hyperion667

my cls does too.........does not bother me.......I kind of like it, and the restarts? it's only a few times per drive, the criteria for the S/S is soo weird....haha.......very particular....
then again the AMG button does solve the 'problem' too

maybe people are afraid of change versus being progressive........

bberg009

after almost 30 years of driving Mercedes and having bought 3 for my wife and kids in the last 18 months, I am now so disgusted by Mercedes forcing eco drive down my throat, without the ability to permanently turn it off, that I will not buy a Mercedes this fall for myself..instead I will be looking for cars from more intelligent companies that may give a damm about our preferences and understand that I don't live in Europe and have no intention to do so.. Mercedes can contact me when they start listening to people and their preferences as expressed by many others on this forum... I can only hope that they give a damm...

bberg009

it is not progressive.. You choose to use LED , we are forced to buy eco crap we don't want.. That is the difference..

Arrie

Why don't you tell your sales guy this? The feature is just a control switch in the program that they can change not to be ON as default. If the car sales hangs on this the dealer most likely will do it for you.

And if they do, sign your name on the sales document after it has been done and you have tested it really has.

If I was your dealer I would do it for you in a heart beat.

bberg009

thanks that is the best news in have got so far.. I actually walked out of the dealership this weekend after I had picked out a great e350 2014 model, after he said that he did not know how to do that.. Do you have any details on how to do this so that I can share this with Hendricks Mercedes in Charlotte?

fintail

Not to mention CFLs aren't really the cleanest thing in the world either. What some call "progress" is sometimes just a way to steer business to Chinese sweatshops and make mysteriously affluent and easily offended middle aged western guilted greenies feel better about themselves.

Regarding start/stop, I had an A8 rental in Germany with this. I didn't mind it other than that sometimes I would need instant response to get into urban traffic, and you don't get that with a non-running engine. I learned to modulate the brake so the engine wouldn't shut off, or would start before I needed to move. I too worry about the longterm wear consequences on some parts, but I suspect the electrical systems on these cars will collapse before a few mechanical parts.

petee1997

Not quite true. Starting next year, incandescent bulbs will no longer be sold in Ontario.

Arrie

Sorry I have no details how to do it but I can guarantee you it can be done. It is just if they are willing to do it.

MB USA may not tell them how do go about it but if they have a programmer, like they do probably have several of them, he can find the options in the program if he wants to spend time with it.

As a business owner I would not accept MB not to help with this if I was to lose a very long time and good customer.

And it should not be too difficult to build a simple relay that does what the button does to disable the ECO function. This relay would connect or disconnect the leads for a moment for example from the starter motor voltage, i.e. each time the engine starts the relay would pull and disable the ECO function but I am absolutely sure it is just a simple check box in the program to select if the ECO function is ON by default at start up or not.

marvinlee

It is possible to design an engine for long life with a start-stop system. For example, Federal Mogul has a new engine bearing that is expressly designed for long life under start-stop conditions. It is red in color and is on some Fords and the new Chevrolet direct fuel injection v8 engines. Probably on others as well, but I have not read of all engines using the new bearings.

As for starters, one source said that Mercedes-Benz had increased starter life by a factor of ten to cope with additional starter use.

El Cid

But MB has not increased their warranty beyond 50,000 miles/ 4 years. If DAB;MB really believe in this system, they would warrant all vehilces for 100,000 miles/10 years for drivetrain, starter, alternators, A/C components and everything else affected by start/stop.
BTW, do all the computers, COMAND, etc. die when it shuts down? Do they switch to battery and what effect will this have on battery life?

bberg009

Thank or the reply,( and excuse my late response :-). Now 3 years later, I traded in my E-340 with eco drive after 6 weeks for a Maserati Ghibli Q4S. Could not stand the features. I did ask, as you suggested, my dealership in Winston Salem and Charlotte to turn it off, but was told that they did not allow that. I bought a B20 and an E220 in Norway last year at my summer home, and HATE the eco drive, but at least there is gas priced high enough to somewhat justify it. I bought another C300 for my son in the US after he wrecked his old, but my youngest son, want a BMW or Audi instead, where eco crap can be turned off permanently. Personally, I will never buy another MB gain after they crammed the eco crap down our throats in the US and then started last year to force 4-cylinder cars under C-250 (1.8 liter), C-300 (4-cylinder tiny engine) and now even Eclasses with only 4 cylinder options. Don't the MB execs know that American buyers are different then European buyers, or are they simply trying to **** us off with small, time engines, and force self-driving crap down our throats. I have never seen a company so actively trying to get rid of their customers.....

davidjohnbamber

My favorite youngest daughter once told me. "Dad, cry me a river, build me a bridge, and get OVER IT!!!

garrettg

I like the eco start stop on my E550. I wish our ml also had it. It works great imo and make things nice and quiet at drive thrus and dropping kids off at school lines. If it means I can drive my twin turbo v8 even further before refueling then that is just a nice bonus.

The G Man

I agree, at first, I did not like it, but I got use to it after a while. This is my 3rd car with auto start stop, in some situations, it is best not to have it on, I have no issue with pushing a button to turn it off, not sure why so many people make such a big deal about pushing a button.

garrettg

If you adapt your driving habits to use the brake hold feature whenever you stop for more than a 5 seconds then I don't know what is not to like about the eco start stop. The two features together are the best in the business for saving gas while not interfering with the driving experience and the endless pursuit of fun on 4 wheels.

dbldpr

I believe that the ECO feature is the worst feature I have ever seen that is a permanent standard feature on a car. Those of you that believe that it is really saving you money on gas are blowing smoke up you butt. What will eventually happen is someone making a left turn at a light is going to get killed because of the hesitation that is caused by this feature. If you bought a Mercedes Benz to save a couple of cents on gas you probably should not have bought the car because you probably cannot afford it. The ECO was one of the first features I had disconnected when I bought the car and I have never looked back at the terrible feature. And yes if left on it does interfere with driving when it causes a hesitation.

garrettg

In sport mode with 4matic on the 550 biturbo with the engine off it will dang near snap your neck when you punch it. I didn't look for it to save any money but if it means I can drive longer without having to stop for gas well that is just a nice bonus.

sleeperZ96BT

I'm always amazed at how much 'excitement' this little button generates LOL

garrettg

I do have a interesting way to fail the system, let your main battery die a few times. I didn't do this on purpose but an auto body shop did this when doing a headlight repair on my car and the main battery would never get back to the 95% level during driving so the system would never go green. The main battery still had plenty of life left to start and operate the car, I drove this way for months so for those who don't like the button and can't bring themselves to push it there is hope.

dbldpr

There is a fuse in the trunk I have been told that is for the ECO button. If you pull it, it will only disconnect the ECO. I am sure you get a code but you do not have to press it anymore. The module I have just presses the button for me every time I get into the car with no fault codes.

sleeperZ96BT

Is it worse than the feature on my 2013 E550 that 'decouples the driveshaft' while at a stop to save .0000000001 MPG?

jahquan3

An extremely clunky feature. I'm surprised so many say they can barely tell. I felt it was very noticeable on the restart. It even felt like a slight shake of the car as well. Maybe they'll smooth it out over time but this was in 2 different 2016 models.

dbldpr

Had a 2017 E 300 loaner and it had the hesitation. Could not find the button to shut it off. Not getting better but worse

homeofstone

I don't like either feature and I have had several loaners with them. Also, if I cared about saving gas I would by a hybrid Toyota. I wish the thing could be programed to be off unless turned on.

dbldpr

Mid city engineering in Chicago has a module that turns it off unless turned on. They ship all over the world and ship the instructions on how to install it. Love mine.