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Dead Battery, Red Stop Vehicle message, Roadside & Dealership Report
My when I tried to start my 2021 All Terrain, with 8343 miles, there was a dashboard message Stop Vehicle See Operators Manual and the photograph of the battery.
Earlier in the day I had driven about 20 miles to a hardware store and grocery store and home. I had NOT left any lights on.
At one point I received a message on the navigation screen suggesting that there was a problem with the 12 volt battery but I could not duplicate that message in order to take a photograph.
I called Roadside Assistance and after waiting 32 minutes on hold and listening to the message that repeated every 30 seconds, a woman came on the phone. I was disappointed with my Roadside experience.
She didn't seem to know where I was and told me that she could not send anyone from the dealership would have to be a third party and the only thing they could do is jump me or tow the car to a dealer.
I asked her if jumping would solve the problem and she told me that she didn't know. I asked her if someone could call me back on Monday, she rambled about how difficult job was, that it was a part-time job and that they didn't have the ability to call back and I would have to call back on Monday and wait online if I wanted to receive service from a dealer.
After speaking with her I decided that I would use this as a forced vacation and I would write to the dealership on Monday morning.
I've done a little research and it seems that this is a relatively common problem. It also seems that Mercedes has introduced a new battery.
I will report again after I speak with my service advisor on Monday. Roadside has gone down hill, When I called about my 1977 240d a real person answered.
Pre ~2002 when you called you spoke to a mechanic who understood the car and could answer questions. A Mercedes employee. After ~2002 you spoke to a Mercedes employee who put you in touch with a mechanic who tried to help you. For the last few years , even before Covid, Roadside is sub contracted to part time employees. In this case she was a part time person who had no knowledge, who. could not help me and who complained about how hard she was working.
I am not complaining I am letting readers know that Roadside may not be able to help as much as it did in the past. It may save time to wait and call the dealership unless you have a flat or need a jump.
Anyway wish me luck with my relatively new car that I waited 11 months to receive. I am worried because I read about several people who were without a their car for weeks.
I had a similar experience with my E 450, three months into having the car and only 3,000 miles. 48V battery died with no warning. Got the same dashboard message as you. Like you, I was highly disappointed with the Roadside Assistance program. It took three weeks for the dealer to get a replacement battery. Hope you have better luck with your vehicle. Believe me, I feel your pain!
Last time I used MB roadside assistance, it took around 2 hours for a truck to arrive. What ever system they use to dispatch tow trucks needs to be revised. Very inconvenient.
I am pretty sure given todays logistics and cost of labor, it is not viable for each car company to hire their own call center employees to deal with roadside. I am sure there is a large company that handles calls from a bunch of all roadside assistance programs, and they just answer the call with a script from Mercedes.
And now, roadside program even ends for you after the warranty period. It used to be lifetime of vehicle, then changed to free if you service your car at a dealership once per year, and now its completely removed.
2019 E 450, 2016 E350 4matic (retired), 2018 Ford Edge Sport, 2008 Porsche Boxster
Remember Road Side Assistance is not "free": It is built into the price of the car. You have already paid for it. Sorry to hear about your problems. From other threads on this forum it seems pretty clear that Mercedes will wind up replacing your 48 volt battery.
Thanks JTK, Before I purchased I read about the 48V batter problems in Europe where this engine was used for a year before it came to the USA. I assumed they would have fixed the problem. I guess I was wrong.
And now, roadside program even ends for you after the warranty period. It used to be lifetime of vehicle, then changed to free if you service your car at a dealership once per year, and now its completely removed.
This is good to know. I was going to purchase a extended warranty. I wonder if that will extend Roadside?
I received a call at noon from the advisor covering for my regular advisor. I am going to jump my car and drive in and they will change the battery while I wait. Cross your fingers it works out. If it does I will feel like the dealership solved my issue quickly and professionally.
I hope this is not a recurring problem as it has been for others
AAA is superior compared to any Manufacturer Roadside Assistance I have had, and not very expensive either. It has been very useful and best of all quick (not to mention you can easily track the tow truck) for my BMW’s in the past and my CLS when I blew through a tire.
Very sorry to hear this. I'm glad you also posted on the "48 volt battery problem" thread where you can see that you are by no means alone. Most of those posts relate SUV's and sedans that employ EQ Boost, but then again there are far fewer All Terrains. My own All Terrain is already on its third battery at 2,300 miles (the first didn't even make it to 200 miles and the second was good for another 500 miles). As reported on that thread, MB has now changed the part number of the 48 volt battery, and the hope is that the "bad batch" of batteries is now history. Anyway, you're probably in for a new battery and I hope you get the new, improved version.
Vert interesting. Roadside sent a company and they found a way to put the car in natural despite the non working 48 v battery.
It was late and I think I remember correctly:
They attached a battery charger under the hood, opened the drivers door, put on the emergency brake, put the car in neutral, disconnected the batter charger, closed the door, released the emergency brake and the car remained in neutral while the driver was seated. One person stayed in the car and the other operated the roll back.
I will post this on the "48 volt battery problem" thread also and report later on what happens.
Thanks to Longroof I knew to request a new style battery. They ordered one and it will come in next Tuesday. I will advise.
Phil, I sure hope that's the magic bullet, as does everyone else whose car has died with the old part number. Coincidentally, just moments ago I saw a post that a GLS 450 with 5000 miles, also purchased in April, is down with the same problem. We're all members of a club nobody wants to belong to.
Last edited by Longroof45; 09-30-2021 at 05:39 PM.
Reason: error
So my car is back and repaired. I picked it up this past Tuesday.
Mr. Longroof, the new part number that you and I exchanged appears to be for a different vehicle not for our station wagon at least as of my service manager told me.
I know the service manager at Mercedes of Manhattan a long time and he's never steered me wrong. He's a really good guy. He did some research for me and according to what he told me it's more of a software issue and grounding issue then a battery issue.
It may be that there were a bad batch of batteries. If so many people are saying that there could be some truth to that. However my service manager told me that they replaced both of my batteries the 48 V and the 12 V and they replaced the software with a newer version.
I'm crossing my fingers that the problem is fixed and that I'm not going to break down somewhere in the middle of nowhere on Halloween night!
So my car is back and repaired. I picked it up this past Tuesday.
Mr. Longroof, the new part number that you and I exchanged appears to be for a different vehicle not for our station wagon at least as of my service manager told me.
I know the service manager at Mercedes of Manhattan a long time and he's never steered me wrong. He's a really good guy. He did some research for me and according to what he told me it's more of a software issue and grounding issue then a battery issue.
It may be that there were a bad batch of batteries. If so many people are saying that there could be some truth to that. However my service manager told me that they replaced both of my batteries the 48 V and the 12 V and they replaced the software with a newer version.
I'm crossing my fingers that the problem is fixed and that I'm not going to break down somewhere in the middle of nowhere on Halloween night!
I hope this helps someone. ..... Phil
Thanks, Phil, I'm glad your wagon is back on the road. The "new" part number I gave you is the one that several people mentioned on "48 volt battery" and "48 volt battery problem" threads, although I don't believe any of the posters had station wagons. So few of us do, lol. I'm really interested in knowing the part number of your replacement battery, which should be on your worksheet. Does it happen to be the "old" part number that I passed on to you? I would actually be quite comforted if that's the case. That number was 0009826814.
Last edited by Longroof45; 10-07-2021 at 10:08 AM.
Reason: More info.
I’m pretty sure it’s the same part number that was installed in your car Mr. long roof
Thanks, Phil, it is the same number. It's curious to me, though, that your service person said or inferred that the battery for our station wagon is different from other affected models, since I think all or most of the people who've reported bad batteries share the same engine as ours (3.0L inline-6 turbo engine with EQ Boost). And at least some of those people have reported that their dealers replaced their batteries with a different 48 volt part number. I'm certainly no MB expert and am just sharing what I've read after poring over these 48 volt battery threads. In any case, it looks like you and I are in this together, for better or for worse. It is comforting to know that our respective dealers followed the same protocols with our cars, however, and my fingers are also crossed that they got it right. I too don't want to break down in the middle of nowhere on Halloween night😁.
2019 E 450, 2016 E350 4matic (retired), 2018 Ford Edge Sport, 2008 Porsche Boxster
The I6 48 volt battery is in the GLE 450 and the E450. It is an integral part of the engine. I would think that it is same battery regardless of whether it is in the GLE, the E450 or the E450 All Terrain.
The lease on my 2019 E450 ends in December 2021 and I can extend it through March 2022 - maybe by March, if there are no cars available, even further. My present intention is replace it with a 2022/2023 E450. Hopefully by then the battery problems will have been solved.
Every time I get very excited about a new model and/or engine my wife of nearly 50 years reminds me of what I said many, many years ago: "Do not buy first year of production!" Unfortunately, once again, she is correct! (I had ordered a First Edition Mustang MachE: When Ford failed to come up with a viable lease, I cancelled . From all the problems with the MachE, the latest being replacement of both the windshield and panoramic roof, was I lucky to have canceled!)
Getting the car into neutral is part science and part voodoo.
The service advisor told me to connect the battery charger, press the start button twice in order to turn on the radio but not start the car, foot on the brake and then pushed down on the shifter but not all the way.
That did not work.
The fellow who put my car on a trailer (for the second time) remembered that at the dealership they did not open the hood. So, we closed the hood, I pressed the brake, then the start button twice quickly and then I pushed gently on the gearshift and the car went into neutral. The battery charger was not connected although it had been connected for about 10 minutes before we made this attempt.
It's not an exact science because if you don't push far enough on the shifter nothing happens and if you push too far it will not work.
Jayst! Next time do not let them drag your car. That's not recommended in the manual or by my service advisor.
Another thing is that sometimes they tell you to use skates because the car won't go into neutral but the fellow who towed my car told me that he had to put down blocks of wood where the car drives onto the flatbed because if you don't put down blocks of wood the front of the car will be scraped as it's being dragged onto the flatbed. Blocks of wood get in the way of the skates.
I noticed that there is some company on the Internet that's trying to put together a class action lawsuit against Mercedes.
Getting the car into neutral is part science and part voodoo.
The service advisor told me to connect the battery charger, press the start button twice in order to turn on the radio but not start the car, foot on the brake and then pushed down on the shifter but not all the way.
That did not work.
The fellow who put my car on a trailer (for the second time) remembered that at the dealership they did not open the hood. So, we closed the hood, I pressed the brake, then the start button twice quickly and then I pushed gently on the gearshift and the car went into neutral. The battery charger was not connected although it had been connected for about 10 minutes before we made this attempt.
It's not an exact science because if you don't push far enough on the shifter nothing happens and if you push too far it will not work.
Jayst! Next time do not let them drag your car. That's not recommended in the manual or by my service advisor.
Another thing is that sometimes they tell you to use skates because the car won't go into neutral but the fellow who towed my car told me that he had to put down blocks of wood where the car drives onto the flatbed because if you don't put down blocks of wood the front of the car will be scraped as it's being dragged onto the flatbed. Blocks of wood get in the way of the skates.
I noticed that there is some company on the Internet that's trying to put together a class action lawsuit against Mercedes.
Definitely not an exact science, but it's important to know that is is in fact possible to get it in neutral with enough toggling of the shifter. Important note: once it is in neutral, if you open the door to leave it will revert to park. It's a two person job.
I picked up the car yesterday. My service advisor told me that the engineers came up with a new software patch. I am crossing my fingers and will let you all know if it fails again. You may want to ask for the new patch. For your car
09-26-2021, 12:32 PM
