Just took ownership of a new to me 2015 E400 sedan. Admittedly, I am new, and don't know what I don't know. So, hoping for some wisdom and guidance - without having to scour endless pages on this forum. Here are my initial questions and things I need clarified, as I can't seem to get a definitive on what is or isn't. Not new to taking care of my cars - but - mbz seems to be a whole level up on the maintence and secret squirrel - must do - things if I don't want to end up with a money pit for a car.

What diag tools do I need to be able to work on my vehicle? icarsoft? Autel? xtools? I was told by mbz dealer that - I was not going to be able to get access to all of the secret squirrel sauce computer diag codes because mbz hides them at the consumer level. Truth? I was also told this to a degree by an indy shop that I 'can' buy a bidirectional diag tool - but - even those don't 'see' all of the codes or have access to all of the computer data to fix or diagnose problems in deep dive mode... and that the diag tools at the under $1k price point may or may 'not' work - and I 'may or may not' be successful at doing even the most rudimentary things like fluid changes, battery changes, etc... What I was told was that - if they hook up the car to 'their' mbz approved machines - because they pay licensing fees to mbz... the car's computers cooperate - and tell the diag tools - everything rather than hiding data.

Truth? Is there a diag tool that doesn't cost a fortune so I can work on my own car to a degree? I would like to be able to do basic things - that will save me a lot of money in the long run.

I am reading everything I can in this forum - but I would at least a bit of a jumping off point.

Is there a mbz owners 101 cheat code manual somwhere on this forum that I can reference - that will give me information on the 'must know or must do ' for all mbz owners? Things like - do I need a battery maintainer if I drive the car every day? How do I know if I need to replace my battery or batteries? What is the best oil for mbz?

So - if there are any helpful links, resources, tools - please - I would be grateful for any solid info. TIA.

What is WIS EPC ASRA? ... Where can I get a working copy that isn't rife with a trojan or virus? Which version do I need? Do I need a keygen?

 

First of all, congratulations on the new car. You'll really enjoy the W212.

Honestly, depends what you need the tools for. Autel makes great tools, albeit very expensive. I've got an iCarSoft MB V3 and it works very well with my 2014 W212, cost me about $200 with shipping, but you could probably get it for less on Amazon / eBay. It gives you a lot of detailed information about specific modules on the car and can pull most codes that the dealer's computer can, and it also lets you reset the service indicator. However, you do not need a tool to do that as far as I know. The service indicator can be reset from the engineering menu on the gauge cluster.

Not sure how much truth there is to that, they will always say things to try and keep you coming back to them for service. You can buy the dealer-level Xentry / DAS diagnostic tools from eBay, they'll include the multiplexer and a laptop with the MB Xentry software preinstalled on it. That will pretty much give you everything you need, and frankly I think it is overkill and not worth the money.

This is complete BS, just depends on which one you buy. You already know about Autel and iCarsoft, both work just fine with MBs.

Another ridiculous statement. Anyone can do a fluid change, or battery replacement on these cars. It doesn't even require a special computer.

Technically you can work on your own car without any diag tools, if you're just doing basic maintenance, however tools like iCarsoft or Autel are definitely recommended in case something goes wrong and you need to pull codes.

Honestly, there isn't a single thread that will cover everything, but this forum has been extremely helpful for diagnosing issues and there are some really knowledgeable members on here.

I'd recommend going through THIS thread. I found it very interesting.

As for the battery related questions, you can monitor the battery voltage from the engineering menu on the gauge cluster. However, you can also just get a battery tester from Amazon that will give you a report about your battery's health and you can make a decision based on that whether or not it needs replacing. For daily driving, I don't use a trickle charger, but I wouldn't be against buying one if I wasn't planning on driving the car every day.

Here are some threads I'd recommend reading if you want to learn more.

W212 M271 EVO voltage readings - MBWorld.org Forums
Battery not charging, new alternator - MBWorld.org Forums
How Often Should I recondition Main Battery? - MBWorld.org Forums

WIS and EPC I believe are the old systems MB used to use for service repair manuals and EPC was the old electronics parts catalogue that would give you part numbers for everything based on your VIN. I believe this has been replaced with something newer, but I'm not sure. I'm still using the old WIS/EPC that I bought from eBay for $5.

 

I think you can still get a knock off copy of WIS/EPC on eBay. Just go with the one that has the most sales. Looks like EPC stopped in 2018 and WIS in 2020. But for a 2015 car, everything should still be there. You probably won't know if there are new parts that replaced the previous parts but that doesn't happen too often and if you order the part number from a dealer, you give them your vin so they would use the latest lookup tool ISPPI to look up correct part number. You could spring for that too, but it's $79 a year. The full current WIS from Mercedes is Star Tekinfo and they charge $63 a day for access but it's the same full dealer repair info that WIS used to be.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124959989367

https://www.startekinfo.com/parts

https://www.startekinfo.com/help/faq

As for scanners, yes the MB one can do a few things that the cheaper ones can't do. Basically the cheaper scanners give you the codes, but they can't go in and make changes. Unless you're doing mods, for basically repairs all you really need are the MB specific error codes to figure out what the problem is, you don't need a full fledged 1k+ system. There are lots of very cheap ones out there in addition to Autel. I've been using a Launch system for years. Latest one is the Thinkcar Pro. About $45 on Aliexpress. The thing with the fluid change is that you do it at a specific temperature and most of the scanners out there will be able to pull the transmission fluid temperature.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002264485230.html

Oh as for oil, it's still MB 229.5. Basically Mobil 1 0w40 or Castrol 0w40. Mobil actually makes the oil that MB uses at the dealership.

 

Get everything you need plus unbelievable support from Peter. He’s a member of the site. https://benzninja.com

 

Autel is pretty good, but you can also browse eastern EU forums and learn how to make an SDS for yourself. You'll need real or clone HW, and then you can build out your own laptop to run it.

I have the same car, and I would recommend looking into tuning options. This is the same motor and hardware sold as a 450 and 43, just with different software.

 

pls expand on the comment - you must chg the fluids when they are at a certain temp... really? Is that really a thing? Is that so you can 'extract' as much of the fluid as possible?

It makes sense - sort of - being that warmed fluid flows better than cold fluids... but is that the reason?

 

Thanks to all that replied. At risk at sounding sappy - I appreciate the comments and the solid advice. I look forward to learning whatever I can from this forum. Its a situation of - I don't know what I don't know.... anyhow - thx again.

 

tell me more about tuning the vehicle - or rather - tell me more - or point me in the direction of sources, links, forum threads etc... bottom line question - will tuning my car 'ruin' it?... ruin it in the sense of -- back in the day - if you were running nitrous for example or over-modding a vehicle... life expectancy of said 'engine' or car... was severely shortened... reality... is I can't afford to blow up my engine and replace it - not a trust fund baby or bitcoin millionaire... yes - I want the most out of this vehicle - but I don't want to over tune it ... if that makes sense... any advice is appreciated.

 

Hello,
About tuning the vehicle, I had used Carlsson's Performance Kit . I don't recommend it because you would get more HP and torque at less price . Tuning in long term might decrease the lifespan of some parts but honestly I don't think we can tell an exact mileage or percentage for it
On the other hand , even if I would have bought a W222 S63 AMG I would have it tuned it by a professional

 

Goon,
Naughty Xentry pass-thru with also naughty Tactrix Openport 2.0 , assuming you already have a Windows 7 or up laptop....... is good and cheap bi-directional scanner of choice


Cetia,
How is your Thinktool Pro ? Which version is yours ?
I been trying to get more info on how it perform for our MB and more so W212 family, I may want to get one.
I have Autel MS906BT decent bi-directional, but it seems for the same price range Thinktool Pro is better ( I hope ).
Thanks

 

The temperature comment applies to transmission fluid change. I suggest having this job done at the dealer. It's a fill-to-overflow-while-running procedure. It's a pain in the backside for most DIYers.

Draining engine oil while warm or hot is not strictly required, but does shorten the drain time.

 

I have an MVR evaporator with a transmission for the fans, it also has a temp spec on fluids, it says more of the micro-particles stay in the fluid when heated, so more comes out in the oil change, also the volume changes with temperature, it's not a lot, but some, but then you plug the pan when the trickle slows, so that's not exactly precise.