Alan Smithee

Since posting that I’ve done a bunch of 300-mile trips, car has over 5,000 miles now, and two way averages have consistently been 30 MPG in Eco averaging ~75 MPH. EPA highway rating is 28, so I can’t complain. City driving is where it still stinks…and where I expected better mileage with the mild-hybrid tech…still 16-17 MPG staying under 3k RPM…and way less if I get on it.

Very happy with the car overall!

Roweraay

What tires do you have on them - factory runflats or aftermarket high performance tires ? I assume you have the 20s, which have a staggered layout, with 245s in the front and 275s in the rear ? Max performance tires of course will help with handling, but the sheer grip will also add to the rolling resistance, leading to lowering of the mileage.

For reference, mine are 245/45/19 on all 4 corners. Replaced the OEM runflats with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 tires, which are a great middle ground for great handling and all weather performance

Alan Smithee

Yes, 245/275 on 20s, factory summer Eagle F1 performance run-flats. Will be switching to either Michelin or Continental all-season non-RF before winter. Will be interesting to see if gas mileage changes…

rmgrenley

I know i just asked this on another thread, but forgive me, I am easily confused.
With our 2023 wagon build expected in the next ?several months?, and the above indicating that the 48V battery issue has not been solved, I was wondering if anyone knows if the other manufacturers offering Mild Hybrid 48V battery cars are having the same issue...aren't there a number?
I did note that there is a class action suit against Mercedes.
And does anyone here still have the issue with the 2022 models?

Roweraay

I have a 2022 AT and no 48V issues whatsoever. Either I am lucky, or still early days, or they solved it.

Either way, the drivetrain is super-smooth and the hybrid works in filling in the holes in the turbo powerband, wonderfully.

rmgrenley

Hi.
Again, wondering if anyone has had an issue with their 2022 Wagon.
And if anyone nows whether the other car manufacturers are having issues with their Mild Hybrid 48V batteries.
If this problem is not solved, I will not accept delivery of my 2023 wagon build, and may have to look to see if the Audi A6 Wagon has had any issues.
I refuse to worry that driving short distances per day or leaving the car for 2 weeks will require the use of a trickle charger!!!! Not at the price for this car.

js_cls

Other brands are having this issue. Audi has a TSB for 48v equipped vehicles, and a few new refreshed BMW X7's with the MHEV technology have had battery issues.

Roweraay

I am currently on a 4+ Day business trip, while the 2022 E450 AT is cooling her heels in my garage back home. I believe the 48V battery’s charge level was at Lvl 12 or so, when I parked the car, last Saturday.

Since it will be a good 5 days of sitting as-is, I will check out the battery level (to check for any unusual drain), and also if there’re any problems starting her back up, once my trip’s complete (tomorrow evening), and report back here.

Till date, there have been no problems whatsoever from the car, and hopefully that trend will remain.

Roweraay

I agree, that when one pays 90K for a car, the last thing we want to worry about, is the car refusing to start back up, after a hiatus. Or a nearly brand new car, leaving one stranded on a trip. If I ever am left stranded, I would not have any more faith in the product.

I don’t care too much about the electronic doo-dads, as long as the fundamental drive-train is rock solid, and hope Mercedes has identified and fixed the 48V issue. This 48V battery / mild-hybrid system, has been in several Mercedes models since 2019 or so, and I’m really surprised that the bugs have not all been worked out. Thankfully, mine’s been trouble-free till date.

Roweraay

So today, I fired up the 2022 E450 wagon, to see if there was any 48V battery drain, after sitting around for slightly over 6 days.

Absolutely no drain whatsoever ! The battery level showed EXACTLY what it was, when I parked the car 6 days back. My garage is not heated, and it was sitting in temperatures in the 30s/40s to the 60s, throughout this time.

So I am happy to report that my 2022 E450 wagon is probably unaffected by the 48V issue that has been a source of worry here.

rmgrenley

Good…or bad…to know.
Good to find out, and that MB is not alone in this, but bad as the choices of a European wagon (as opposed to an SUV) are slim, and a non-MHEV wagon non-existent…other than stepping down to a Subaru!

rmgrenley

Glad to hear you are unaffected. Whew! Here’s hoping that the later models (2022 and 2023) are, and that the earlier models will get fixed.

Roweraay

Yeah, it is to Mercedes’s own benefit to ensure that the earlier affected models get fixed.

Since the 48V models (S-class etc) have been around with Mercedes since the 2019 model year (which means since calendar year 2018), I wonder if they made any subsequent tweaks that bought about the problematic units in the 2021 model year (2020 calendar year onward), when they introduced 48V to the E-class.

And then made some engineering changes and reverted back to the prior non-problematic approach in case of the later E-class builds, in the latter part of Calendar 2021 and beyond. I even wonder if it is related in some way to the chip shortage in 2020 and early part of 2021.

What gives me confidence about my particular car is the fact that with 6 entire days/nights of sitting as-is, in really cool conditions (which is when batteries drains quicker), the battery showed ZERO drain, which means even if it sat for a month, there should be no issues at all. No trickle charging etc needed.

rmgrenley

How do you actually check battery drain?

And, btw, did you buy your 2022 wagon off the floor or do a build?
Our build was done September 24, and our dealer is estimating 10-12 weeks, though I read someone’s story’s either here or on another board, where is 2022 build was in something like April and come October it was still in Germany waiting for a ship. Wow.

And if you did a build, did it come with everything you ordered? I know some this past year have come without the wide screen display due to some shortage, and the hands free tailgate lift for example.

rmgrenley

Ah, just saw in earlier post that you purchased from a showroom.
And that you replaced the runflats tires…what solution if any have you used for a spare and kit?
We frequently travel 180 miles from Seattle to the Oregon coast, where the nearest Mercedes dealer would be about 180 miles away!
hence my concern about either the battery issue or the Runflats vs. nonRF’s with ni spare vs. a full size spare filling up my luggage space!

Roweraay

I am leaning towards getting a full-size spare, and during longer trips, have it in an aerodynamic roof basket (specifically meant to house tires) on the roof. And then use that spare tire as part of the regular tire rotation.

The runflats are certainly no panacea for tire punctures, since once they get punctured, they can only be driven at 50mph or under, and for a total distance of 50miles. And since runflats are a rare commodity, where would you get a replacement in the middle of a trip, once you have gotten to that 50 mile limit, unless you are carrying a spare run-flat tire with you ?

To me, runflats are the worst of both worlds, since they are significantly heavier, mess up the ride quality due to their innate wooden-like stiffness, and in the event of a puncture during a long distance trip, offer no tangible advantage over a regular XL rated tire. If it is a true tire blowout (of course a rare event), both runflats and regular tires are exactly the same….cannot be driven at all.

In a different car, when I got a puncture on my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 tire (a screw fully embedded into the edge of the tire) I went to a nearby gas station and pumped up the tire to a couple of PSI above the level of the other tires, and due to the built-in self sealing ability of the tire (most modern high-end tires have a level of self sealing ability), I could drive around and the pressure loss was barely a psi in a 24 hour period, by which time my replacement tire arrived and got the swap done.

M. Schneider

I'll second Roweraay's post regarding his use of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 in 245/45/19" tires ('22 E450 Wagon)

Should our ordered (6/'22) 2023 E450 wagon ever arrive and it's fitted with Run Flat type tires, they'll be ditched before delivery. .. Set me up with Michelin's Pilot Sport A/S 4 (245/45/19") . . The newest Pilot Sport A/S 4 and predecessor A/S 3+ are proven top-tier performing tires. . Great rain performance, Super braking performance, and okay wear character, with top-notch handling performance. . I've used the predecessor A/S 3+ for more than a decade in fitments with Porsche 911 (993), Porsche Cayman GTS (981), VW GTI, Audi S6 sedan, and Outback XT to name a few. . A Hi-Performance 3-season only tire without many peers.

Use any of the Pilot Sport model tires in winter and it's white knuckle time. . You'll stain your shorts. . A dedicated cold weather - winter tire is a must. . Again here in Colorado @8,200' elevation winter M/S tires are mandatory. .Tires are the only thing between an excellent E450 wagon chassis and pavement. ..."When the rubber meets the road".

rmgrenley

If I switch out the RF's, I think I'll be looking for an all-season...Michelin, I would guess?
Here in Seattle we go winters without any snow on the ground, and then a winter with snow that stays for a few days to a week tops.
I still have to decide, in that case. whether to travel from WA to OR wth a roof rack mounted spare!!

I must admit even in the city if I get a flat I have AAA change to the spare...so I guess I would always be driving around town with a roof rack mounted spare?
Unless I resign myself to having a flatbed tow to the dealer or tire shop for a replacement.

I really can't stand this whole idea of RF's and no spare in all these cars these days!

Any other solution?

rmgrenley

I started a new thread when I found out that Eco mode is the default mode and switching it off has to be done each time the car is started. I have hated the clunky stop and restarts on the MB loaners I have driven, and on my older MB’s this is not a default. The couple of answers to my post said that the Mild Hybrid engine does not “clunk” in Eco mode.
is this what everyone else has found? And do you just leave it in Eco mode all the time?

M. Schneider

I've driven an MB dealership '22 E450 wagon for the weekend... and found the Stop / Start function seamless. Dare I say ever-so-slightly perceptual during the Denver city stop-n-go traffic. . My $.02 cents.

Roweraay

I agree that the Start/stop and the Eco mode are very seamless. But nevertheless, the first thing I do in any car that has the start/stop feature, is to turn it off when I start up the car…..unfortunately, it needs to be re-done at every single startup.

I used Eco and Comfort mode throughout the break-in period…..mostly comfort and Eco a couple of times. I have never used Eco ever since. Also, every time I use the car after a cold startup, I leave it on comfort (the default mode) until the operating temperatures are fully there, and then switch to Sport mode.

I have an upcoming trip to Maine coming up (roughly 1700 miles back and forth) and should give the girl a great whirl.

Roweraay

Comfort (c) is the default mode….not Eco (E). Also, with the 48V system, the start/stop is very, very seamless, even though I switch off the start/stop every time I start up my car.

rmgrenley

Am I correct that the default comfort mode utilizes the start/stop function (as does Eco mode), and that there is a simple easy to access button to turn off the start/stop without having to enter a menu? And that one can stay in comfort mode and simply push a button to turn off the start/stop function?

Is it also true that these driving modes control suspension? Since our Seattle streets are so bad, I would want to stay in comfort mode, I suspect, but easily turn off the start/stop by a button push. If I had to go into a menu each time I think it would be annoying.

Roweraay

All driving modes (Comfort, Eco, Sport etc) utilize the start/stop function. The start/stop, regardless of the drive settings, simply turns off the engine when we are at a stop (stoplight etc) and seamlessly (in the 48V equipped versions) turns the engine back on, when we restart driving. Thus it has nothing whatsoever to do with “comfort” or “Eco” or “Sport” etc. Yes, there’s a simple button to turn off start/stop, and I turn it off every single time I am on a drive……when you start up the car, the button is lit up and you press it once and the start/stop is turned off.

Yes, the suspension firms up in Sport, when compared to Comfort etc. There’s also an Individual (I) mode, which I have setup to have the Sport suspension settings, but the engine in the “Comfort” setting etc.

rmgrenley

Excellent explanation…now I understand. Thank you!