I and my spouse are relatively intelligent people with 5 degrees between the two of us, but after 6 months we are still babes in the woods when it comes to learning 213 technology. The “product concierge” is no help, and the MB videos are simple overviews, the manual is useless. How does one learn to employ all of the marvelous technology.

 

Go to youtube.com

 

Keep pushing buttons until something happens.

Spend time sitting in the car and manipulate the COMAND or MBUX system.

Drive the car and try all the features.

Spend time digging through this site.

Ask questions on this site.

 

What specifically do you have trouble with? Also what's your background, age etc. and what car did you drive before this one? Are you technologically challenged in general? The technology in the 213 and other Mercs for that matter is not unique. One just has to learn how MB does things vs. other brands, but the fundamental functionality is largely the same. Now if this is your first car with modern technology and computers/smartphones isn't something that comes easy to you then I can see how it might be challenging. The owner's manual doesn't go into great details about how the technology works, but it explains how to use it.

Now to the question of how does one learn it, well I guess that kinda depends on previous knowledge and experience. I am a software engineer in my 40s, so I didn't exactly grow up with technology from birth, but I've been exposed to technology since my early teens. My 2019 C63S was my first Mercedes and beyond reading the owners manual, there wasn't really anything fundamentally different from previous cars. It has the same system as the 213. Just had to learn where everything is in this car. Navigating around the system is pretty standard with a turn *** and/or touchpads and most functions have corresponding voice commands for easy use while driving. Anybody who has used a smartphone in recent years should feel largely at home, other than the lack of touchscreens. For comparisons, my folks are in their early to mid 70s and have fist learned to use computers at my current age, so they find things a bit more challenging and aren't exactly agile around technology, but they have made the leap to the world of the Internet and Smartphones and have a new car with modern technology. Occasionally, we have to skype and they have questions for me, so I have to explain it to them, but they live 5000 miles away from me and mostly manage on their own. Sometimes it's cute. My mom didn't want a Smartphone until recently, and now she's in love with WhatsApp and constantly messages me and likes that I can send her pics and videos directly to her phone and she can send me stuff .

 

Sorry, but you actually need 6 degrees to understand this tech.

 

I don’t generally want my sales rep to tell me anything about the car. I would sit in the car for hours with the manual and try everything. Drive it and try as many things as I can remember and don’t remember. To me that’s the fun of it.

I am technically savvy and purchased the car for the technology as well as all the other great things about it. I use just about every feature I can possibly use daily. The one exception is park pilot, I guess I don’t like parking my car close to others so have only used it a couple times

Only a few options my car didn’t come equipped with and they are heated steering wheel and airmatic suspension

 

If you're able to operate a smartphone, than you should also be able to drive and operate this. Honestly, all cars are requesting this level of 'skill' to operate with them. The only car I've driven which might be easier to operate was the current BMW 5 model, all other like Audi, Volvo or VW are the same in sense of difficulty.

 

I share your pain.

I’ve developed software for many years and the best word to describe the user interface on my 2019 E450 is “kludgy”.

The functionally is THERE, but finding it is a challenge.

Much more so than any other car I’ve owned.

Having said that, other than the user interface, I really enjoy driving the car.

HBH

 

Just my $.02:

How many of us have rented a car at an airport: they give us the keys, we start the car, set the climate control, turn on the radio and drive away. No problem.

Can you imagine that ever happening in a Mercedes, BMW or Audi???????

Hardly!!!!!!

Some of the technology is ubiquitous and wonderful: beeping when you back up and approach an obstacle, lane warning when there is a car in your blind spot, emergency stopping, but some of it is just plain silly: self parking, parking in a tight spot, hand gesture, etc.

 

You must not be traveling internationally. If you travel in Europe for example and rent a car it's very likely you'll be given a modern Mercedes, Audi, BMW or VW. People manage just fine without needing a walkthrough before driving off. All the tech has its use cases. I even use self parking at times, especially at night when I have difficulty seeing the curb in a not so well lit area

 

+1

Even in the US I usually rent a MB E350 or a Jag F-Pace from Avis.

 

I understand the feeling. I have a fully loaded E-450. First, download the owners' manual to your computer for fast access when you have questions.

I sat down and read the manual in the car (with a battery tender hooked up) and went through every setting. I still felt overwhelmed when done. Then I started driving and found I still didn't know how to properly use everything, nor what effect it had. I found that the best way to learn it is to get out and drive on less traveled roads and just play with the settings to see how they work. Half a dozen test drives on roads with little traffic (country roads are best) and everything will come to you very quickly.

That, and check this website when you are still uncertain about a certain function or setting. You will learn it faster than you think.

 

All this tech, and Mercedes still can't give me a dedicated Next/Previous Track (or Fast Forward/Skip and Rewind/Replay) button. *sigh*

 

Thanks for the comments. Although I qualify as a senior, I have never had this experience before. The 212 Benz never presented a challenge. I operate my computer, tablet, smartphone, house stuff without a problem but the 213 is hard to figure out. Now I am glad to know it is not just me. The product concierge told me he as a customer who comes in four times a week looking for advice. Now I find Apple products very intuitive and quickly mastered. The stuff on the Benz sure isn't. I defy anyone to tell me the parking assist is easily understood or operated. The people at the dealership are afraid of it. Now one small example, one night it was cold and I wanted to turn on the seat heaters. No button, I am not going to read the manual in the dark at 10 PM, and so I take a wild guess and try the voice command and voila it works, but one should not have to take wild guesses to operate an automobile. Then there is the manual. 535 pages poorly translated and poorly written. Technical writing is an art and MB has not conquered it with the manual. Now, in response to the comment that I need to get out more. Hertz gives me a 5 Series when I rent and I must say I find it more intuitive. My Jaguar F is delightfully easier. My last thought is the videos are a real disappointment. They are very superficial ("The key unlocks the door") and far, far from comprehensive. As if MB didn't want to scare people with the complexity of what they would face. Some tech I just don't want. I would rather have a spare tire than the run-flats, I would like to have a hard drive. I would really love a CD player. But no. We (MB) have a high tech alternative that will drive you crazy. The spouse is very annoyed that she has to load her music on a storage device and can't just play a CD. Nor unreasonable. Thanks again for the comments, there has to be a skeleton key to getting all the feature readily available.

 

Use the steering wheel right touch pad to swipe down for previous file and swipe up for next file. (There are no longer any "tracks".)

 

I really don't find operating MBs any more difficult than other brands, but I suppose we all have an Achilles heel somewhere. Maybe for some reason you just can't wrap your head around this one. Seat heater button is on the door next to the seat controls. MB puts the seat controls on the door. That was something I needed to get used to, but it's just old muscle memory. I'm not sure which generation of the parking assist you have. The old one was really poor. The latest one I have in my C63S shows instructions on the center screen along with visually showing the detected parking spaces. Then I just have to select the one I want and put it in R or D, depending on whether I parallel park etc. It also always searches on both sides. The old one I think you need to activate the left indicator if you wanted it to search on the left side of the street. There have definitely been improvements in the 2019 models. MB has updated the software and systems, but not sure if the E already has the latest one given that it is about to be completely redesigned. BTW, CDs are dead .

 

You learn this technology by doing. Read the various sources for information, but then go to the car and try the advice in practice, then practice, then practice, etc.

In the past, computers and cell phones came with manuals. Forget that today. Instead, you buy any high tech and you're on your own to learn by doing.

That said, I find it challenging to follow this advice in practice. I spend a lot of time sitting in the car in the garage (going nowhere) punching lots of buttons and reading menus, etc. AND burning down the battery charge in the process. Thankfully, Comand reminds you to start the engine before the battery dies.

 

One thing I am really missing is the touch, I think because the missing touch function a lot of Menupoints are laborious accessiable - and to reach them manually over the steering can be confusing.

 

I think that is down for the next and up for the previous.

 

I downloaded the Owner's Manual, and read through it 3 times before getting the car. It isn't perfect, but it helps. I'm still reading through it, until I find something I didn't know about, or aren't sure about, then I go to the garage and try it out, as best I can, sitting there. Pick one new thing you want to do, read about it, try it, work with it. I know I want to do Android Auto, but haven't even started to think about it with this 3.5 week old car. Just installed the music memory card, so getting used to that now.

 

Just my $.02 and not to repeat myself:

Technology is supposed to make things easier.

When you have spend hours upon hours reading how to do things and experimenting to figure things out and ask questions on this Board as I originally had to do, then Technology is not making things easier.

Other than retired people and "Techies" who actually has the time to do this?????????

Again other than current MB, BMW or Audi owners, when you go to rent a car at the airport, as I do many times a year, I want a car that is easy to drive: Toyota, Honda, Ford, Subaru, GM., etc. I want basic transportation: put the gas in go!

BTW, I have found youtube.com videos to be excellent and recommend them to figure out the many features on my E450!

 

Sorry, I got it backwards. I rarely use the feature. I do random play of 4k files.

 

Having spent a bit of time poking around the features, I've concluded that i simply don't care about a lot of them. Limit your poking around to things you actually want the car to do and you'll be a lot happier. .

 

A. Ok, I missed the seat heater button on the door. Completely my error. It was dark, after a long flight, and I just don't drive the car enough.
B. I bought the thing for the safety tech. Skills deminish over time and we do some long haul driving during the year and so I wanted the safety features.
C. Don't get me wrong. I think the car looks dynamite. Much better than the 212. The designo interior is sharp. I have no regrets. I love the thing.

 

One of the first things I did was to plug the phone into the car so I could use Android Auto for Maps and Music via Google Assistant. It's pretty straightforward, no real learning curve (just a little frustrating that the steering wheel trackpad doesn't work w Android Auto and it's not wide screen). Give it a shot!