How is it supposed to work? I thought that when I walked up to the car, the puddle lights would come on, interior lights would light, and door handle lights would come on. Lately, NONE of that happens. I'm pretty sure it did once, and I have ensured that Welcome lighting is Activated. How is it supposed to work?

 

As far as I know, it's after you unlock the car, not walk up to it. There's also a change in the color of the ambient lighting for a few seconds.

 

Really? So the puddle lights only illuminate the puddle you're standing in once you're reached for and found your door handle in the dark? MB is pretty far behind on so much very basic stuff!

 

If you use the key fob to unlock the car from a distance the puddle, interior and door handle lights will turn on. If you use keyless entry the ad soon as you touch the door handle they will light up. So if it's raining use the key fob to avoid puddles that will be illuminated by the puddle lights.

 

A little late, by then I've found it.
Yeah, I guess. Sigh, once again, convenience features on the 2020 E-Class fail to measure up to those on my 2006 Avalon. It turned outer lights on, including puddle light, when you walked up to it, and the seat position changed automatically depending on which remote you used. Just like every other car I've ever had with keyless entry, /except/ the MB. :-(

 

Oh, the horror! LOL

In reality, the way Benz does things makes more sense. More logical. Many people would say that they wouldn't want their car's exterior lights and puddle lights to turn on every time they simply walk past the car or walk near the car with the key in their pocket, unless they actually intended to open it or drive it. Car lights turning on whenever I walk past my car in the driveway at night? No thanks. Also, imagine a worst-case scenario emergency situation with a person being chased in a parking lot or something. If that person had to crouch down and hide behind his/her car, for whatever reason, do you think they would want all of their car's light to turn on in that moment?

Regarding the seat positions, having the memory settings linked to the key can also be inconvenient. Example: Your main key that is linked your your seat's memory setting has a dead battery and you need to grab your spare. Bye bye memory seats! Example 2: Husband and wife have gone out somewhere together in the wife's car. They only have her main key on them that is linked to the wife's driver seat memory settings and the husband is only carrying the key to his own car. However, the husband wants/need to drive and let his wife ride in the passenger for this ride. Unless he is somehow able to retrieve the second key to his wife's car that is linked to HIS seat memory setting -- which may not be possible if they're out or would at least be a hassle -- he will not be able to use his seat memory setting in his wife's car without manually adjusting it himself.

Plus, the Benz can store up to 3 memory settings, often on the passenger side as well. These memory settings can be set and reset extremely easily without needing to involve the keys or figuring out which key is which.

Things you find to be inconvenient may actually be better and more convenient for other people, and vice versa.

 

Well, next time I'm chased, I might regret it. But living with the feature for over 10 years, and knowing how convenient it is (when I'm not being chased, of course), the Toyota's method is /far/ superior.
Another extreme example. In the case you describe, I'd simply be able to hit the button, like I'd have to do every time on the MB.
You misunderstand how it works on most cars. On my Toyota, and my Acura, and pretty much all others I've tried except MB, the buttons still exist on the door to change seat positions. PLUS, one press of the button moves the seat to the correct position, no waiting in the rain while the seat moves and you press the button. But when you approach the car, the lights come on, when the car is unlocked, whatever key is used to unlock the driver's side, whether with remote or door handle, moves the seat to that driver's proper position. No waiting. Like I said, I've had about 15 years of such convenience; it is MUCH to be preferred to the way MB does it.
That is true. The 3 memory settings is convenient. But again, with the door open, they must be held in position to change the seat.
I imagine that is true. Or, for people who have not experienced a modern car's convenience features (MB has incredible safety, performance and technology features, but IMHO lag quite far behind in convenience and "logical" features), they may find them quite refreshing.

One of my problems is that I bought my wife a new Kia Niro the end of September, and acquired our new E450 on January 1st. Despite costing a third of the MB, the Niro has many logical, convenient features, that I've also had in all other cars I've owned for the past 15 years, yet MB does not have them, or they don't work as well. These are tiny little things, that add up to a real annoyance. I've yet to take advantage of the 362 HP in the MB, but I take advantage of all the Kia's features every day. To be honest, so many things about the Kia actually spoils me from enjoying the MB as much. But I'll get over it. I get really pi$$ed every time a feature that seems obvious on all cars is not there, but I'll get over it. I hope.

 

My early W220 S55 had key-dependent memory. They dropped it by my W220 S65. Why? It confused the hell out of people and they got tired of paying for warranty service calls. I recently drove my sister's Audi and when my brother-in-law went to drive it it wouldn't start. He screamed at me for breaking his car. (Yeah, he's like that.) It turned out he needed to lock the car and unlock it with his key to switch profiles. He didn't even know he had key-dependent memory.

My seat memory works with a single tap of the button. Don't know why you have to hold it.

 

Once you're sitting it the seat, it does. It's a huge discussion, and complaint, here (with separate threads) on how you have to hold the button while standing outside the car, until it has moved enough for you to get in. Letting go of the button stops the movement. At least that complaint I'd heard about /before/ buying the car.

 

Mine works with one tap, standing by the door.

 

It doesn't work like it does on say a BMW Z4 whereby you walk up to that car and it has a proximity sensor and the lights come on - i love that.

As soon as you unlock the car the lights come on.

 

I like the MB way. If the lights came on when the car detected the key, the battery would be dead after one night in the garage. The only place in my house that is not within range is the back patio.

 

I've never felt the need to lock a car which is in a locked garage.

 

Locking the car turns off certain vehicle systems, thus preserving battery life. I never leave my car without locking it. Garage doors are quite easy to open because most doors have a mechanical release near the top center of the door that is easily accessed the way a car door shim works. An overhead garage door is merely closed and not locked unless it is locked with a mechanical (sliding bar) door lock.

 

The need for the following depends on your neighborhood, but for extended stays away from home I installed these garage door bolt locks for extra protection so that overhead garage door can't possibly be forced open from outside. Best $20 I spent for peace of mind.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-7...ock/1000379013

 

I don't lock mine either. Actually I often leave the key either in the vehicle or on a peg in the garage. If someone wants to steal one of my cars after breaking in I'd much prefer they just grab it and go than come inside to pistol whip me or my wife to get it.

 

A garage door with an automatic opener is impossible to open without breaking the the track or tearing its lag screws out of the doubled 2x12 above the door. The door would end up being completely destroyed before it could be opened.

And yes, I like my car unlocked in my garage. I don't have to go get the key to open a door, get stuff out of the trunk, or whatever. As to using less battery power, I've heard that this expensive car is somehow more sensitive to having a dead battery and that people actually buy chargers for their new E-Class cars; IMHO that is just sad, that with a supposedly better, and higher rated, battery, that their is concern for this. Just sad.

 

If your door opener has a pull down handle to release the door from the opener, the door can be easily opened by using a hooked shim inserted above a door panel. The hook grabs the pull down handle which is usually attached to the release by a short rope and releases the opener. There is no damage to the door. This technique was used several times last year to facilitate home burglaries. I removed that release handle from my garage door.

 

I see no way to insert anything above the door; there is too much overlap, and the door is too tight against the framing. Other doors may be different.

Ah, the explanations necessary to explain the lack of features in the MB.

 

IMO the welcome lighting works the way it should. If it worked the way you want it to work, I'd disable the feature. If you hate the E class features, why did you buy an E class?

 

Because even by reading the manual ahead of time, you don't realize how many things work in a screwy way, or don't work at all. I like the car, but every day it bugs me about little things that have been "right" in other cars for decades. I guess when you know about the really advanced features, you assume they get the little stuff right too. But they don't.

 

No car is perfect of course.
my other car has a “walk away lock” feature which automatically locks the car when you close the door and walk away. It’s very convenient.

But I still love my e-class without that feature.

 

I thought the E had that feature. Mine was locked in the garage, when I never locked it, several times. I went into Vehicle Settings, and turned Automatic Door Locks Off, and it's not happened since. Coincidence? I don't know.

 

My sister's Lexus had that. Once, my brother-in-law locked his 95-year old father in the back seat. When the old man finally decided to join us in Home Depot, he couldn't get out. It was a hot day. We're making our purchases when they page his license number: "You have a very panicked man in a hot car and someone has called the fire department."

Not sure I like that feature.

 

Configurable is best....