E-Class (W213) 2016 - 2023

"dirty radar sensors" error (during heavy rain)

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Old 05-14-2018, 09:17 AM
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"dirty radar sensors" error (during heavy rain)

got this error (loosely translated from french) yesterday.

it was raining heavily, so suspect this has something to do with it
cos the car was clean.

1st time it happened was when I stopped at a gas station on the highway;
the message popped up the moment I came to a complete halt.
left the car & when I came back all was well again.

2nd time was maybe an hour later on the highway: message popped
up again and for about 10 minutes the system/radar was inoperative.
(couldn't even use "traditional" cruise control anymore.)
and then, just like that all went back to normal again.

Any thoughts?

Last edited by Egonvdv; 05-14-2018 at 09:59 AM.
Old 05-14-2018, 09:49 AM
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Rain will block high frequency signals. I have the same issues with sat radio & tv at home.
Old 05-14-2018, 11:24 AM
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Originally Posted by ua549
Rain will block high frequency signals. I have the same issues with sat radio & tv at home.
probably was rain interfering with the system. I don’t know how the system works in rain if a hydroplaning issue occurs so I would never use it during heavy rains. I can’t imagine what would happen if you were trying to correct a hydroplaning car and the engine was still applying power to the rear tires that might still be riding “on” the water
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Old 05-14-2018, 11:31 AM
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The anti-skid system is smart enough to detect the differing tire rotation speeds.
Old 05-14-2018, 12:45 PM
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guess i'm lucky it "only" happened twice while driving for about 5hrs through heavy rain..?
Old 05-15-2018, 12:21 AM
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I have also seen this before in rain. No worries. After a few minutes, it went away.
Old 05-15-2018, 12:24 AM
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Yes, just means there's excessive external interference and the system can't continue to trust the sensor. I have one in the shop right now where that error pops up after a few min of driving, and it's because the radar sensor mounting is bent from something hitting the grille, which is usually what happens.
Old 05-15-2018, 10:04 AM
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cheers all
Old 05-17-2018, 05:27 AM
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had this issue on my GLK at first thought it was rain related as it can be but we ended up having to have one or two replaced done under warranty but I know that corner of the car had been bumped by another car whilst left in a railway station car park for 3 days - I had to clean the scuff marks off but no paint damage. think that had damaged the sensors. Replacement was a few months later though.
So I would keep an eye on it. I know that the autobahn get seriously wet at times not sure if it is to do with the camber or lack of on the road but you are feel almost submerged sometimes in the amount of water.....so it is very possible they just overwhelmed in the wetness of it all.
Old 11-12-2019, 01:04 AM
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I often get this error message and I'm unsure why. More so because I just cleaned the car the day prior.
Old 11-12-2019, 04:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Egonvdv
got this error (loosely translated from french) yesterday.

it was raining heavily, so suspect this has something to do with it
cos the car was clean.

1st time it happened was when I stopped at a gas station on the highway;
the message popped up the moment I came to a complete halt.
left the car & when I came back all was well again.

2nd time was maybe an hour later on the highway: message popped
up again and for about 10 minutes the system/radar was inoperative.
(couldn't even use "traditional" cruise control anymore.)
and then, just like that all went back to normal again.

Any thoughts?
We are talking about Distronic ( DST ) here. During heavy rain, snowfall, dense fog, the radarsignal ( high frequency ) is blocked, due to low power output from the radar. The car can't determine whatever it's a dirty grill, rain, or other vise blockage of signal.
Since Distronic ( if fitted ) is an integrated part of the Cruise control, it will not allow the use og Cruise control, during malfunction.

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