take this conversation offline with anyone happy to assist .

Many thanks

Farooq

 

Hello Farooq,

Couple of things, I would suggest that you call Canada Mercedes customer service and explain them your situation because that is how I had mine got resolved because only after that they called the sales manager at my dealership to look into this as my salesperson was also giving me run-around. Secondly I found out about media interface not being part of my car within 2 weeks of my ownership and I think Mercedes or some conusmer law will make them abide to act on this if it is not more than 4 weeks since you have purchased the car.

By the way my new car still has not arrived yet so be ready to wait for atleast 2 months if you decide to exchange the car otherwise negotiate a credit back as sales manager was offering me that as well as an option.

 

Thanks Victor - that helps.

Is there anyone in particular that we should speak to at MB Canada?

Regards,

Farooq

 

I consider myself to be an expert on this subject:

1. I am a sales professional at a CDN Benz dealer
2. I ordered a 2012 E550 for myself and it came without MIP and 6disc.

I was a "little" disappointed about the MIP not being in the car. As mentioned above, the packages on the vehicles were changed without the dealers knowing (usually there would be a note emailed to the dealers as well as posted on our internal intranet to show any changes, as well as affected VIN's). Trust me when i tell you...your dealer did not know that your car would be missing MIP.

I didn't even THINK to look for a change in the CD changer. Why would they drop the 6-disc in favour of a single disc? Makes no sense to me, other than the fact that CD's are on their way out. The 2011 that i bought for my wife has MIP and a 6-Disc changer. My 2012 doesn't.

The good news is, you can still plug in a USB stick, SD Card, & download off of CD's into the Hard-drive, as well as listen to your Ipod/IPhone over Bluetooth.

I can live with it being a USB & not Ipod...but it's still kinda stupid that it happened. I certainly wouldn't be returning my car over it.

If i were you, i'd ask for a couple hundred bucks or maybe your first service to be covered, if you want to be reasonable about it. Otherwise, you're going to end up in a big battle with a relatively similar outcome.

Surely, you're in love with the car otherwise, right??

 

Hi Busta,
is your open pore matte finish wood available in the US? Any pics you could post?
Bob

 

Thanks for the input Busta..
I am very happy with the car - in some ways its like the E39 M5 - same power but auto and 4matic.
However, I am disappointed with MB - I think the right thing to do would have been to alert all affected owners about the situation and offered to rectify it on their own accord as soon as they became aware of it, instead, they have yet to even respond to us in any official manner.
Personally, we're planning on keeping the car for a long while and the need for ipod integration will only grow over time. In other words, its worth more to us than the a couple of hundred bucks they may offer.

Regards,

 

Can't believe they cost cut the 6 Disk out. Why are they regressing decades here?

 

I understand that the 6 disk unit was dropped because the supplier in Japan was a victim of the tsunami of last year. MB MAY start including them later in the model year.