Anyone do this yet. I scheduled mine for Friday. Saw someone say there are additional charges. I don't think that is the case. If it is it's probably not worth the time it takes to get it done.

 

The email says * sales tax and installation may apply. I would call your SA and ask.

 

I called my dealer yesterday and confirmed the $99 for the map update. Was also quoted ~2 hours labor for installation.

FWIW, I just completed the map update myself on the E350 for $130 from https://mbnavupdate.com and I used my own 32GB USB flash drive.

Was insanely simple and not worth 2 hours labor, IMHO.

1) Download maps data (~19.7GB)

2) Unpack data and copy to blank FAT32 formatted 32GB USB stick

3) Double verify VIN with mbnavupdate, and receive VIN-specific code in return

4) Start car, plug in stick, car automatically recognizes update and asks for code

5) Enter code, update starts. Takes about an hour.

YMMV

(FWIW, the car was updated from the original v11 to v18.)

 

Thanks for the reply. Couple questions?
A. Does the car need to be running the entire hour?
B. Is there anything different about it?
C. Is it worth the $130?

I've always found it easier to use my phone. Not sure I'll start using the Nav in the car.

 

The car does need to be running. I thought about just hooking it up to the charger, but the installation video recommended against that. (I'm not sure why.)

So far the operation appears identical except the map data is current. There are a couple of new roads in my area that were not in the database and I'm interested to see if they are there now. If I'm happy with the results I'll do the GL next, or wait for v19.

 

My dealer wants $185 for install/labor, that's in addition to the $99 for disk. That's a terrible deal as you're paying more for an inferior product/platform, as compared to maps on phones!

 

That is ridiculous to pay the tech for working on something else while the update is installing itself and burning up your fuel. MB needs to revisit this approach.

 

 

Plus labor is crazy unless you've got money to burn or can't figure out how to use a toaster.

 

plus on 2015 and later dealer has to do it...

No way to do it yourself as they use the special scanner computer thingy

 

I was quoted $174 including Update and Labor.

 

 

I get this offer every year for about three months or so. Did it once when MBUSA provided a never again outstanding deal. Definitely not worth $100, much less $100 plus labor. Used to take more than one hour to do it with the car running the whole time.
It might be worth it if you drive in unfamiliar areas a lot or really need it to find new roads, etc. Mine was three years out of date when I did it and it did not show any of the restaurants in my area that had opened in the past five years.

 

My 2012 never used its free updates in the first 3 years of its service. So, I contacted MB and they sent me a coupon for one time update and I contacted my local dealer. He suggested me to wait until February for the new release and use up that code for one time free.
He didn't mention anything about the labor costs though. Have to check with MB for the worth of the coupon.

 

So the 2019 update will show roads built in 1990, or not. ????
I bought 2014 E class and driving it in Phoenix area was really p***ed that GPS did not show freeway 101.
Just check it, officially build in 1988, fully completed in 2001, yet MB of 2014 has no idea it exist.
I hold my money for upgrading Google maps app on my android.

 

I purchased the 2019, V19 North America update. I confirmed with the dealer three times (i.e,, Service Manager/Director, Service Associate, and General Manager--after speaking with corporate) prior to going to the dealer and there were no additional fees and was only charged $99.94, (including tax) no labor charges. I got my update on Friday, December 14, 2018 with a free exterior car hand wash and interior vacuuming. I have not used the update yet on my 2014 E350 since I have not traveled in any unfamiliar places. I think the additional charges are at the dealer's discretion since I called another dealer that I have frequented and was quoted $450.00 or more depending on the amount of time it takes--ridiculous.

 

While shopping for a new car for our daughter this past weekend, we found that many brands now going away from built-in nav systems & now include Apple Carplay or Android Auto to use Google maps or Waze as an always updated map system.

I think that's the best way to go in the future...

 

Could be. I am using my android with Google maps app for hard to find places, but I am on prepaid plan and the service really sucks gigabytes.
But MB is using Sirus for traffic and mapping. I just called them about new purchase and even they gave me 3 months free trial, the traffic alone is $3 a month and trip planner additional couple of bucks.
When Sirus uses satellites, I wonder how other systems work in areas with no cell coverage?

 

Can you do the small test I asked about above?
Scroll the map on Phoenix and see if freeway 101 is on it. It is the square loop around north part of the city, as shown here

Take a picture if you can?

 

My 2015 map had 101 displayed, and so does the newest 2016 version.

 

 

Just did my 12 CLS550, they raised the price to $130, but still cheaper than my stealership of $300, took about 2 hours in total, but worth it, not having to dropoff and wait.

 

Google map doesn't really use that much data, and certainly not gigabytes (at least if you're a typical user). I use it quite a bit, and it only sucks up about 1/10 of my total wireless data consumption (and I'm on a pre-paid as well). In any case, if you're trying to save wireless data (like when you're roaming), try preemptively downloading an offline map of the areas you will transverse through using WiFi. Functionality is reduced when using offline maps, and you won't get live traffic info, but you'll still have a pretty decent map and rudimentary navigation.


That's the thing with Google maps and other phone apps. Unless you prepare (like with offline maps), if the cell signal goes, you're pretty much SOL. A vehicle's built-in Nav operates very much like Google's offline maps, except its database is usually for the whole country, so no preparation is necessary to account for the lack of cell phone coverage even when traveling cross-country. The only gotcha is if you've got a seriously outdated map, but even then the Nav can usually "catch up" and reroute if you just keep on driving and get to a place it does know about. In the US, with infrastructure updates being at glacial pace, this usually isn't a problem (at least for major roads).

 

A bit of an older thread, but I wanted to respond to the prediction that car manufacturers might be moving away from in-car navigation system. I highly doubt that's gonna happen. In certain models yes, it's happening. Those are generally cheaper economy models, but Mercedes and other manufacturers are actually doubling down on in-car navigation and have moved to online map updates. The latest models automatically update the car's maps over the LTE connection whenever there is an update available. It's free for the first 3 years. My 2019 C63S is currently in the process of updating the maps. Looks like the map that came from the factory is quite a bit outdated. I got a notification the other day that the map was updated, and I just noticed that it is currently working on installing another update. Looks like it has to do them one by one. Not sure how far behind it is, but it all takes place automatically in the background. The maps are more and more used for more than just navigation. For example DISTRONIC in the latest cars uses the map and traffic data to be aware of upcoming curves, intersections, exits, traffic congestion etc. to automatically start slowing down the car, or if you signal for a highway exit, based on the map it can determine that you are doing so and starts slowing down the car for the exit. All really cool stuff. The latest models also have something called Car-to-X communication. All newer Mercedes inform other Mercedes on the road of hazards, weather conditions etc. and for that it needs the map data to know exactly where the car is currently located down to the road that's being traveled. So for example if the rain sensor senses it's raining, the car will inform other cars of the weather condition, so they can potentially incorporate it into the route planning or alert the driver of upcoming bad weather. There will be a lot more of that in the future. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can't keep up with this stuff, because they can't communicate with all these other systems in the car yet, so these tight integrations are only possible if the car has an on-board navigation system. Another cool new addition to navigation is the augmented reality navigation in the new MBUX system, where the navigation instructions are overlayed on top of what the camera sees and the actual physical roads are highlighted, so you see exactly where you are supposed to go. Again, these phone apps will not be able to compete with this unless car manufacturers allow a much deeper integration. Apps like Google Maps have started to use AR for walking directions using the phone's camera, but that won't work for in-car navigation.

 

I was getting the transmission service done on my 2012 E350 and decided to have the navigation updated. When I told the SA to do the update he said “well ok but for that model it’s a little over $500.”

WHAT???? Unbelievable


I’d use my phone but there are many places in Kentucky where I can’t get a signal

sigh....