Cambridgehank

I might be going off topic, but here is my story. I had a E300 loaner.go
I had the car for three days and on the third day was an hour plus away from the dealership. They service advisor called and asked if I could come in with the car as they had sold it. When I arrived, the new owner was there. He had purchased the car sight unseen and was going to drive for Uber with it. He did not car about mileage, ride, or any of the issues you have raised. I think the loaner to owner program at my dealership is aimed at people like him.

jimfitzwater

Thanks to everyone that responded, those were thoughtful and valid suggestions. I have an appointment to take the car in Monday morning before I head to the airport, so I will start implementing some of those ideas. In the spirit of completeness, I will update the thread in a few days, should there be any relevant progress of interest..

PaulE550

That is likely the first and last time that new owner brings that E300 back to any MB dealership. Most likely he will use it for as long as it holds up, while doing as little to maintain it as possible, and then dump it at whatever car dealership he happens to buy his next Uber car from. Another future "great bargain on a used MB" for whomever buys that car next.

Someone should really try to keep track of the VIN numbers of cars like this one you speak of, so when the next owner of these cars starts posting on these forums about how many problems the car has, we can at least tell them a bit of history on their "great bargsins".

JTK44

Again just my $.02:

Mercedes dealers are looking for late models with low mileage.

I predict that this uber Mercedes will never see another Mercedes dealership: In a few year it will probably have over 100,000 miles on it and in 5 years over 200,000 miles. Whatever minimal service will be done outside of Mercedes. No Mercedes dealer will be interested in any Mercedes with that kind of mileage and lack of service records..

cetialpha5

I can't see it lasting that long if it was for Uber. Would make more sense if it was a limo company where they can charge more. Unless they have multiple drivers, there's no way it will make enough money to cover the costs of the car.

Icebreaker

I have a 2018 E300 and experienced the same problem you mentioned where when you slow down to about 20 mph and step on the gas you feel that "nothingness" for about 2 seconds and then it goes. I took it to the dealer and got the same answer you did where they couldn't find what the problem was. At the same time they said they will do a software "reset" and to let them know if that did anything. That reset actually took away that hesitation completely.
Otherwise this is a really nice car and I really feel secure driving it.

Simon Chowdhury

I complete agree with your driving reactions. I was completely astounded when I drove the C300 loaner and noticed that the cars throttle response, sound and general swiftness was a 100% better. Having driven other 4-cyl luxo sedans this was a disappointment.

On to handling, is it just me or do the front tires lack serious grip and the suspension articulation over bumps?

#complaintsofaperformacecarguy #passthecarontowifey

ua549

I fixed the responsiveness issue by using the individual mode settings. Set the engine at either sport or sport+ and keep the other settings on comfort unless you like a harder ride.

Icebreaker

The problem with that is that it uses more gas......
The thing is if you got the car after someone else drove for a while it'll try to adjust to that person's driving habits. My car only had 3 miles on it when I got it and it had the same problem you had, but after the reset to default my problem disappeared in all modes. You might want to consider asking the dealer to reset it for you....

Alan.

midesaka

As has been mentioned above, this can be programmed away with an OBDII dongle (from Mid City Engineering or from vladimircdi on eBay).

My wife has a '17 E300 and has none of these problems. On my '17 GLC300, however, which has the same M274 engine and 9G-Tronic transmission, I get harsh downshifts under coasting/light braking, but only if I've recently begun driving: it seems that things sort themselves out once everything has warmed up. You might be able to convince the dealer to reflash the transmission software, but there's no guarantee that will help. It didn't change the behavior in my case.

Best of luck to you!