ECO is absolutely 100% USELESS on the 2014 E350
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From: Vancouver, BC
2015 E250 BT 4M
Stop/start system in 2014 - E250BT
For the first time a few days ago, I had an opportunity to test drive a 2014 E250BT and to experience the S/S system with the Eco button.
I agree with michael61 who stated that this system works well in this car. Compared to the S/S system in the BMW 3 Series, the MB system is seamless. When engaged, it seems to anticipate your car's next move: as brake pressure is released, the engine re-starts without any drama.
For heavy traffic situations where there could be long stops, this system, if engaged, will reduce fuel consumption and help to reduce air pollution.
I agree with michael61 who stated that this system works well in this car. Compared to the S/S system in the BMW 3 Series, the MB system is seamless. When engaged, it seems to anticipate your car's next move: as brake pressure is released, the engine re-starts without any drama.
For heavy traffic situations where there could be long stops, this system, if engaged, will reduce fuel consumption and help to reduce air pollution.
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Joined: Sep 2014
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From: Lawton, OK
2014 Mercedes E250
I have a 2014 E250. It doesn't beat a Prius in town, but out does it on the highway and goes twice as far. The Eco button is always pressed when I start up to turn off the annoying and useless start-stop. Saves some wear and tear on the starter and hesitation taking off. Only curiosity causes me to look at the Eco display, which always rates me high on the green score, even at 85 mph on a Texas interstate. I don't have a light foot either. So, I think this display is useless as is the instant mpg display, which stays maxed out most of the time.
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E 350
I do not turn off the Eco button. I have never found any hesitation while stop starting and the system is as smooth as I have anticipated.
The BMW system was intrusive and annoying.
About the E250 vs Prius I read an article a few months ago which proclaimed the E250 as the most fuel efficient car in America beating the Prius after an extensive test drive.
The BMW system was intrusive and annoying.
About the E250 vs Prius I read an article a few months ago which proclaimed the E250 as the most fuel efficient car in America beating the Prius after an extensive test drive.
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From: Vancouver, BC
2015 E250 BT 4M
The article to which you refer was in the February, 2014 issue of Road & Track, by Jason Cammisa, Senior Editor:
"The most fuel efficient vehicle in America is a Luxury Car: the Prius Uncrowned". The E250BT rules !
Last edited by DerekACS; Sep 15, 2014 at 05:45 PM.
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17 E300
You've obviously never spent any length of time with a BMW, Lexus, or Infiniti.
Go drive an Infiniti Q50 and tell me that statement with a straight face. I just put 600+ miles on one last week and couldn't wait to return it as there were so many design/quality flaws.
Just some of the problems I encountered in one week with the Q50:
1) wipers + washers which couldn't clean the windscreen
2) Putting a touchscreen down by the driver's knee
3) Putting tiny little 'buttons' on said touchscreen
4) Putting a second screen up closer to eye level which doesn't do much of anything
5) Putting in computers which flat-out don't work and crashed constantly during the week I had it.
6) Reverse camera guide-lines won't show up until the car has been powered up for 2+ minutes. I guess you're supposed to turn on the car and listen to the radio for 2 minutes before reversing each time BUT....
7) The radio & AC controls also don't work until the computer has booted up....BUT
8) Air con controls didn't work at the dealership because the computer crashed and had to be reset. Similarly, I was told that it was "normal" for the AC controls to be lagged up to 30 seconds.
I'm with Phil -- the BMW start/stop, in particular its roughness and eagerness to engage, bothered me when I had one for a week. The first time it engaged I thought someone had rear-ended me.
If you want a car which shuts the engine off all the time, there's the E400, which benefits from a larger storage battery + electric AC. The latter should make a big difference. On the E350s I've played with, I noticed the ECO icon was green far more often when it was overcast or at night. I'm in Florida and it is summer, YMMV.
I do wish you could permanently enable/disable the feature though. From my limited (week-long) experience, I'd probably leave it enabled. I like the silence and lack of vibration at some of Florida's 5-minute-long red lights. Ironically, the Lexus RX hybrid I had for a few days couldn't make it though an entire red light without firing the engine back up and sometimes it didn't even bother to shut the engine down -- and that's a true hybrid complete with a golf cart (EV) mode.
Go drive an Infiniti Q50 and tell me that statement with a straight face. I just put 600+ miles on one last week and couldn't wait to return it as there were so many design/quality flaws.
Just some of the problems I encountered in one week with the Q50:
1) wipers + washers which couldn't clean the windscreen
2) Putting a touchscreen down by the driver's knee
3) Putting tiny little 'buttons' on said touchscreen
4) Putting a second screen up closer to eye level which doesn't do much of anything
5) Putting in computers which flat-out don't work and crashed constantly during the week I had it.
6) Reverse camera guide-lines won't show up until the car has been powered up for 2+ minutes. I guess you're supposed to turn on the car and listen to the radio for 2 minutes before reversing each time BUT....
7) The radio & AC controls also don't work until the computer has booted up....BUT
8) Air con controls didn't work at the dealership because the computer crashed and had to be reset. Similarly, I was told that it was "normal" for the AC controls to be lagged up to 30 seconds.
I'm with Phil -- the BMW start/stop, in particular its roughness and eagerness to engage, bothered me when I had one for a week. The first time it engaged I thought someone had rear-ended me.
If you want a car which shuts the engine off all the time, there's the E400, which benefits from a larger storage battery + electric AC. The latter should make a big difference. On the E350s I've played with, I noticed the ECO icon was green far more often when it was overcast or at night. I'm in Florida and it is summer, YMMV.
I do wish you could permanently enable/disable the feature though. From my limited (week-long) experience, I'd probably leave it enabled. I like the silence and lack of vibration at some of Florida's 5-minute-long red lights. Ironically, the Lexus RX hybrid I had for a few days couldn't make it though an entire red light without firing the engine back up and sometimes it didn't even bother to shut the engine down -- and that's a true hybrid complete with a golf cart (EV) mode.
The initial release Q50's did have issues with their tech. Since then I believe they have had software revisions which corrected operating flaws. I did not hold on to the Q50 very long, I loved its interior and tech and the back up camera was much better then my 2011 e350 and was the interior. There was a few things I disliked and infiniti still has some work to do before they can be mentioned with the Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Lexus level brands. I put them with Acura.
My E350 MY2011 P2, was a car I only kept for 3 months, I turn over daily drivers annually but I could not get myself to keep this car, also quick sale made it easy to let go.
I took delivery and unfortunately was dissatisfied from day one. I loved the exterior styling but could not get over the lack of tech and "basic" interior. Also MY2011/2010 had the 268hp V6 which just felt under powered to me.
Currently have 535i M sport MY2013. IMO the interior, tech and driving dynamics are far ahead of the current model E Calss.
With the new C Class, I like where Mercedes is going, they did a much needed tech overhaul, looking forward to the next generation E.
As far as the feature OP is speaking of, I find it annoying on my BMW as well, I always disable it, it stops the car at stop lights or in traffic when completely stopped to increase fuel economy. With the amount and type of driving I do ( mainly freeway ) I don't see any value.
Last edited by G3710; Sep 20, 2014 at 02:30 AM.
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E 350
To each his own, you give us some insights and points to ponder but you sound very much like KA ( even in your C class / future E class remarks). In case you don't know KA, please do a search and visit Bimmerfest as well.
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From: Florida
2018 E300 Luxury - P3 and more
Oh, I can assure you that all of the flaws and issues are still a problem today...at least the car I drove last month, which was fresh from the dealer's lot. I'm surprised you thought the backup camera and interior to be better on the Q50. The former rarely worked and when it did was usually washed out or grainy to the point of uselessness (never mind the guide lines didn't show for 2+ minutes after I put the car in reverse), and the interior seemed blah to me, especially all of the high-gloss surfaces which don't wear well over time.
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17' C43 Sedan
Just lemoned my Q50s yesterday and picked up a CLS550 two hours later. The Q50 was a good car when it worked, but spent 3 months at the dealership out of the total 11 months of ownership. In the flipside the other infiniti I bought the same day last year has been flawless.
Loving the CLS so far, but the technology is behind the Q for sure.
Loving the CLS so far, but the technology is behind the Q for sure.
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From: Florida
AMG SLS & S coupe
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17' C43 Sedan
Not true at all. The entire buyback process took about four weeks from the time they decided to buy the car, until day of surrender. They gave me a check right there in the spot.
Infiniti handled the situation like a champ. Won't hesitate to buy another vehicle from them, as a matter of fact I still own one that was purchased the same day along the one that got bought back.
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E 350
Nice to hear that everything went well with you. Can you explain a bit about how the tech in Q is superior please. I'm not trying to defend the MB, just want to know since you seem to have first hand experience about both cars. Thanks.
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17' C43 Sedan
No worries.. Is minor stuff that I would have expected the mercedes to have, but I understand there are trade offs from one brand to the other.
The Q
-excellent cross traffic intervention system
- adaptive steering, meaning the car could drive itself including slight bends on the road for miles at a time (freakish to see the steering wheel turn)
- key fob recognition and linking by driver would set the entire car to the specific user driving configurations ( ac, radio presets, automatic steering and seating configuration)
- more user friendly nav system
- adjustable steering feedback
- easy access to apps ( although most have not been released). No digging through the command menu
- around view cameras that turn on automatically once objects are detected
Those are just some right of the top of my head
I do love the CLS that much more
The Q
-excellent cross traffic intervention system
- adaptive steering, meaning the car could drive itself including slight bends on the road for miles at a time (freakish to see the steering wheel turn)
- key fob recognition and linking by driver would set the entire car to the specific user driving configurations ( ac, radio presets, automatic steering and seating configuration)
- more user friendly nav system
- adjustable steering feedback
- easy access to apps ( although most have not been released). No digging through the command menu
- around view cameras that turn on automatically once objects are detected
Those are just some right of the top of my head
I do love the CLS that much more
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From: Florida
AMG SLS & S coupe
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17' C43 Sedan
The car companies wont let it lemon out. They will offer you a buyback after them admitting fault. The reason for this is so the can fix it and not have to title it as a 'lemon".
In my case they admitted the car was a lemon, but right before the lemon process they bought it back.
In my case they admitted the car was a lemon, but right before the lemon process they bought it back.
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From: California
i535
I think ECO in Mercedes designed well, it works only when it can save something, not blindly like in other makes. I know it can bring anger in you, but believe me it is simple more sophisticated. Unfortunately most people can't understand sophistication and prefer some idiots solutions. No offense though.
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From: Vancouver, BC
2015 E250 BT 4M
My understanding is that the engine has to have reached normal operating temperature and the battery has to be fully charged before the yellow light changes to green and the *** becomes fully operational.
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From: Florida
AMG SLS & S coupe
It worked great in my SL550 but it hardly ever turned green. When it did
the engine would start before I got my foot off the brake. You couldn't hardly hear the starter.BUT IT NEVER WENT GREEN. Of course I'm referring to the system, ready to work. It would work about once a mo
nth. It might work for a few seconds at a red light then it fire up as the icon turns yellow for no reason. It drove me nuts.... I wanted it to work.
Last edited by Daytona-flyer; Sep 26, 2014 at 06:29 PM.
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None
I discovered this weekend that the engine won't shut off at stops if the heated steering wheel is on. Otherwise, nearly 100% in our E250 Bluetec, unless outside temps are real high or low and climate control is running hard.
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From: California
i535
One odd behavior I found that it can't change to green if a car is stalled. You need slightly move a car, and it will go to green. Perhaps a designer had awareness that if engine suddenly stops when car is still, it can scary a driver that something went wrong.
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From: Maryland
03 Eclass, 03 BMW 06 Porsche Cayman S, 03 Harley Davidson "bored & stroked"
Mine works as decribed in the manual. Inching along in traffic can make it cycle on/off quite a few times, so i usually turn off and reserve it for long stand-stills or red lights. It does improve mileage
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From: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
2014 BMW M235i
Quote from MBUSA regarding the ECO function:
So idk, I think there's a reason why the ECO mode isn't activated very often. Maybe future software updates will change it, who knows.
Mercedes-Benz made special considerations when designing the operational parameters for ECO functionality on all W212 E-Class vehicles with the feature. Data from R&D has shown a large percentage of our existing and future customer base would be dissatisfied with an overly intrusive system, including stop/start functionality. Therefore, the final implementation of ECO mode is designed to be as Republican-friendly as possible. God Bless America.
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From: Southeastern USA
2010 E350 Luxury Sedan, Engine 272 (V6)
Really from MBUSA?
Find it hard to believe that quote is from MBUSA, especially with the Republican reference. If God Blesses America, what does he do to Germany?
