I really enjoy technology in vehicles and have experienced a lot of systems with several cars. I've had my 2107 E300 for a few months now and recently had the opportunity to use the navigation on a 4 hour trip. Some of the issues with the navigation had to do with the maps not being accurate which is a separate issue than what I'd like to explain about how the software works within the Command system to control the operation of the navigation. Here are the things that I do not like:

1. The system gives only 3/4 mile notice for the off ramp on freeways. That is generally okay but when there is heavy traffic and you need to get over, that can quickly become a problem here in CA. My other systems in my other cars gave a minimum of a mile's advance notice.
2. If you are semi-familiar with the area and decide to take a different route than what the system wants, it isn't quick to recalculate the route and worse, it stays silent giving you no prompts until it can figure out where it is to speak again to provide you direction. That can be a problem for example you decide you would like to go a different way but need guidance once you make the decision to change the route and the system isn't providing you direction until you get 3/4 a mile down the road or so.

Regarding the maps...they really aren't that good. It appears they are provided by Tom Tom and on my route it had a freeway number mislabeled (thankfully I was familiar with that freeway on the route so that I knew that was the freeway I should be taking despite that it was saying another freeway number). Also provided routes selected (even though my default is "fastest") are not always the most reasonable or fast route.

I've recently come back to Mercedes after being gone just over 15 years and I am impressed with their interior upgrades from the former design and their commitment to up their game with their technology, but I think they only did half the job specific to the navigation. Hopefully, they will correct it as these issues are related to software enhancements but I'm not sure how responsive Mercedes is to these types of upgrade considerations for existing units.

 

I was also struck by the freeway offramp notification. traveling at 60+ miles, that is less than a 45 second advance notification.

 

Agree with your points. My biggest problems are 1. There appears to be no way to see what route the navigation has selected--something available on my $80 Tomtom and every other gps I've seen. Does Mercedes really think you should follow the directions blindly with no advance idea how the navigation is taking you to your destination? Unforgivable in a luxury car; and 2. I entered my home address in the designated place in the navigation system but I can find no way to tag it so that all I have to say is "home". Am I missing something?

 

On the previous command version the nav system starts to tell you where to turn two miles away. Check to see if there is setting for the frequency of direction alerts, you probably have it on the lowest setting.

 

I was hoping they made the nav better but wasn't holding my breath. The nav is mediocre at best on my 2011 e550. Whenever I'm in north Jersey trying to nav my way home, it wants to take me through Patterson as opposed to staying on major highways. You don't want to go home through Patterson! Strange. Regards. Ned.

 

1. Agree 100%. The system has to have calculated a route, but for whatever reason there's no (obvious) way to display it.

2. See this thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post7011196

I live north of New York City and commute to New Jersey. The system consistently wants to take me down I-87 / Major Deegan and the Cross Bronx / I-95, a route that is almost always backed up, instead of the Saw Mill Pkwy and Henry Hudson. And that's with the option turned on to use the traffic info when calculating the route. I don't know if it's a shortcoming in the traffic info or a problem with the map info thinking the Saw Mill is not a highway (a problem I haven't seen on any other navi in years).

 

Just curious, is there an in car (not 3rd party) nav system that is the best? I find nothing beats waze on my phone. If only they would let me cast/mirror my phone screen to the car display.

 

I'm not sure of the exact brand but the best nav system I've owned was in the new Hyundai Genesis. Not only did it recalculate quickly, great advanced warning prompts but one feature it had I didn't have on any system in all my vehicles....it showed on the screen the distance and direction of the next turn AFTER the most recent next turn. In other words, it shows your next turn to be .7 miles away to the left and on a separate tab it showed .3 miles right turn all on the same screen. This way you are prepared, especially for a necessary quick move, after your next upcoming turn.

The system could also be controlled via touch or by dial. It's a great system.

 

I have done this an unfortunately there is not such setting. I also confirmed this with the dealer.

 

I can't find any way to increase the amount of warning time the navigation system provides prior to announcing a turn. The fact that you can't see the route in advance makes this a bigger problem as you are unable to preview the route and see where the turns will be. Whoever designed this should be sent to work for Yugo (maybe that's where they came from). Has anyone tried using Carplay or the Android version? I haven't but am thinking it may be a work around. I have a data ceiling with my phone plan (Verizon) and have no idea how much data Carplay might use. Pretty bad that you have to resort to this because the Mercedes system is so deficient.

 

I couldn't find any way to increase the prompts either. I called the dealer and they too indicated to me there was no such setting.

As far as CarPlay (I have Apple, not Android) it works well and then I would be using Apple's maps, instead of TomTom through the Mercedes system. However, when using CarPlay, you don't have access to the menu that Mercedes has to the other functions of the car that I can figure out. Once CarPlay is loaded, it takes over the entire screen and only allows you to go back to the CarPlay Menu. So, for example, if you want to go to a function that is provided within the Mercedes menu (seat massages, play or adjust Sirius radio stations, etc.) I can't figure out a way then to access it while CarPlay is connected. Seems to be an either/or situation once in either mode based on what I have experienced. I'm hoping someone will correct me and tell me there is a way.

 

I've been experimenting with CarPlay and Apple Maps. Seems to be better than the car's navi with respect to rerouting in response to traffic info, and you can see the map on the large infotainment screen (although not on the driver info center or on the heads-up display). I think Apple Maps also uses TomTom for traffic info. Can't speak to how much data it's using.

 

There are a couple of ways to get back to the car functions. The first is to push the home button above and to the right of the COMAND dial. I don't think the home button on the right side of the wheel will work, because that touchpad doesn't work with CarPlay. The second way to get to the car functions is to select the Mercedes app on the CarPlay home screen.

Once you get to the car home screen, you can access the Vehicle and System menus. You'll also see a selection that will get you back to CarPlay.

In addition, the hard buttons at the bottom of the console for Navi, Radio, and Media work differently with CarPlay. Pushing Navi will take you directly to Apple Maps. Media will take you by default to Apple Music, but if, for example, you were playing Pandora it will take you there. The Radio button will bring up the car's radio and you have all the usual functionality for changing stations, etc.

Hope that helps.

 

You can select the navigation screen in the driver's screen panel and it shows how many miles till the next junction/side road or whatever is coming up. I rarely use it as traffic is never so bad near me that you can't move over in half a mile. It gives much better advance warning of what's coming up. If you need that, set the main display to audio function with the context panel showing a compressed map, that way you still have direct audio controls and can get the more advanced warnings.

 

I've had my 2107 E300....


"Regarding the maps...they really aren't that good. It appears they are provided by Tom Tom"

Correct me if wrong, but I thought Mercedes now used Garmin navigation.

 

Everything everyone is saying on this thread is beyond belief but unfortunately believable. For whatever reason Mercedes seems to always search for more complicated solution when simple would be better as it pertains to infotainment. A bit of a complete bummer that I'm contemplating spending $90,000 on a car and that I'll still be better off using Google or Waze or the like on my phone to navigate. The infotainment stuff is so important these days in cars that it is reaching the level of parity when it comes to making a car purchase decision for many people versus the automotive performance parameters. It sucks that I need to be weighing this stuff in my decision as something on the negative side of the ledger. Regards. Ned.

 

The Nav has always been behind the curve. It was true on my 05,14 and it looks like it will be the same for my 2017 which will be delivered in February. The 2017 Nav package comes with 3 yrs of map updates. Not sure if some of the issues above can be changed with map updates or if it has to be done in the Comand

One thing MB did do is add the ability to link Android Audo or Apple Car to the Comand. Android uses Google maps. Which Google continually updates. Think you can get Waze to work too but for me it's a number days away

 

The maps do indeed update, one the air, but mine and several other people's have all frozen at 66% during installation of Near 1gb ota update. Not great and even after one person took it to the dealer to sort they couldn't and are seeking advice from MB Germany. It's the only thing that utterly let's the car down.

 

I've had a couple peculiar things happen to me while using Navigation

1. Set a route that involved going along a long stretch of I95. Oddly, the navigation instructed me to get off the highway at an exit only to get right back on the highway at the facing on-ramp. Of course I didn't do that because that would be silly.

2. Set a route to 40 Walkers Brook Dr in Reading, MA. It sent me to the corner of John St. and Pleasant St. which is about a half mile away. Strange! Where does Navigation send you?

3. Don't know how to get a turn-by-turn direction list to a point of navigation. It would be nice to know how you are being routed.

 

I also noticed that under guidance, going back to the radio screen and trying to change stations takes a 5 second lag time in doing so. The processor is really under heavy load.

 

After a 3,000 mile trip to FL and a 4.6 mile trip to the mall yesterday, the word “disappointment” isn’t strong enough to describe our reaction to the navigation system. It’s a worthless, unusable, unsafe, piece of crap (still not strong enough), with an extremely beautiful 12.3 high resolution screen.

We have had factory navigation systems since 2006. Our first was a 2007 Camry, XLE. Traded in 2010 and 2013 for new model Toyotas, with new generation navs and purchased a 2016 Tacoma Limited in 10/2015 with nav, which we still own. Prior to factory navs, we traveled with a laptop and a DeLorme mapping program. The Merc nav, doesn’t even compare to the nav we had eleven years ago in our Camry.

IF THERE ARE PROSPECTIVE ”NAVIGATION DEPENDANT” TOYOTA or LEXUS owners reading this thread and researching this car, if you rely on your nav, DO NOT BUY THE 2017 E300 4Matic.

We agree with everything others have stated:
1) The notification system (voice and graphics) is not timely. If you’re lucky enough to even receive a ¾ mile notice, it doesn’t cut it, especially in six lanes of 70+ MPH bumper to bumper traffic. Our Toyota’s have had a minimum of two miles.
2) The system really has serious problem when you are on the freeway and have an exit ramp, which then has two or more forks, splits or flyovers.
3) On multiple occasions, the arrows and split screen indicated a left turn, and the voice said right (or vice versa) at each of the three verbal prompts. The nav system, frequently, does not know its right from its left and the visual guidance does not mirror what’s being said. Doesn’t matter if you’re on a freeway ramp, a state highway, or one mile from your house on a mapped residential street.
4) Visual lane guidance is deplorable. The arrow on the HUD will indicate number of miles. But miles to what? A turn, a ramp, a split road, an intersecting highway or interstate? Would be nice if all of that extra space on the 12.3 inch screen could have been used wisely and offered a variety of views of what’s coming up next like our Toyota.
5) Round-a-bouts. Poor timing or incorrect, notifications (verbal or graphic) as to which turn to take.
6) Eco or Fastest. Eco is described as the most economical route, which may not be the fastest. Switched between these to evaluate the logic. Conclusion: Diverting off of an interstate onto secondary highways, residential streets, mall traffic, with varying speed limits, countless stop lights and more miles, is apparently more economical than staying on the interstate and taking 35 minutes less (or one if FL which was over two hours longer). Would like to know the definition of economical. Not using it anymore.
7) Rerouting doesn’t always reroute correctly. Nav wanted us to divert off of the interstate and take backroads which would’ve taken longer. We wanted to stay on the interstate so we continued north. Nav had us traveling north on the interstate, making a U-turn at the next ramp 10 miles away and again at 14 miles and track back to the state highway it originally wanted us to take, the scenic ECO route, that was 35 minutes longer in the first place. It was laughable.
8) Minor annoyance, but it shouldn’t announce “make a slight left turn” when the turns are regular, 90 degree turns and the mapped graphics show them as a 90 degree turn.
9) Entire primary screen froze in heavy traffic. Stuck on same radio station also, didn’t give or show directions. Drove 60 miles to a rest stop and shut it off. In eleven years of owning Toyota navs, have never had a freeze or restart. NEVER! Google that and you will see it has been a Merc problem for many years.

We played with Eco, with Fastest, asked dynamic route to prompt before winging us off on a non-primary road, brought up different info on the drivers screen, nothing helps. Thankfully we wised up and used our smartphone and Google Maps to get home.

It is unimaginable that in this day and age, any car, let alone a $70,000+ Mercedes could have a navigation system this bad. Touting its self still to be the most technologically advanced car ever built, is false advertising.

“The Best or Nothing” – does describes the nav though, it’s “nothing” you can use to navigate anywhere, not even a 4.6 mile return trip from the mall.

We’ve dusted off our Garmin which we use in rental cars and updated its maps. It’s going to be a painfully long three year lease. We thought we were going to be lifelong Mer owners, but we travel a lot and the nav is a deal breaker. A Lexis GS is in our future.

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...avigation.html

 

I agree, the navigation system is subpar at best. I've taught myself to just use maps and step by step directions instead of having both being spoon fed to me. I remember routes more often than not as a result

 

I just got my car, It's the worst navigation system I have ever used. Totally disappointed, I love my car but this is unacceptable for a car in this class.

 

I feel everyone's frustration on the navigation travesty. I am going from an 2015 A6 which always had the next 3 turns on the nav screen and ability to display full route.

To move on, I have been testing the Android Auto just to have some peace of mind on trips. The Google maps so far have worked well. I am going on a Long Island to northern NJ trip this afternoon and will know more after this trip. It's disappointing beyond words that this is the reality. Seriously, what is the point of the big HD display (One of the cars most touted features)? As far as I can tell the MB nav was the only time the full display is utilized.

If you have an android, AA works pretty well. I hear there will be a version of Waze for AA down the road.

Thanks