If you want to DIY our aging W212 - Not having a decent scanner is a SIN
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 6,607
Likes: 6,554
From: Jakarta-Indonesia
2014 - W212.065 - E400 ( M276.820, 3 liter Turbo) RWD not Hybrid
If you want to DIY our aging W212 - Not having a decent scanner is a SIN
Guys,
My car will be 9 years old by June 2023 and earliest model W212 of 2009 would be 13-14 years old today.
Mine is a super low mileage of 37K KM max , today.
Owning it since May 2018, has allowed me to understand the car better and better each day as I mess around with scanners very often on my car, for the sake or learning.
If with Whisky, there is a progress : I started a 12 years old one, and then 18 years old and then 21 years old and then 25 years old and now twice a year I buy the 32 years old one.
As with a scanner, there is a progress too. Reader capable only to Bi-Directional capable to hopefully one with coding capability like a dealer level unit yada yada.
The key word here is DIY and wanting to keep the car healthy and for a long time. I plan minimum 15 years and max probably 20 years old keeping, as my target to keep my E400.
Newer cars from MB is almost all mild hybrid 48V( I hate such thing ) and soon by 2033 up I think all electric.
As the W212 pre-owned are aging and cheaper, so are many new owners getting into W212 bandwagon.
My advice for new owners or soon to be new owners of aging W212, get a scanner and a decent one.
For now, I would recommend Launch Creader Elite specific for Benz as best bang for the buck under US$200 for an aftermarket scanner.
You can also get naughty Xentry Passthru for less money, as long as you have the laptop. This one is the best low cost option, laptop price not included.
The W212 has so much electronics and not having a scanner would be difficult to DIY issues related to electronics/electrical and the communication ( CAN BUS ).
Not all trouble code is worthy of Engine Check Light, so a non-scanner owner might not know small trouble brewing.
The "smaller" the problem, usually it is cheaper to fix.
Small being ignored can become big, this is to be avoided.
Now come the MBWORLD helpful members, in the picture.
They can't assist you much if your car trouble DOES produce trouble codes which you can't access and share.
Trouble Codes are not magic bullet, but it will help the troubleshooting direction much faster.
US$200 is just too low a value to not invest in, to be able to diagnose your car or look at its overall state of health say once per 2-3 months.
============
Have I gain cost savings from my scanner ( Xentry Passthru ) ? hell yeah. I probably have saved US$120, which was the cost of what I paid to scan my car by an MB dealer in 2018 when doing pre-purchase scan.
My first electronic module which went bad but intermittent was the pedal shift DOWN button doing downshift on its own. The electronic board is called N135, it is inside the steering wheel.
The priceless part of having a decent scanner is "education" about your car if you have the passion for it. The more you play with the scanner, the more you start to see how your car electrically works.
============
If you do not want headache, no need to get a scanner, simply use your wallet power to go to authorized dealer, but 99% of the time you guys coming to this forum as a newbie is because you want to DIY or save some $$
============
All above are my personal opinions.
My car will be 9 years old by June 2023 and earliest model W212 of 2009 would be 13-14 years old today.
Mine is a super low mileage of 37K KM max , today.
Owning it since May 2018, has allowed me to understand the car better and better each day as I mess around with scanners very often on my car, for the sake or learning.
If with Whisky, there is a progress : I started a 12 years old one, and then 18 years old and then 21 years old and then 25 years old and now twice a year I buy the 32 years old one.
As with a scanner, there is a progress too. Reader capable only to Bi-Directional capable to hopefully one with coding capability like a dealer level unit yada yada.
The key word here is DIY and wanting to keep the car healthy and for a long time. I plan minimum 15 years and max probably 20 years old keeping, as my target to keep my E400.
Newer cars from MB is almost all mild hybrid 48V( I hate such thing ) and soon by 2033 up I think all electric.
As the W212 pre-owned are aging and cheaper, so are many new owners getting into W212 bandwagon.
My advice for new owners or soon to be new owners of aging W212, get a scanner and a decent one.
For now, I would recommend Launch Creader Elite specific for Benz as best bang for the buck under US$200 for an aftermarket scanner.
You can also get naughty Xentry Passthru for less money, as long as you have the laptop. This one is the best low cost option, laptop price not included.
The W212 has so much electronics and not having a scanner would be difficult to DIY issues related to electronics/electrical and the communication ( CAN BUS ).
Not all trouble code is worthy of Engine Check Light, so a non-scanner owner might not know small trouble brewing.
The "smaller" the problem, usually it is cheaper to fix.
Small being ignored can become big, this is to be avoided.
Now come the MBWORLD helpful members, in the picture.
They can't assist you much if your car trouble DOES produce trouble codes which you can't access and share.
Trouble Codes are not magic bullet, but it will help the troubleshooting direction much faster.
US$200 is just too low a value to not invest in, to be able to diagnose your car or look at its overall state of health say once per 2-3 months.
============
Have I gain cost savings from my scanner ( Xentry Passthru ) ? hell yeah. I probably have saved US$120, which was the cost of what I paid to scan my car by an MB dealer in 2018 when doing pre-purchase scan.
My first electronic module which went bad but intermittent was the pedal shift DOWN button doing downshift on its own. The electronic board is called N135, it is inside the steering wheel.
The priceless part of having a decent scanner is "education" about your car if you have the passion for it. The more you play with the scanner, the more you start to see how your car electrically works.
============
If you do not want headache, no need to get a scanner, simply use your wallet power to go to authorized dealer, but 99% of the time you guys coming to this forum as a newbie is because you want to DIY or save some $$
============
All above are my personal opinions.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,956
Likes: 6,796
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
Scanner reader
The equation is simple: owning a scanner pays for itself in repair savings. Opportunities to learn start with evidence of faults. Swapping a bad part is nearly the last step, not the first one 
The modern Bosch designs use connected modules working intelligently together. Unfortunately the development cycle never stops. That means when a new LIN wiper module is introduced on a new model, it may be upsetting other modules sharing CAN, power supply or GND.
Best example is the 3-phase fuel pump with stretched GND and power wires mixed with low voltage lines
Bad, Good, Best runtime performance....
You may think if the powerplant works just pound it. German car driveability come in many shades of grey. Cars can disfunction without ANY CODE!
Example of the famous "Lazy 02 sensors" that make engine weak and slow poked accelerations for years before the ECU senses something odd.
This means that scanners usefulness is limited by module design. Knowing a vehicle failure points is still a great way to diagnose.
The modern Bosch designs use connected modules working intelligently together. Unfortunately the development cycle never stops. That means when a new LIN wiper module is introduced on a new model, it may be upsetting other modules sharing CAN, power supply or GND.
Best example is the 3-phase fuel pump with stretched GND and power wires mixed with low voltage lines
Bad, Good, Best runtime performance....
You may think if the powerplant works just pound it. German car driveability come in many shades of grey. Cars can disfunction without ANY CODE!
Example of the famous "Lazy 02 sensors" that make engine weak and slow poked accelerations for years before the ECU senses something odd.
This means that scanners usefulness is limited by module design. Knowing a vehicle failure points is still a great way to diagnose.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Feb 20, 2023 at 01:20 PM.
