samkimg

Hi All ... sorry for this l-o-n-g p-o-s-t, but I would like your feedback.


I have been having "odd - " intermittant, and randon issues over the years with my 2010. I have most all of the electronic goodies in this car and I want to know if others are also experiencing any or all of the same issues. And all of these are happening WITHOUT error codes being generated or stored within the COMAND systems, making the dealers act like nothing is wrong. I have already escalated to MBUSA, but they just say "take it to the dealer" and don't give me the time of day

• The car has unlocked itself twice while driving down the freeway
• With Keyless-Go the key fobs are not detected, blocking me from getting into the car ... even after changing the batteries, replacing the keys and "cleaning the receiver contacts". Sometimes it lets me into the car but refuses to let me start the car with "Key not detected" errors for both situations. Sometimes I get this message when the car is driving along.
• I have the P2 driver systems and the "Distance warning lamp" indicator flashes, and the car beeps when nothing is nearby at slow speed
• The two inside red "Front Parktronic warning indicators" flash and beep, when driving down the road at slow speed and NOTHING is nearby
• Sometimes the car displays an "DISTRONIC PLUS Currently Unavailable" or a "DISTRONIC PLUS Inoperative" message after a car wash
• On hot days, the car might show a Lamp Malfunction message but then it goes away
• The voice control is normally available after a minute or two when I start up the car, but it sometimes takes up to 10 minutes to become available.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my MB, and I don't see these messages too often, but it is the most annoying thing to me when these happen, you run to the dealer for repair, and they cannot duplicate the issue. My car has recently been in the shop twice, once for three days, and again for a week at two different dealers with the "Key Not Found" issues and even after they replaced the batteries, smartkeys and "cleaned the contacts" I still had the issue once again.

MBUSA has been contacted, and I have a case number, but the agent didn't really "get" that the issues extended beyond the "Key Not Found" to all of these other issues and basically just told me to "run to the dealer everytime I saw an issue". NOT HELPFUL AT ALL!

Any thoughts?

ntrimm

I have not experienced any of these issues but I haven't had my car that long either. It sounds like you are having an electrical issue somewhere. Stay on top of the dealer and if they won't help, find another one if that is an option. There is obviously something wrong. I had issues with my dealer and stuck on them and they replaced the car with another one. Good luck with it.

OnlyGerman

Wow sorry to hear about those issues , Ive only have one minor issue with the radio.

Arrie

Mine is a 2010 E550 with P2 and Driver assist packages.

• Have had the car unlock itself also twice during drive on a highway for no apparent reason.
• I have had "No Key Detected" a few times when sitting in the car but I always thought this was because the key is in my pocket and the system just can't see it. Always worked when I just moved a little bit and the key was detected. Never had this issue while outside of the car.
• I have had the collision warning to flash and beep a number of times. Usually happens when going under an over pass. Has happened twice with a car on right side lane going same speed as me.
• I have had "Distronic Plus Inoperative" once. Fixed itself when turned the car off and restarted.

I will take these to the dealer at next service. Probably don't get fixed but at least they get documented.

What I find most disturbing is the collosion warning as if it activates for long time enough the car will apply the brakes (40% force) and if this happens with an 18-wheeler behind me it coujd present a very dangerous situation.

telemakhos

I had a couple of your issues but not to the same extent and not enough to compromise my safety.

1. The car unlocked once by itself while driving and never again.
2. On a few occasions the door won't unlock when touching the handle. Pressing the door unlock on the key fob though always worked.
3. One of my parktronic sensors goes off at random (not very often) at low speeds when nothing is around.

OAG

Had doors unlock two or three times when going slow when engine is cool (just left garage). Has not happened recently and since then I have replaced the key battery twice. Did not bring it to attention of MB since it was impossible to duplicate and has not happened recently.

El Cid

Don't know your mileage, but you may be getting close to the expiration of four year normal warranty. I am and have a couple of things I plan to take my car in for so the complaint shows up before warranty expires.

ddeliber

I had the key not detected issue a few times just as you described. All within the first week of ownership of my CPO 2010. When I brought it in for the inspection and install of a couple goodies I told them about it and they upgraded the software and it hasn't happened since. I also had the distronic inoperative message twice, but that only happened in bad weather so that is to be expected.

samkimg

Well, my MB has been in the dealer shop twice, one week for the dealer to clean the contacts and another week to follow up with assistance from MB corporate. They were able to duplicate the Parktronics issue and have updated the software. It hasn't been seen by them since.

The key not found issue is confounding them still, and Friday went past without an update from the MB corporate engineers. So my MB stayed there for the weekend.

ElCid, I've got about 49k on my odometer, but I had also bought the 100k extended.

I've got a loaner C, but nothing matches the safety of driving my E. I miss my E ... Maybe I can get visitation rights ...

FrankPineapple

If you put your smart key in the same pocket of your smart phone or within half a foot it completely interrupts the RF signal from the keyless go.

I used to have a Lexus that while driving would display the message key not detected, when I would put the keys and the Iphone together, or wouldn't open the doors when they were in the same pocket.

It happened again with the Mercedes key so I don't put them in the same pocket. Try it to see if that is what is happening.

samkimg

Good thought. My keys are to my left, and my phone rides to the right. I have found that when both keys are in the car, I never see the issue.

When asked if they could just try replacing the radio receiver, The dealer said that there were multiple antenna and receivers and they wouldn't know what to replace.

Anyone have more technical knowledge on the Keyless Go technical setup?

hyperion667

wow samkimg, that is quite the list, I can't say I have seen any of these issues, hope you get them all sorted out......sounds very frustrating......and to have to have a C instead......blah!

good luck!!!!!

220S

That's complete BS. RKE systems transmit encrypted data in the 300 MHz range. Cellular phones operate only in frequencies at 800 MHz and above. Cell phones do not interfere with RKE systems (some cell phone chargers can however, but not the phones themselves.) It's not anywhere near the same frequencies.

Do really you think manufacturers are that stupid to end up with RF interference between two common device systems that are always going to be within close proximity?

Hey, don't take my word for it, ask the experts: http://blog.remotesandkeys.com/blog-...y-Interference "Devices that may cause interfere with the RKE system include common items such as cell phone cords plugged into power outlets without the phone present."

How many women do you know who drop their RKE key into their purse along with their cell phone? That's right, just about 100%. And when I had my E63 I carried my phone and key together all the time. Come on, think before you open your mouth.....

And Frank Pineapple is the same person who also brought you this sage advice: To which Diesel Benz replied appropriately: And of course the truth is that the manual doesn't say that. It says that the "vehicle's brakes are applied when the hold function is activated." And the hold function is deactivated if you set the car in P. And Frank, there is no camera following your foot movement, lol. And it's 'brake' not "break." You may think it's funny to make up BS, but the problem is that it stays on the internet forever and people will arrive here via Google and may think what you're saying might be actually true.

lol, it reminds me of that State Farm commercial where the woman accepts everything from the interwebs as reality, including her new boyfriend who claims he's a French male model. Duh, bonjour.

FrankPineapple

Diesel Benz thanks for pointing that out, I miss read pg. 189 of the manual. But I am right about the RF signal being affected by the IPhone

You can ask any Lexus owner that have the push start ignition and they will tell you that you can't put an IPhone and the remote transponder together because the IPhone kills the RF signal, I tell you from my own experience had two 3 Lexus with that feature and couldn't put the two together. So maybe the same applies to the keyless go feature in the Mercedes since it is the same technology, was just offering some sound advise, not sounding all pompous and arrogant like you.

bgqkeneg

Ive only have one minor issue with the radio.

220S

Okay, how about these Lexus owners: "My wife has her iPhone in the same purse as the key fob and it works just fine. I have my iPhone in the left front pocket and key fob in the right front pocket and it works fine."

And: "I have an iPhone. When I was using the key fob, there were no prob even when the key fob and the phone in the same pocket. Now I have a card key kept in the wallet. No prob with that either."

Or: "I have tried iPhone 3G and iPhone 4 and both were fine. I even put the key sandwiched in between them and it was working fine."

They come from a Lexus forum in a response to someone having issues. Lexus SmartAccess system can interfere with some pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators but not cellular phones (or vice versa.)

You probably had another issue of RF interference and it wasn't related specifically to your iPhone. Here's a Lexus owner explaining RF interference issues: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/6960885-post5.html

Or you may very well have experienced premature battery depletion which is more common to Lexus Smart Access. The battery of the Smart Access key fob is always on; i.e., it's always transmitting. With Lexus Smart Access, the fob needs a strong battery to operate properly. And batteries can indeed be depleted by cellular phones; in fact in the Lexus manual they specifically say to keep it away from cellular phones to avoid battery depletion (see attached .jpeg from the manual.)

It's not about RF interference but about the magnetic field produced by a cellular phone.

I'm not being pompous and arrogant but I simply hate misinformation that does nothing to add to troubleshooting. That is not "sound advice." Assumptions are one thing and factual information is another. Just because someone might experience a headache every time they drink coffee doesn't mean that they can assume that "coffee causes headaches."

aamirani

The best part about this post is you're talking about a Lexus, not a Mercedes.