ScottC2

I have an appointment at my dealer tomorrow for them to install my new set of "snow shoes".
I received an e-mail today leading me to where I could digitally sign the work order. Fine.
After printing and reading the work order, I noticed an item added under the category "Other": KDM - Update powertrain control unit software (PTCU) (N127) (*0892012, 23P0892012) and that my agreed pickup time had been shifted to 30 minutes later.
Hmm...what is this? I spent some time Googling and thought I would create this thread with the bit of information I found, in case if might be of use to others.

It's a software update, apparently to address a recall summarized in the attached document as:

"Mercedes-Benz AG (“MBAG”), the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, has determined that
on certain MY 2023-2024 EQE SUV (294 platform) vehicles, the software for the powertrain control
unit (PTCU) may not meet current production specifications. The vehicle may not start if the network
communication cannot be established. An authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer will update the
software for the powertrain control unit (PTCU) on the affected vehicles"

Approximately 5 329 vehicles affected.

I have not experienced any noticeable problems with my car yet. Though I feel I should be happy to receive any and all updates, I approach this with a certain amount of trepidation...
Will report back here if I experience anything unusual post-update.

bytemaster0

Thanks so much for this TSB. I actually have had an issue with my EQE sedan, twice, where it suddenly applied some regen, then cut power to 20% and made mention of a powertrain failure. Shutting the car off and powering back up solved it temporarily, but it was very unusual. Dealer and MB Germany were clueless. Code was P101300, "communication error", so I'm guessing this is very relevant. After the second visit to the shop, they disconnected and reconnected every single module, and then I took it back home to see if it reoccurs. I've forwarded the PDF to my service advisor, maybe there's a similar campaign for my car. Hopefully it's resolved either way though.

LastOne

The number of vehicles affected seems low but it is likely country specific. I have the PTCU applied a couple of weeks ago. Actual time in the shop was 2 hours, not the 0.30 hours suggested. No observable difference, which is good.

Crito

My car popped up a message about this when I got in the other day. So I hit the phone icon and it rang, and rang, and rang, and rang. Yeah, so like what could possibly go wrong, right? I'm more worried my vehicle will fail to start if the doofuses at the stealership trip over the cord half way through the two hour update process. I haven't heard any reports here of anyone having that issue even when the 4G modem and GPS aren't working. In fact, I'm pretty sure there'd be a ton of complaints here if that was a real problem.

I'm going to have to pass on this update. But thanks anyways MB! I'll take some free headrest pillows next time though if you got some.

LastOne

I have update'tis and generally do not pass up any update offers on laptop, smartphone, or the car. Have not had any problems with updates to the smartphone or car, and can rollback laptop updates. Worst case with a problem is there will be a followup fix.
Trust that MB's had found some issues with original release, and the update will be an improvement.

Crito

But I don't trust MB has found a problem and that the update will improve things. If someone somewhere had complained about the issue then maybe. I've seen lots of people complaining the pillows were uncomfortable and sweaty, for example, but not one person here complained they didn't have enough of them. So MB may be fixing another non-issue and seeing how poorly tested their software is the likelihood of them introducing a NEW bug in the process is quite high.

I'm going to pass. If I ever have a problem starting my vehicle when the 4G modem isn't working then, and only then, will I allow them to update that module.

bytemaster0

The issue occurs when there is a communication fault between the powertrain management unit and something else in the car - I'm not sure the cell radio has anything to do with it. I can say that (fortunately) the testing for drivetrain is far more rigorous than that for MBUX. I don't remember who makes the MBUX software, but I'm willing to bet that MB has a much bigger hand in drivetrain embedded software (or if it's say, Bosch, I generally trust that company as well) than it does in its UX. I get the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality though.

ScottC2

My snow tires were installed today and the reception person, who asked me to sign the same work order digitally a second time, seemed flummoxed when I mentioned I noticed there was going to be a software update too - as printed in clear text on the work order.
So far, I am pleased with the snow tires they put on: Nokian M&S 235/55 R19/105R XL Hakkapeliita R5 SUV. Finnish. In the first 60km, I have not noticed any significant decrease in kWh performance from the Continental summer tires that came with the car. Yes, I notice a different type of road/tire noise, but it really doesn't seem much louder. We've had about 5" of uncharacteristically early snow here in the last couple of days...and the Nokians seem to perform in the present conditions very well.

As for the software update, I don't know whether I have it or not. My invoice is somewhat inscrutable. It shows "Job 2: wash and store summer tires" and "Job 3: Install new alloy wheels with winter tires". There is no mention of "Job 1". I would like to think that Job 1 is the software update. I will send an e-mail tomorrow requesting clarification as to whether I received the update or not, but I won't hold my breath waiting for an answer. While the dealership sales and service seem professional and competent, I am coming to realize that once I leave the dealer location, the communication & response time can be poor. Bad, actually. I suppose some of this is worth putting up with in order to be able to enjoy the amazing espresso/cappuccino/latte machine in the waiting room ;-)

bytemaster0

Those Nokians look great on the car!

tusharj

I had the same message pop up. Got an appointment, dropped it off and had the car back in a couple of hours. No obvious change noticed (not that i expected it). Car was running fine before (and has been since the update - a week ago).

bytemaster0

Is your car a sedan or SUV? And you had the update above installed? Please keep us posted. It's been 1K miles since I got the car back from the dealer, but no update available for sedan, at least in the US. Car seems to be working perfectly. Fingers crossed the issue is resolved.

tusharj

EQE SUV 350 4Matic, and yes i had this done - “OPEN RECALL 2023100007 UPDATE POWER TRAIN CONTROL UNIT SOFTWARE”

ScottC2

At long last, I learned that my car did not get the scheduled PTCU update when it was in the shop for wheel/tire change. They told me in their response that it wasn't anything urgent and could wait until my next scheduled service...which happens to be about two years from now.
Since I can't believe MB would go to the effort of issuing a recall without some preventative aspect to it, I declined their offer for me to wait and scheduled an appointment to have this done on Dec. 12th. I will report back...

ScottC2

My car received the PTCU update today. Took about 60-90 minutes.
I have driven it only about 20km since then, but everything seems normal to me, thus far.

tuffcalc

I had this update. Noticed no difference after about 3 weeks.

tuffcalc

Had the updated on my SUV, but not on my sedan. I believe it is specific to the SUV.

bytemaster0

So, I just picked up an EQE 350 4Matic SUV yesterday - a retired loaner with only 3600 miles, to complement the sedan, and noticed that the recall/software update campaign notice was showing up in the Mercedes Me Connect messages in MBUX. I'll have to see if it was applied or not, but in the few hours we've driven it, it's done so perfectly.

ScottC2

Wow! You’re all-in on EQ! Interesting that this showed up for you in MMe Connect messages. I had no such messages. Only knew about it because somebody added it to my snow tire work order.

bytemaster0

Yup! We had an old GLE 300d, wonderful OM651 engine in it, but it was going to need a fair bit of $$ in the very near future, so we decided it was time. The SUV was a fantastic deal, they took all the depreciation on what is essentially a new car, not going to complain about that! I can't find any evidence that it was driven as a loaner, save for two saved phone pairings (now of course removed!) and a teeny bit of dried coffee in the center console compartment latch that makes one side slightly sticky to open. Gotta clean it out this weekend.

As for the campaign, I checked with my dealer here at home, they confirmed it hasn't been applied (or they suspect it hasn't been applied?) and we have an appointment to have it updated in January once all the holiday craziness has subsided a bit for everyone.

Ant`Toe`Knee K

It’s now over x6 service visits.
MB Researchers should have performed a Lean with the technology department first.🤔🤔💾💻
Review my attached clip of the issue, however, you can see it.
My 2023 EQE 500, now sits at the dealer, the 16 of May will be a month.
The dealer is waiting for this unit.
😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😳

TheBPlot

Hi. This is my first post to this site. I wanted to thank you for the info here. I was able to tell the service rep what I believed the issue was with my 4 week old GLC Coupe when it completely stopped working, number screen alerts etc. Ultimately, the dealer replaced the PTCU, per, as he told me, MB recommendation under warranty.

Thank you for your expertise here. I’m a new Benz owner and was freaking out when this problem arose. Cheers!