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I've been lurking on this board since March, when I placed an order for a 2021 E53 sedan. I've found the forum helpful, so now that I'm a W213 owner, I thought I'd try to contribute some content in the hopes that it's helpful to others.
I ordered my car in March and took delivery in mid-August. As others on the board have reported, my car was delivered without the Hermes module. I signed an acknowledgment and waiver and was promised installation of the module in early 2022.
I'm happy to answer questions about the options I chose. Here's a (crudely retouched) image of the window sticker from my car:
For my first attempt at useful content, here's my take on the Acoustic Comfort Package:
The Acoustic Comfort Package is really two different features combined:
One of the two is additional sound insulation. Other than a couple of test drives before my purchase, I haven't driven other W213s, so I can't really compare against a W213 without the additional insulation. But I can report that the interior of the car is very quiet on the road. I can still hear the engine and exhaust, especially while the engine is still cold (engine noise seems to be much louder until the engine warms up). I actually would prefer if those sounds were even further muffled, but others might feel differently. The interior is much quieter than that of my previous car, an E39 BMW. Of course, I can't really say how much of that difference is BMW vs. Mercedes, older vs. newer car, or due to the additional sound insulation.
The other feature of the package is infrared-reducing film in the windows. While I primarily purchased the package for the other feature, the window film has turned out to be a bonus for me, although one with drawbacks. My wife is very pale-skinned, and she is obsessive about sun protection, so I had planned to install on the car additional window film that reduced transmission of ultraviolet radiation. Before doing that, I purchased a cheap UV meter from Amazon (
) and took some readings. With this package, the front windshield, all of the side windows, and even the moonroof all block substantially all of the ultraviolet radiation from bright sunshine. Only the rear windshield showed substantial transmission, reducing the UV intensity reading only by about 50% in bright sunlight. While transmission through the rear windshield is unlikely to have much effect on front-seat passengers, especially since my car is also equipped with the rear sunshade, to maximize spousal happiness I paid a few hundred dollars to have 3M Crystalline 90 film installed on the rear windshield; I wanted only UV-transmission reduction, not any reduction in visible light. I saved quite a bit by skipping the additional film for the other glass.
The infrared coating does has two apparent drawbacks:
One is that I find interior reflections to be pronounced. Again, my point of comparison is my previous car and, I suppose, various rental cars that I've driven, so I can't be sure that the effect I'm noticing is due to the special glass. But I can say that I notice interior reflections more than I do in other cars. In particular, I often see the reflection of my shiny aluminum trim when I look to the drivers-side mirror, and I see the dashboard speaker grate reflected in the bottom of the windshield. The prominence of the reflections is modest; they certainly don't impede my vision. But they do catch my attention regularly, and it's a minor but nagging annoyance.
The other drawback is reduced radar detector sensitivity. The windshield has a marked area just to the right of the rear-view mirror that purportedly has no radiation-interfering coating, and I installed my Valentine One there. Even so, the detector's sensitivity is substantially reduced relative to what it exhibited when the same device was installed in my E39. However, it still works in the sense that it alerts me of upcoming radar guns with plenty of time to slow down. Plus, when it was installed in my E39, I found the detector to be quite chatty with lots of false alarms, and so I've set the Valentine One to All Bogeys mode and am quite happy with the results: reduced false-alarm chattiness but still plenty of warning for real speed traps. So, while I wouldn't recommend the Acoustic Comfort Package to a radar detector aficionado, it's perfectly fine for an average user like me.
Overall, I'm happy to have purchased the Acoustic Comfort Package, though the interior reflections are a minor but real drawback.
I think interior reflections have been noted in non-acoustic comfort cars. The non-glossy wood trims evolved to partially mitigate this issue. (I’m just used to it by now.)
the thermal benefit in daytime and the retention of relatively high transmission glass in darkness make this an important feature of the car. So much so I recommend substitute the panoramic sunroof cash for acoustic comfort on the order sheet.
Also - for me - I experienced a significant decrease in my garage door opener range from the built in Homelink. I literally have to drive up the garage about 25 feet from the GDO. If I take one of the handheld remotes and hold it out the open window, I can open the garage from hundreds of feet away. I solved the problem with a product called tailwind from amazon and it uses my cellphone via an app and location based services.
I had to put my RFID tag for my work parking in the "sweet spot" you mentioned, but sometimes it just does not work and I either have to back up and re-approach the reader or take it off the windshield and wave it out the window.
I live in one of the hottest areas in the west and really noticed zero thermal benefit. Once your car has been out in the sun in the dead of summer, it does nothing. I would not recommend it either, but I bought the car "off the lot" and it already had it. On the other hand - my car did not come with a Comfort Box and I had to retrofit it - it is one of my favorite features to keep stuff from rolling around and love the way it tucks up and out of the way....
Getting your radar detector in the marked space is the key to working with these treated windshields. The mount that came with my Escort would have the detector below the area that the radar and laser can pass through so I found a different mount that I was able to print in ABS that mounted my detector to the windshield giving me full range again but, this is not a new situation I have had to deal with the treated glass on my cars for many years at this point going back to my W220 cars.
Desert SW final parked interior temp will not matter if we are talking 150F vs 130F. I live on the coast, where we are perhaps seeing 110 vs 125 for lunch time parking. That I notice.
Also, There is German test of sunshades that concludes exterior window coverings are the only truly effective cabin protection against thermal loading.
Re OP loud cold start exhaust. There are three reasons for this characteristic. The purpose of two is to ignite the catalytic converters quickly. The variable cam timing requires oil pressure, so the overlap is higher at start anyway, and the fuel air mixture is also set dead rich. This results in unburied fuel in the exhaust pipes which causes a very quick ‘light off’ of the catalytic process. The high cam overlap and continuous after burn of fuel is also the reason for the lumpy, aggressive sounding exhaust.
The third feature is the rear muffler acoustic flaps are open. I imagine there is a technically desirable lowering of back pressure to aid the high overlap cam timing and very rich cold start regime. I suspect this because all the twin turbo v6 and i6 engines, non-AMG included, have had this feature since introduction.
Or, the engine development staff are just having their fun: It is a throwback to the 1960’s very high performance engine idle sound with which most today are not familiar. Catalytic converters light off and we rejoin the modern era.
That's to be expected. It will improve comfort a little, but only tint will reduce thermal. It's not total light reducing, but only UV and acoustic apparently.
I plan on tinting mine also, so the benefits are perhaps moot but, I'll se what's up. (actually thinking about it, since the glass is thicker it probably will hold in heat more)
You live in the desert you need tint. Most dealers in Arizona tint every car out of the lot.
Last edited by Mac Jones 55; 03-04-2022 at 06:24 PM.
There are German language tech descriptions, but the simple test is to put you palm on the windshield and then the sunroof glass that has no IR/UV sandwich membrane.
This laminated glass is front, on doors and rear - all the way around. It is true that the visible light still admitted admits some heat effect, but this would not allow an uninformed person to simply dismiss the effects of the UV/IR film technology. Things like your arm will not get sunburned on an all day drive and other anecdotal comments also come to mind.
It is an effective thermal and acoustic barrier. Just not dark, but it works. You can also try to throw a brick through it, but the brick will bounce back. In one case knocking the would be thief out.
search for other threads on acoustic comfort as well, this has been gone through already.
I have this package in a 2018 E43 that I recently bought as a CPO. Can you guys guide me where I can mount my Barcoded sticker that can be read ?
Many thanks in advance !
Check the windshield from the outside at an angle for two rectangles. Both are near the center but one is high near the rear view mirror and the other is low near the bottom of the windshield. Bar code is visual so it can be read anywhere. The rectangles are for transponders/transmitters that use radio waves.
I bought my 2019 E300 used and it has film tint on the inside of the front window that I’d like to remove (it’s dark as a cave in there). Would removing it do anything to the acoustic comfort package that’s on the car?
I bought my 2019 E300 used and it has film tint on the inside of the front window that I’d like to remove (it’s dark as a cave in there). Would removing it do anything to the acoustic comfort package that’s on the car?
No, the acoustic comfort package IR and UV film is laminated within the glass. If you have the package each window will be marked showing a transmissivity of (IIRC) 70%.
Another benefit with the acoustic package that is inherent with laminated glass is protection from smash and grabs. Some of us live in cities where this can be an issue. Any thief will be quite surprised if they try smashing your glass.
I bought my 2019 E300 used and it has film tint on the inside of the front window that I’d like to remove (it’s dark as a cave in there). Would removing it do anything to the acoustic comfort package that’s on the car?
The way to tell is roll down your window and look at the edge of the glass, you'll see a slight dip in the middle of the edge. The dip is the laminate and the two outside bumps are the pieces of glass sandwiching the laminate.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by wildta
Another benefit with the acoustic package that is inherent with laminated glass is protection from smash and grabs. Some of us live in cities where this can be an issue. Any thief will be quite surprised if they try smashing your glass.
never thought of benefits like that, thanks for mentioning it.
I don’t have the acoustic package (I wanted it, but there were none available anywhere in the country when I purchased mine), but I added on the 3M Crystalline 70 film all over my car, including on the front windshield and on the panoramic moonroof. With the 200 layers that comprises the film, the same smash-and-grab benefit exists, where a person trying to smash in with a hammer, will have a nasty surprise, when there is no breach into the car. There’s absolutely no metallic content in the film and thus there’s no interference with cellphone and other signals.
In addition to the other benefits like cutting out 100% (99.9%) of the UV and almost 100% of the Infra-red (the heat we feel), of course. I could come back to a car that’s been sitting in the hot midday sun for hours, and the car would be barely warm inside. This is a pricey film that costed $1600 to put on, but certainly worth it, IMHO, and I put this film onto every car I own.
Of course the acoustic package also has additional soundproofing, which is an added plus in making the car quieter.
PS: My film is not the dark version that some folks put on, and is completely transparent. I personally like the glass to be totally transparent, with no obvious look of tinting, while gaining the IR/UV benefits of having a high-end film on the car.
I don’t have the acoustic package (I wanted it, but there were none available anywhere in the country when I purchased mine), but I added on the 3M Crystalline 70 film all over my car, including on the front windshield and on the panoramic moonroof. With the 200 layers that comprises the film, the same smash-and-grab benefit exists, where a person trying to smash in with a hammer, will have a nasty surprise, when there is no breach into the car. There’s absolutely no metallic content in the film and thus there’s no interference with cellphone and other signals.
In addition to the other benefits like cutting out 100% (99.9%) of the UV and almost 100% of the Infra-red (the heat we feel), of course. I could come back to a car that’s been sitting in the hot midday sun for hours, and the car would be barely warm inside. This is a pricey film that costed $1600 to put on, but certainly worth it, IMHO, and I put this film onto every car I own.
Of course the acoustic package also has additional soundproofing, which is an added plus in making the car quieter.
PS: My film is not the dark version that some folks put on, and is completely transparent. I personally like the glass to be totally transparent, with no obvious look of tinting, while gaining the IR/UV benefits of having a high-end film on the car.
Just curious what city you're in sun- and heat-wise. I'm waiting a year to determine whether I would want to tint my pano roof. How long have you had your tint now?
Was going to say above…don’t get too excited about any break-in benefit. At first attempt a perp may be thwarted, but at that point you are into it for a window replacement just the same. And if whatever he (or she) is after is tempting enough, they will just try harder and potentially do even more damage to get in.
Was going to say above…don’t get too excited about any break-in benefit. At first attempt a perp may be thwarted, but at that point you are into it for a window replacement just the same. And if whatever he (or she) is after is tempting enough, they will just try harder and potentially do even more damage to get in.
I'd say most of the time they are looking for no fuss attempts. They carry those emergency glass breaking tools like this. But if you have laminated glass, they'll need a battering ram to get through which would cause excess noise and attention, thwarting any potentially clean get away. See attempts to break laminated glass
Just curious what city you're in sun- and heat-wise. I'm waiting a year to determine whether I would want to tint my pano roof. How long have you had your tint now?
I am currently in the Pacific Northwest, but prior to this, I lived in locales where temps would get well over a 100 degrees in the summer.
Was going to say above…don’t get too excited about any break-in benefit. At first attempt a perp may be thwarted, but at that point you are into it for a window replacement just the same. And if whatever he (or she) is after is tempting enough, they will just try harder and potentially do even more damage to get in.
They’d not be able to do a surprise smash-and-grab, while there’re occupants in the car……it gives us that additional margin of safety to get out of harm’s way. But as stated, given enough time, and if it is a determined thief, they can break into any car.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by Alan Smithee
Was going to say above…don’t get too excited about any break-in benefit. At first attempt a perp may be thwarted, but at that point you are into it for a window replacement just the same. And if whatever he (or she) is after is tempting enough, they will just try harder and potentially do even more damage to get in.
PFL205.064 with M276.823 (Oil pump solenoid defeated)
Originally Posted by wildta
I'd say most of the time they are looking for no fuss attempts. They carry those emergency glass breaking tools like this. But if you have laminated glass, they'll need a battering ram to get through which would cause excess noise and attention, thwarting any potentially clean get away. See attempts to break laminated glass here.
Good to hear, but is it always that they use those tools? Or very least, is it state dependent on these perps' behaviours?
Any new updates on Acoustic Comfort? I plan on after market tint. On my S-Class my windows were purplish at first it was very odd effect. I think they have sense faded back to a more traditional black tint over time. I am the wanting the package more for a quieter cabin. I still have time to make changes to 2024 GLE build. My current car doesnt play nice with toll booths in the airport because something in the windshield. My last option on this new car is to either keep or remove the Acoustic Comfort. Not worried about reflections as much, as indicated in older post. Is it really quieter cabin when no music playing? Will it make my after market tint look funny purplish? Thank you for any comments
11-22-2021, 04:38 PM
