goherdibg

I apologize up front for the length of this....I definitely went overboard on the brain dump but I am giddy about this SUV!

Mercedes Background: Over the past 12 years I have had a 2012 GLS 450, 2015 C300, 2021 GLS 450, and now a 2023 EQS 580 SUV. I really enjoyed each one of them and did not have any major issues with any of them (hope I didn't just jinx the EQS).

The EQS 580 SUV is by far the best vehicle I have owned. Between the ride-quality and the technology, it is top notch, in my opinion.

I was not a fan of EV's due primarily to the fact I work with a large number of Tesla owners, and they are quite annoying. I steered clear of the EV world primarily because of them. Then I ended up going to lunch with one of them in a Model Y performance and was blown away by the pick-up/torque.

I spent the next few weeks watching YouTube videos and reading online articles. I narrowed my search down to the EQS SUV, BMW iX, and a Tesla Model Y or X and test drove all of them. While the Tesla we test drive was the quickest of the bunch, both the EQS and iX were miles ahead in traditional build quality. I settled on the EQS after reading about a lot of problems/recalls with the iX.

I then spent the next 3 months re-watching lots of videos and changing my mind between the iX and EQS. I honestly didn't want to spend $140,000 on a vehicle. I started talking with my local Mercedes dealer about trading in my 2021 GLS 450 lease for a 2023 EQS SUV lease (to get the $7,500 lease credit). Even though they had quite a few on their lot they were not willing to deal as much as I wanted. They had a sister dealership in a city about 15 miles away so I started working on deals with them. They were much more willing to work with me. I ended up getting a 580 with Exclusive Trim and lots of options with quite a large discount on a 3-year lease. I also wanted to lease so I could see what the EV landscape is going to look like in 3 years (which I imagine will be miles different from today). I was also scared of the rumored $24,000 battery replacement in the Mercedes EV's versus the $10,000 battery replacement for Tesla’s. If the residual is way out of line in 3 years, I can just walk away and re-evaluate my stance on EV's.

Even with the 2 years of free charging and living within 2 miles of a Walmart with 4 Electrify America charging stations, I ended up buying the ChargePoint CHP50 - which is a great unit. I have only charged in my home for a few hours just to test it out. I have charged at the local EA stations 6 times - mostly in under 30 minutes. For reference, the 1 hour wait time between charges is non-existent.

I am still constantly playing with the settings each time I charge. Sometimes to waste time and others to change a setting I read a little more detail about. I wish the owner’s manual was more detailed on the descriptions behind each setting. Most of them do not need extended descriptions, but some do, especially those related to EV's.

I have convinced 2 other people at work to make the move to the EV world. One is buying a Tesla and one is getting an Ioniq 5. Even though they both love my EQS, neither of them wanted to spend the money (and I don't really blame them).

I feel like I have a good handle on things after just 3 weeks but also still have some questions/observations, which I will detail below. If anyone has any questions for me, feel free to ask and I will try and be as honest and blunt as possible without blowing any proverbial smoke up your ......

I have come up with these questions/observations over time and will present them in the order I came up with them:

1. I put the trip data on the driver’s screen and go zero layer on the center screen. I find it cumbersome to switch between my favorites easily. I can bring up the radio app and select favorites to easily do it, but I do prefer the zero layer. On my 2021 GLS I could hit the top of the touch pad and it would bring up the favorites list and I could swipe left or right but the EQS doesn't appear to have that feature. I know I can put the radio app on the driver’s screen and also easily do it there, but I prefer to see the trip data on that screen. Level of Caring (LOC) 1-10: 5

2. EZ-Pass Transponder problems continue. I have placed my transponder in the bottom of the window and to the right of the rear-view mirror and cannot seem to get it to work. I also live in a gated community that has an RFID sticker that I have taped in both locations, and it is also having problems. My EQS came with the heated windshield, so I am not sure if that is adding to the issue. It is very frustrating. LOC: 8

3. Recuperation modes need some work, IMO. Heavy recuperation is not good for interstate travel (maybe this is normal) and intelligent recuperation seems to need a little work on some of the back roads I take. At times, it has slammed on the brakes (or motor regen) to the point that the car behind me also hit me. Some of the things I have noticed and do like. Intelligent recup appears to apply regen when I turn the blinker on - or has it just learned my route? One question I do have on recuperation - when do the brake lights come on during recuperation? Immediately or when the vehicle transitions from motor regen to mechanical brakes? I do need to try each mode more on the different roads I take to/from work. LOC: 4

4. The driver’s camera is too high on the display. I am 6'1" and have a long torso (TMI?) and like to drive with the steering wheel way down so I can rest my hand on the console and also on the steering wheel at the same time. When I do that, the steering wheel blocks the camera. I took my first 180 mile interstate trip a few days ago and had to move the steering up quite a bit to keep the system from shutting down the assisted driving engagement. LOC: 8

5. Is there any way to show the mpkWh on a trip inside the vehicle? I can see it on the Mercedes Me app but can't seem to find it on any of the trip data in the car. While we are on the trip data in the car, it needs massive improvement, in my opinion. After watching lots of Tesla cross country trip videos, the trip data on Tesla is miles ahead of Mercedes. It's just part of the enjoyment of owning an EV and needs to show every detail possible. Maybe I am just not seeing it, but I thought it was lacking. LOC: 6

6. Internet Access. This is very confusing. Does it come with free internet for a period of time? I know I can tether to my phone's hotspot but don't want to need to do that. I signed up for the free trial of the T-Mobile internet but it never worked. I did do some testing with connecting to my phone's hotspot and watched a short YouTube video but every time I tried to watch a Netflix movie, it gave me some error I had never seen before (I didn't write it down). It is all just confusing. LOC: 3

7. I also successfully configured Apple Music one day and it has now been gone for the past 2 weeks. The other music services are still there but since I don't have the internet package I cannot use them. I would just like see and try Apple Music but it is gone which is a little annoying. I use Apple Carplay so this is not a huge issue. Just want to get what I paid for. LOC: 2

8. Does each profile need their own Mercedes Me account? I tried to create a profile for my wife and it started asking what her Mercedes Me account was. Maybe I was doing it wrong? LOC: 1

9. Should I have gotten a digital key with the vehicle. Maybe I am confused on what this really is. My wife's X5 has a credit card like key we can use for her vehicle and I assumed this was similar? Does digital key allow me to open the vehicle with my phone? I am really not finding much information on this. LOC: 3

10. Not a fan of the cupholder space. Period. LOC: 6

11. Car wash mode does not automatically fold in the mirrors. Is it supposed to? LOC: 1

12. I have the Electrify America and ChargePoint apps on my phone. I can see the ChargePoint website knows about my MercedesMe account. When I am charging at an Electrify American station, the ChargPoint app recognizes this and keeps a history of my charges. On the Electrify American app, nothing! Am I missing something? I have not selected a plan on the EA app but I did create an account. Is there any way to have the EA app recognize when I charge at one it's stations using the free 2 years of charging? LOC: 7



Thanks in advance for any advice/solutions/comments to the above.

LAZARU5

I have the heated windshield and the EZ-Pass transponder works fine in the area to the right of the rear view mirror. My Pennsylvania transponder is relatively small. Smaller than others I have seen. What are the dimensions if your transponder?

I believe Intelligent Recuperation handles curves differently if you have an active destination in the Navigation system. I am assuming that this is because it knows about turns even if you are not using the turn signals.

580selblack

for #8 I had to call Merc Me customer service. They walked me through the steps - it was unnecessary complicated but we got it done.

goherdibg

Thanks for the thoughts on Recuperation. I am still feeling out what mode does the best for each road makeup and it may just take a while. I was using Intelligent Recup on the way home today and it applied the brakes (or hard regen) entirely too early - which seems to be the case often.

For E-ZPass, I have 3 types of transponders. The standard one that is just for tolls that is 4" x 2". I also have an E-ZPass Flex that allows me to use the "Express Lanes" for free when I have 3+ occupants. This older style transponder has a slide switch on it and is 4.25" x 3". I also apparently have their newest E-ZPass Flex model that came in when I ordered one for my EQS. This one is much more narrow at 4.5" x 1.5" and has a smaller flip switch to activate HOV mode. This is the one I was trying to use for the 3+ rides (putting it in both locations) I took and it did not read the HOV setting and I ended up paying $23.00 twice (not worth calling the call center again). Anyway, I swapped out the latest model for the original model to see if that one works better placing it to the right of the mirror as you mentioned.

I also moved the community sticker to the sunroof and it appeared to work today - unless the RFID power-up unit hit the sticker in the car behind me and it let me in (which does happen on occassion).

Anyway, I will let you know how the old Flex transponder works. Thanks again.

goherdibg

Thanks. May have to resort to doing the same thing. Should not be necessary but then again other things seem to be unnecessarily complicated but I would rather have that than be on the low end of the technological spectrum.

icwhatudidthere

Did you ever figure out if the car comes with a free trial of some sort? Almost everything else has a year but this doesn't seem to. Seems strange to not even have a trial period of online music.

ETA: Looks like the answer is no. Which is strange since Online Music and Internet Radio are subscription services with a trial period but there's no practical way to test it unless you bring your own data.

enj

I have my 450 for about 2 weeks and still got used to it.
EZPass does not work at all in either the shaded places.

Utopia Texas

I use no recuperation on the Highway as the ESQ glides so effortlessly and heavy recuperation in stop and go traffic. BTW- No recuperation still recuperates. Go figure.

sarhoshamiral

I have a Samsung S21 Ultra phone and car is able to use its data either via cable or bluetooth so I can use online music without purchasing the data plan. Note that the car has its connection already, the data add-on is for hotspot usage on top of that so to me it makes sense for it to be not provided free. I wish they offered an option to use my own SIM plan though but at the end of the day 20$/month if you need it isn't bad. I do plan to purchase for upcoming months since we have couple long trips planned and it would have with the kids tablet.

gsenk

I have the ezpass in the top middle designated area next to the rear view mirror and it works really well. Have not faced any issue. I use the cover I bought on Amazon :

icwhatudidthere

Yeah that’s what I’ve been doing but it doesn’t seem to automatically connect. I have to search and select it every time I start the car. Is there an option to automatically connect to the same network every time?

sarhoshamiral

Are you doing wireless connection or cable? I use Android Auto mainly so I switched to cable connection since my phone wasn't charging fast enough from the wireless charger with Android Auto running. The first time I plugged via cable, it asked me about tethering which I allowed. Since then it is pretty much automatic.

icwhatudidthere

Thanks. That sounds like the way to go rather than having to fiddle around with my phone's hotspot.

Gilbert580

3- No, the car hasn’t leaned your route. It simply expects you to turn when the blinker is on, so it increases regen to slow the car. I do agree that intelligent recuperation needs a little work. It starts braking a little late and as a consequence, it has to be hard to avoid hitting the car in front of you.

5- totally agree with you, it should be easier to see that information in the card display while driving.

6- No it doesn’t come with internet access, not even a free trial. I use my phone for hot spot, it randomly disconnects and reconnects. Does it also happen to people who purchased directly from T-Mobile? They have a 1 Gb plan for $15 and unlimited plan for $25, I guess they want us to get the unlimited plan even though they don’t expect us to use much.

7- I have been able to use Amazon music and Spotify with my phone’s hot spot connection and it worked great.

8- Unfortunately yes, any profile has to be linked with Mercedes Me account.

9- I might be wrong but no digital key at this time. This might be just wishful thinking, but they can easily add it on the Mercedes me app with the fingerprint authentication.

11- By design, mirrors do not fold in car wash mode.

Crito

There's an NFC reader next to the cup holders in my EQE. Has a little key icon on the plastic mat. Apparently there's an NFC chip in the key fob so if battery dies you can still start the vehicle. So they should be able to implement a digital key. Only problem is the door handles need an NFC reader too. My Genesis came with a card and a digital key smart phone app.

goherdibg

Haven't found a definitive answer but everything points to no free trial - with the exception of the 30 free days from T-Mobile that never worked. I have tethered it to my phone a few times while charging to play around with it. I use CarPlay which covers most of the music services anyway so it's not really worth much - especially since the built-in browser won't even play Netflix movies (unless I am doing something wrong).

goherdibg

I was able to find a little piece of real-estate within the greyed out area next to the rear-view mirror that seems to work for my EZPass. If I move it even a 1/8 inch it does not work. I don't have enough room left for my community RFID sticker to work so I ended up putting it on my sunroof - which allows it to work on one of the 2 gates. I think the one it is working on points a little higher and activates it but the second one points too low - so I sit there and move the car back and forth a few times and it finally opens.

goherdibg

I have started doing the same thing. I have had Intelligent Recup put on the brakes unexpectedly too many times for me during highway driving.

goherdibg

Thanks for the replies. I continue to learn a little more each day. For #11, it's not a big deal, it's just different from what my 2020 GLS450 did, which is to fold in the mirrors in car wash mode.

rapatelrocky

FYI - I have NY EZ-PASS and put it under the rearview mirror without checking the manual and it worked no issues. I read the manual later and moved it to the right of the mirror and still no issues. (Yes , have the heated windshield option).
2023 EQS SUV 450 4MATIC. I was just lucky I guess.. I had original ezpass units (the big rectangular ones) from long ago, and they had sent replacements that were the slim height ones. I am using it NJ..

For 12 - I see the charging data in Mercedes me connect app but not in EA app - at least don't have to use a different app to see it. Only did one charge so far as a test..

Crito

Never mind... looks like NFC is old school and the industry is moving to UWB (Ultra Wideband). Best explanation is it does "local positioning" like GPS does global positioning. So no need to tap a reader, the car knows which door you're standing in front of. Kia EV9 already supports it.

nosnoop

BMW iX and all the newer BMWs already have this system.

Crito

Yeah, from what I gather UWB doesn't actually replace NFC it compliments it. NFC is passive while UWB actively sends out pulses which requires juice. So if your smart phone or smart key goes dead you'd be SOL without a NFC chip as backup. I'm a little worried the pulses will make it easier to clone though. I can easily clone NFC chips with something like https://flipperzero.one/ but you have to get really close to do it.

In any case, pretty much every other EV and most non-EVs these days come with a digital key so this is clearly a major omission by MB.

anandhan

6- No it doesn’t come with internet access, not even a free trial. I use my phone for hot spot, it randomly disconnects and reconnects. Does it also happen to people who purchased directly from T-Mobile? They have a 1 Gb plan for $15 and unlimited plan for $25, I guess they want us to get the unlimited plan even though they don’t expect us to use much.

T-Mobile has been working out well for me. The hotspot was a challenge as it was not connecting automatically. It does work well when it does connect though. The biggest issue is the fact that T-Mobile only supports 4g for Mercedes even though they manage 5G for BMW's. I would argue for most folks the phone hotspot might suffice even with the minor inconvenience.