So, the saga of my 2015 E350 continues...

Last night I got into my car, turned it on, put the car in reverse and....nothing. The COMAND screen kept showing the radio. I pushed the camera button, nothing but black screens for all of the cameras. So, back to the dealership the car goes...again...

I'm not sure what they can fix. They've replaced COMAND at least 3 times, replaced the camera module a similar number of times, if not more.

Any ideas?

 

Sounds like you've got a basis for a lemon buyback. Although, I find it odd that there would be 3 faulty units in a row. Perhaps there's something else in the MOST loop or power supply that is prematurely frying them?

 

After years of use never a problem with Navi, cameras etc. on my E500, E63, Genesis or Denali.

 

+1

 

Oh, this is far from the only problem this car has... I also have one of the faulty transmissions, rough idles, faulty AC, and I could go on. Car spent 4 of the past 5 months at the dealer.

The problem is that I actually like the car and want it FIXED. NO dealership has anything like it on the lot. It was a custom order, custom spec.

Now with the upcoming model change, Mercedes might not be able to provide an equivalent car.

 

Still on my original camera. Will add that if I hit an audio button almost as soon as I put car in Reverse, the audio screen or a black screen comes up. Probably something to do with computer trying to do two things at same time.

 

have you spoken to someone at mb corporate about this and what resolution they can offer? That is extremely inconvenient to say the least.

 

Is there an alternate dealer nearby? Sounds like a problem that requires more technical ability (or ambition) than your current dealer is offering.

 

I'm actually using "the alternate dealer". The car ran fine until I took it in for its first service at the nearest dealer...that's when the car turned from new car teething problems to a problem child. I don't know what they did (and MB corporate doesn't seem to be sure either), but once they touched the car it was never the same. I got MB corporate involved very early on and eventually THEY said it was time to take the car to a different dealership.

So the car's been going to a different dealership since then and they've put in a ton of time into this car. As far as their abilities, considering their head mechanic is now the head MB corporate mechanic for the district, I feel confident. Some of the repeat issues I had with the first dealership were immediately apparent to the service advisor. ie: AC randomly going to heat was caused by bad stepper motors. The first dealership kept trying to update firmware, changed multiple sensors, changed multiple controllers, etc.

 

2015 E350 Command unit acting up? I would DUMP this car immediately! Sounds like a wiring problem??? Something is amiss and a wiring harness pinched is split or broken and causing heating and shorting problems! This car will NEVER be Right! Get MB to give you a New one or a used CPO one same year or newer and Let them sort it out! They will end up probably crushing it! Lmao Sorry for your problems but electrical, CPU, wiring heat-ups and shorts cause an EVIL CAR!

 

Occasionally my camera doesn't turn on and I get the black screen, but I can never replicate it for the dealer. It usually only happens once every couple months, at most twice in one day during those couple months, but since I can't replicate it reliably, I can't get it fixed. I just learned how to park without the camera lol... it is still annoying, though.

Other electrical gremlins I can't replicate for the dealer include the center gauge light occasionally alternating between bright (day setting) and dim (night setting) with the headlights on (typically happens at night, as you might imagine)... and twice this winter I've had a bad idle from a cold start, but turning off the engine and turning back on seems to correct it (other than that, no issues starting it in 0* weather at all).

I just chalk this up to German engineering... minor inconveniences, but doesn't necessarily make me consider mine a lemon. However, your issue sounds like it might be a bigger problem with an inexperienced dealer. Good luck with that.

 

I would lemon the car, BUT this was a custom car! As of last month when I last spoke with MBUSA, there isn't another one on the road in the USA like it. It's not like I picked some crap-spec'd dealer lot car. If MBUSA could make another one, EXACTLY like this one, then I'd be interested, but as of now it doesn't appear that's a possibility with them ramping up for the W213.

One of the reasons I chose a 2105 E350 was that I (mistakenly) assumed that after 6 years of production, most of the design flaws would have been fixed. I couldn't have been more wrong -- every single E-class I've driven and I've driven about 6-8 service loaners with MY 2014, 2015, and 2016, had the AC randomly going to heat. 100% failure rate over 3 model years. The transmission issues these cars have are well-covered by this forum.

What kills me is that the car had *some* issues initially...but the first dealership really did a number on the car and it's never been the same since.

Don't get me wrong, I've had growing pains with other cars before. My 2004 Infiniti was an absolute mess, but with each time I took the car in, they slowly but surely managed to get items off the squawk list. With this E350, we don't seem to be making any progress and from what I'm sensing, the dealership WANTS to do the work but MBUSA isn't willing to pay for it or isn't willing to provide the technical knowledge the dealership needs to fix the car. They really do seem to want to fix it. They did accidentally let it slip that they were currently in the process of getting MBUSA to buy "several" other cars back.

Maybe I should be applauding MBUSA for buying faulty cars back, but that's missing the point -- They need to build a car which works, especially if you're going to charge these type of prices for it.

Even the lowliest Kia/Hyundai has an engine which works properly, a transmission which shifts properly, and an AC which doesn't go to full heat on its own.

 

That sux boss, I hope it all works out in the long run.

 

I have pondered this over the past few years. Considering that MB has been making cars for over 100 years, why aren't they bullet-proof? Why can't they give a warranty as good as upstarts (so to speak) Hyundai and Kia? Why can't it really be "The Best or Nothing?"
Of course, you could almost say the same thing about BMW, GM, Ford, Chrysler and many others.

 

MB build lots and lots of great cars, E's included (I'm on my second E, 4th MB)...unfortunately you got unlucky in the one that you bought. I know youre angry, but that does not mean that MB sucks and churns out one ****ty poorly designed car after another.. That's simply not reality. Good luck..

Btw, lots of folks on here have dealer spec'd cars (lease returned CPO's etc) and probably don't think they're 'crap-spec'd'. Just sayin

 

Does the lemon law limit Mercedes' liability, say to a mutually agreeable exchange or actual cash refund? They, of course, don't have to limit themselves, but what if they choose to do so. It might be time to cut and run. What good is custom order that sits in the dealer's garage rather than yours? Good luck.

 

On that logic path, humans have been procreating for thousands of years and despite evolution, most are complete idiots.

Anybody successfully lemon law'd their neighbor yet?