ckrem

Hi All,
Can one expect to get the scanned codes from the Mercedes Benz dealer when you pay to have the car scanned for the service codes? I have mine in for service due to the CEL being on and the Service Advisor is telling me he does not get a copy of the codes and that they are sent to New York or Germany? In todays world of technology I find this hard to believe, any help would be appreciated.

cetialpha5

Time for a new service advisor. If the CEL is on, you can go to most auto parts store and they will scan the code for free. You usually have to hit another button to clear it so scanning for the code will leave the light lit.

Arrie

If you pay they owe you the trouble codes.


Buy you a code scanner. They are very cheap to buy. For the cost of one scanning trip you can get a really nice scanner that scans the codes and also resets them if you wish.

aaacsdai

Arrie, I checked out the OBD link and the reader is a cost effective unit and you mention that it can "reset if you wish", does that mean it has download capability?, If it does not have a download feature do you or others have knowledge-experience using a cost effective OBDII Reader/Writer Kit that does have download capability; one post I read had this kit as an example: http://www.oetuning.com/products/mer...-benz-e350-3-5, I would like to use the ECU Tune software (400 dollars) for tune ups as I will not be going to the dealer in the future as a DIY type, but wonder if paying 200 for the OE Tuning OBDII Reader-Writer is actually cost effective based on your post it seems expensive. Any help-direction is appreciated, thanks.

Arrie

What I am talking about is just an OBD scanner that reads trouble codes and can reset some of them. When the CEL comes on it means something is wrong with the car that affects emissions. You can reset these codes with a very low cost scanner but, of course, the CEL will be lit again if the problem lighting it up is not solved. There is no need for any kind of download capability for the reset.

aaacsdai

Thanks for the information.

cetialpha5

For a generic OBDII scanner, I suggest an ELM327 like the BAFX one on Amazon and you pair that with an android tablet or phone and run the Torque app. Costs around $25 and the app is around $5. Or you could get the X431 Launch EasyDiag, on Aliexpress.com for around $20-$30. Will scan basic OBDII codes for free like the ELM327, but it can also do more advanced Mercedes specific code reading for an extra $40. I have one and it works fine, haven't had to pay the $40 for the more advanced codes yet as I haven't had any problems yet. You can get a version that works on either Android or iPhone. On either of them, you can read the codes and you have an option of clearing the code if you want to. Of course if you don't fix anything, the code will come back, but at least you can post what codes you're getting and get some advice on here or try and look up the codes and see what the likely problem is. Much cheaper than going to the dealer. Going to an autoparts store is another option but they usually won't clear codes for you as it's probably against some law or has some liability issue, but they will let you borrow the scanner and you can clear it yourself if you want to. All code readers do is read the code that's stored in the computer of the car, so in a sense they're all downloading data from the computer to display it either on an app or some dedicated screen.