vmontijo

Hi folks... since I last wrote on this forum, I am the proud new owner of my beautiful 2014 (Facelift!) W212 E350, and I LOVE it. As a car guy for many decades, the idea of turning off the engine/on again at a stoplight just rubs me the wrong way, and the first thing I do when I start the car is hit the ECO button (off!). Is there a way to disable this feature? Thank you in advance for your help! Vm

PatrixUSA

welcome and congrats on the new to you w212...

there are many threads about the eco stop start subject... do an advanced search on the topic and you'll find plenty of reading material as this is a popular topic... a sampling...
Turn of (sic) ECO Start/Stop permanently
ECO STOP/START
How to disable eco button?
Anyone Try Pulling the Fuse for ECO Stop/Start?
bottom line, there is no easy way that i know of, but there are modules you can buy that plug into the obd port that will save the last setting...

good luck...

vmontijo

Thank you Patrix...

Left Coast Geek

indeed, vladimir on fleabay sells a odbc plug which reprograms the system so that if you left ECO off, then next time you start the car it stays off. if you turned it on and parked, then it will come back on.

these ODBC modules, you plug into the ODBC port under the steering wheel, and turn the car on and let it cycle through the programming sequence, once its done you can remove the dongle and put it away. they are keyed to only work on one VIN (ok, he sells keys that let them work on 10 or 20 or more VINs, for a shop or whatever).

DFWdude

Another option is to develop a habit of turning ECO Stop/Start of manually. Teach yourself to press the button OFF when you fasten your seatbelt.

You learned how to drive, you can learn how to deactivate ECO Stop/Start.

DubVBenz

That's basically what I do. Power car on, seat heaters, sunroof , eco off and sport mode. It feels like I'm preparing to operate something more advanced than a car at least. Still hoping I can find instructions on how to use my vediamo to enable ILS though, and if I do I'll pursue ECO off as well.

Alandf

Exactly same routine for me. Seatbeat,climate,eco off, sport mode on.

LILBENZ230

You guys drive in sport mode exclusively? Too aggressive for me. I do like it on the highway where it will still shift all the way to 7th gear.. sport mode makes the car much more responsive. But around town daily driving, too much.

DFWdude

Around town, I'll select Sport mode briefly (just a few seconds) when I want to act like a child and blast away from a stoplight when it turns green. But I will do this only occassionally, most often sitting next to a Bimmer. Otherwise, E mode is plenty of power for me to leave others behind.

I'll have to try it on the highway, as it lopes along in 7th gear all the time for great gas mileage, considering the weight of the car.

LILBENZ230

It will still shift to 7th at around 72mph on the highway. The reason I use sport in these cases is because of how fast it will respond if I need to shoot a gap in traffic or something. The 7G's ability to drop multiple gears at once is quite impressive.. it's every bit as quick in those situations (and only those) as the PDK in the Macan.

midcityeng

For those of you who don't want to bother with all the button pushing each time you start the car, we make an OBD programmer that allows the vehicle to recall the last setting that the engine start/stop was set on. If you turned the eco start/stop mode off after running the programmer, it will remain off the next time you start your car.

Get yours HERE.

DubVBenz

I use it more frequently in the winter to get the car up to temperature faster so I'm not freezing...

LILBENZ230

That shouldn't make a difference.. how long does it take for your car to get warm? Unless you're driving the cold engine harder, which wouldn't be advisable. Granted my climate in GA is not extreme, but even when temps are in the 20s my E350 is warm within 2-3 minutes. I have the AMG screen (from Vladimir) and the coolant temp increases very quickly but the oil temp takes a while.

Left Coast Geek

FWIW, my 1990, 93, and 94 W124's all have a vacuum circuit that retards the transmission upshifts for the first couple minutes until the coolant starts to warm up, so it stays in 2nd a lot longer before shifting to 3rd, (these are old school 4 speed automatics, with 2.6 and 3.2L inline 6 cyl engines). In my case its a bit annoying, because when I leave my driveway its downhill for a mile, so having it rev up in 2nd gear is just a bit silly when coasting down a hill. the rational given was that this would heat the catalytic converter up faster so they are more effective. of course, that first mile coasting down a grade doesn't do a thing to heat up any of my cars, including the E350 4matic, but a half mile of level at the bottom brings it pretty close to full operating temps.

DFWdude

I agree with LB on this. In North Texas, both of my MBs start to blow warm air within 2-3 blocks after backing out of the garage, down the driveway and onto the subdivision street. It takes FAR LESS time than any other car I've had in the past.

DubVBenz

Not driving it harder, but it holds gears longer and therefore RPM is a bit higher. Keep in mind that I'm not exceeding 30mph for the first 5 minutes of my trip. This gives me decent heat in a couple of minutes. I'm constantly freezing, below 45 degrees and the heat is set as high as it goes for the first 15 minutes at least.

Duckstu

I avoided the ECO mode by buying a 2012 E550. The '12 and 13's weren't infected with Start-Stop, Blind Spot, Distronic etc, etc. (And I like the exterior styling better also.)

BUT,.. does Vladimir or anyone else make a module so I don;t have to press the Sport button for the trans every time I drive? I know it's just one thing,... but I;d throw money at it if I could have it default to ON.

pierrejoliat

Post # 11? also I don't know were your located but MBHouse in Toronto does it, The Eco stop start was a big reason I bought a '13 instead of a '14 and I also think they look way better.

Duckstu

Yeah, but that seems to be just for ECO mode, which is Start Stop right?

We don't have that.

I'm looking for a way to have the trans stay in Sport. I just started a conversation with Vladimir. We'll see what he has available.

pierrejoliat

I believe they sell a stay in last selected, ECO or SPORT as well.

Top_Speed1

I purchased the OBD programmer from Vladimir for Eco last set mode. Works great, it’s been off now for 4 weeks, never a glitch.

Left Coast Geek

note that if you have one of those OBD programmers already, you can buy more 'modules' as downloads, copy them to a small MicroSD card (I think he said 2-8GB, no bigger), open up the ODBC thing, and there's a holder for an MicroSD card inside, plug in your card, and its now the new function. this saves a fair bit over mailing a new odbc thing. contact vlad directly for this.

Top_Speed1

Didn’t know this, pretty cool.

On my Vlad OBD, I kind of wasted (now) the CP/AA since I went with the 13.2” Android screen. So basically $300 for Eco Off ...cough cough.

I’ll do a video of that and the MagSafe 15w wireless chargers I installed, wired in back of console w replaced cig lighter hardwired to 2x USB 3.0 (no pop in’s or inserts). Very very happy.... finally!

TBC on another thread....

Left Coast Geek

LILBENZ230

Yes, I've done this as I've added features over time.

To answer someone's question about having the car remember Sport of Eco drive modes, I was told by Vladimir that this was not possible.