bmwguy

This ECO Start/Stop 'feature' is driving me crazy. I hate it with a passion.

When I bought the car (South Florida) the sales critter assured me that I could turn ECO Start/Stop off, but I guess I forgot to include the magic word - "PERMANENTLY" in my question.

I have a 2014 BMW 3-series (for fun) and BMW was able to connect the car to the shop computer and change one parameter which turned off the BMW ECO Start/Stop off permanently - no more having to turn it off each time I start the car. The setting remains saved in the car firmware even if the battery is disconnected.

I've asked Mercedes to do the same in the E350 but they say it's not possible.

Does anyone here KNOW if it is or absolutely is not possible to permanently disable ECO Start/Stop on the E350?

What about somebody in Massachussets -where the Right to Repair legislation gives independent garages access to MB software? Could an indie repair shop do it if a dealer won't?

I'm getting to the point where I may just trade the E350 in on a BMW 535 if I can't get this fixed to my liking.

Thanks for any help.

looney100

You would need to go to some aftermarket tuning/device.
I don't know what's to hate so much. We have the same feature on our E250 and don't find it a bother. To each his own, I suppose.

pamiboy

It's the most non intrusive system among any cars with this feature. If you can't live with it, then you need to decide what is important to you. Thousands of $$$ lost on trade-in or just the inconvenience of pushing a button. To each his own.
Yes, I agree this feature should have been made optional to accommodate everyone.

homeofstone

I hate the eco stop/start too. I recently had a 2015 E350 as a loaner and I don't think there was not even an on/off button for the ECO.

bmwguy

There is a button on the dash below the radio.

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/vent on

Just a general comment not directed at you homeofstone, but directed to web communities at large......

Why is it that when somebody asks a simple question - like, can the ECO feature be turned off permanently - some people want to point out the error of your ways or to say why Crest is better than Colgate -- when all that's required is a simple "no" or a "yes, and here's what you ask for at the dealer" type of answer?

/vent off

homeofstone

My mistake, it was a 2015 C250 with the stupid Ipad glued to dash look.

F3LiX

It may be possible to turn it off permanently. The Xentry (MB diag equipment) has a lot of hidden capability that a lot of techs are un-aware of because when we use it its extremely guided and prompted to complete the task at hand. But Ive gone off the beaten path and found there is a lot you can do with the thing. SCN Coding is what the control units use to know what features the vehicle has and how to execute these features depending on the country the coding is set for. As far as telling the necessary control units that the vehicle does not have ECO, well, I personally havent experimented with that yet. But past experience tells me it may be possible. Would take a couple hours of digging Im sure. And if you dont have access to it yourself its going to be hard to get a dealer to mess with your SCN coding. You can really screw a lot of stuff up and i doubt any dealer wants to gamble with that liability.
So its like climbing into a fighter jet.... Press a few buttons and prepare for take off. Its just one more button, man. You can deal. hahaha

bmwguy

Thanks very much for the information - this is exactly the introduction I was looking for, and with it I can at least begin to ask one or more service managers at different dealers (or maybe independent shops) about looking into this more closely for me.

Given the number of complaints about ECO Start/Stop I have read on various forums, and the many, many complaints I've heard from other MB owners while at the service department or in the rest of my world (investment banking), I'm quite frankly at a loss to understand why Mercedes doesn't have a ready & widely known routine for turning ECO off besides the well worn, "Just push the button".

The current way the ECO setting works is akin to having the seats and mirrors reset themselves to a position only suitable for dwarfs each time the car is turned off. Then we'd be forced to manually reset our seat and mirror positions each time we start the car, but for that we have one button which stores that information and a key which remembers the setting too.

It took BMW a couple of years to respond to customer complaints about this same issue on their cars, but they stepped up to the plate. Whither Mercedes?

dbldpr

It is probably the only feature I hate on my car also. I know you only need to press a button but I should not have to push the button it should be able to be disconnected like on other cars.

looney100

EPA fuel economy tests are done at default settings. If they allowed you to shut it off by default, the reported fuel consumption numbers would rise, which would mean millions of dollars for MB.

dbldpr

I guess BMW must loose millions then they have a shut off

Live Oak

I guess I don't understand the problem here.

I've driven several MBs with ECO, and I don't see the irritation expressed here. Yes, it's a bit surprising the first few times it happens, but then you understand what's going on.

NOW MAYBE, there is a concern if you are trying to do a 1/4 mile time trial --- but then it's easy to turn it off. (Otherwise, it would cost you 0.1 seconds.)

On the other hand, it takes 0.1 seconds to move your foot from the brake to the gas anyway.

Or, and I can understand if there is concern about this, maybe you might worry about starter motor wear and tear. On the other hand, if you are in that much stop-and-go traffic, there are a lot more wear and tear issues to deal with.

Or does the engine stopping just drive you crazy?

F3LiX

Bad news. Was messing with my coding today at work and found MB has a password set on certain things i guess. Attempted to change the coding for my comand to allow DVD to play while in motion. On some older vehicle it is/was possible to change it to euro and it would work. I dont have ECO so i have no idea if its the same with your issue, unfortunately.

bmwguy

Hmmm.

Ok, I'll try something else. A friend of mine in the UK has an AMG-GT. I'll ask him to ask his dealer what they can figure out from their end.

Guess I could also ask MBUSA directly, or MB in Canada for that matter (virtually no difference between US/Canadian models except speedo/odo readings and daytime running lights).

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As to why it's a big deal to me, I think just about anyone who drives in an URBAN area with lots of stoplights and stop-n-go traffic at rush hour will understand why Eco Stop/Start is a royal pain in the ***, and why it's desirable to turn it off permanently. Those who live in suburbia, or primarily commute on highways won't ever 'get' it.

PaulE550

I've been following this thread for a few days now and I have to agree with you. Why is such a big deal that someone would seriously consider trading in a new car over it?

I too thought about the obvious wear and tear on the starter motor this feature would have in typical urban traffic for what would likely be negligible savings on fuel. So before I bought my new E550, I asked the dealer if the ECO STOP/START function could be permanently disabled or if the button on the dash could be reprogrammed to reverse functionality (By default ECO woulod be off and you would have to press the button to enable the function). He didn't think so and he asked the service manager if they could do it. He also said no they were not authorized or allowed to do this. So that answered my question from being able to make such a change without risking a potential voiding of the vehicle's warranty down the road should anything, even remotely related to the engine or ECU, occur.

Now from a reality perspective, what BMWGUY wants to do should be very doable. If the button's function is programmed into the vehicle ECU, there obviously has to be a way to modify how the button works. It's just software after all. Whether it be complete disabling of the ECO mode or merely reversing the functionality of how the button works.

The problem is MB won't make the change because it would impact fuel ratings at time of manufacture when the EPA assesses vehicles as Loony100 pointed out and cost MB significant money. That added cost would have to be passed along in terms of higher costs for the vehicles, which would reduce or negate any price advantage MB had over its competitors.

It also seems, from F3Lix's comments, that MB anticipated this and possibly other requests for certain changes or enhancements and restricted, via password controls, what MB's own software tools used in the dealerships are allowed to do.

Bottom line: When I get in my car, I start it, push the ECO button to shut it off, and that's it. It's pure reflex at this point. Not a big deal. I too do a lot of urban driving and ECO mode, and it's equivalents in other brands, was clearly designed simply to appease the EPA gods in Washington, not for real-world use in urban-style driving.

Do I wish the ECO switch worked in reverse? Sure, but I know MB won't modify it and I understand why MB had to incorporate this idiotic feature into it's fleet of vehicles. The same reason all the car companies have to. I knew before I signed the papers to buy this vehicle, that this is what I would have to do and I didn't consider this rising to the level of making a MB vehicle unacceptable. Again, this NOT a big deal. At least to me. Certainly this is not a reason to dump the car, lose thousands in trade-in value, and run to buy a BMW.

dfordham

Start/stop is not part of the current EPA testing protocol.

Here's a quote from gas.org (emphasis mine):

"The EPA’s fuel economy ratings underwent a major revamp a few years ago to better represent real-world driving, but there have been calls to revise them once again to take into consideration advances in technology. Stop-start technology, which shuts down the engine when the car comes to a complete stop in order to conserve fuel while idling, is one of those new technologies that testing procedures haven’t caught up with. Even though the technology is relatively cheap to introduce and can yield as much as a 7% increase in fuel economy, automakers have less incentive to employ it in cars because it doesn’t show up on window stickers or in regulatory considerations."

What the EPA has done is to grant MB a small "extra credit" for its technology, including start/stop, LED lighting, better glass insulation. This extra credit lowers the fines that MB has been paying for years for not meeting emission standards but doesn't show up on the sticker.

Regards,
Don

MBtech1098

BMW has something that Mercedes does not...Mini. Since they have Mini in their portfolio they don't need the extra credits that MB does.

What does MB have...smart

I think it is quite clear that the Mini sells just a little bit better than the smart...

And this is the reason that MB will not allow it to default to off.

It is not something that you are going to find someone with XENTRY and just be able to switch it off as the functionality does not exist in XENTRY. SCN coding as previously mentioned can only be altered by MB. This goes much deeper than just removing an SA code and re-SCN coding there are many dependent codings in various control units that need to be changed in order for this to happen...which again can only be changed by MB. Well outside of an aftermarket option.

PaulE550

Thanks for all the clarification MBtech1098. It all makes perfect sense and the info is much appreciated.

xxGenericSNxx

There's a lot of talk here but not a lot of solutions.

Just buy this non intrusive module and your stress levels will be much lower- be sure to check out the YouTube video in the listing to show how it works:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MERCEDES-TV-FREE-VIDEO-IN-MOTION-for-E-C-GLK-CLS-W212-W204-X204-2009-2012-NTG4-/261281467593?hash=item3cd596ccc9&vxp=mtr

SLGirl

Default ECO setting essential for EPA credits Mercedes wanted & got.


http://www.autonews.com/article/2013...ileage-ratings


http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/ld-hwy/greenhouse/documents/420r14025.pdf


http://epa.gov/otaq/regs/ld-hwy/gree...h-petition.pdf

PaulE550

Thanks for the info.

jjsaustin

It appears that there is a solution as simple as pulling the right fuse, at least for the C-class.

Has anyone tried this for the E-class?

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w204/622047-eco-disable.html

PaulE550

Sorry I have no interest in popping out fuses in the trunk of the car in hope of disabling this function. I guess I'm just too lazy. :-)

I just start the car and push three buttons (sport mode, sport suspension and ECO off). Done.

Hey it's a beautiful summer Friday. Enjoy a nice drive.

Diesel #2

I alternate through ECO mode quite frequently, i usually drive with ECO off because i do not enjoy my AC getting luke warm, and there is a slight lag to take off which i do not enjoy either so 80% i turn it off. I activate the feature when i am at a Drive Thru, or when im waiting for someone. Diesel does not burn a lot during idle, so the savings are not worth it for me to use to feature.

jjsaustin

If you are OK with ECO mode or happy manually turning it off every single time, then WHY ARE YOU EVEN READING THIS THREAD????

This is for people trying to find an easier way to disable it without buying a $100 module and having to rip apart their dash to install it.