monicash

Just ordered a car and told that wireless charging is no longer offered b/c of the computer chip shortage.
Has anyone else heard the same and/or what are people hearing about features being cut b/c of the shortage?

gfmohn

I ordered my E450 in early 03/21. I got one of the last production slots for MY 2021 in mid-06/21. The ship docked in Baltimore last Friday, 07/30/21. (I have heard of vehicles still sitting on the pier after three months!) The dealer expects delivery within two weeks. i think he is being professionally optimistic.So far so good, actually better than average. The bad news: The only effect of the chip shortage is the absence of Emergency Call Service, SOS for fuel and other assistance, Engine Remote Start, and I don't know what else (apparently, features located in the overhead console). If Mercedes ME Connect and other notifications of theft are not available, I will have to buy Lojack. I didn't order wireless charging. The necessary chip is not expected before next June!

superswiss

Yeah, they are leaving out more and more modules. The cars that are currently arriving are all missing the HERMES module, which is the communications module required for eCall and all the Mercedes me services such as live traffic etc. Basically everything that requires the Internet connection won't be working. Buyers are being asked to sign a waiver making them aware of the missing HERMES module, and supposedly it will be retrofitted at some later point when the supply is there again. No commitment on when that will occur. It will get worse, though. I just read that MB etc. despite what's been happening so far have been somewhat coasting along with existing inventory, but those inventories are running dry now. They have started to stop production and will probably shorten the model years and start cutting options across the board. Various models have already been delivered with missing options instead of the cars being delayed. It's not looking good at the moment for ordering a car and actually receiving it as ordered.

Greenwave93

My car was on that same carrier, Aquamarine Ace, and the dealer gave me the name as it was leaving Germany so I could track the voyage. The ship actually stopped in the Port of Bayonne in NY/NJ before heading on to Baltimore. I was told "2 - 3 weeks" before it gets to the dealer here in Rhode Island. I also ordered the car in 3/21 and the build was delayed until 6/21.

I was told prior to the build that the heating steering wheel was no longer an option because of the chip shortage, and upon arrival at the port the dealer told me the augmented video for navigation and the dash cam were also not part of the build. Actually MB credited me for those items and added an additional $300 credit to my price for the inconvenience apparently.

I signed a document acknowledging the Hermes Module was missing and these functions will not work until the car is retrofitted - eCall emergency call system, Mercedes me Connect Standard Services, Extended MBUX Functions, Live Traffic Information, Map Update, Navigation Services, Hard-Disc Navigation, Remote Services Remote Services Plus, Remote Services Premium, Remote Services Advanced, Digital Key Handover, URBAN GUARD Vehicle Protection, URBAN GUARD Vehicle Protection Plus, Concierge Service Energizing Package ERNERGIZING Package Plus.

Like superswiss indicated it is not looking good for those looking to order a car at this time.

gfmohn

Thanks for your reply. I just got done speaking with my dealer and signing the same waiver. My dealer estimated 10-15 days for delivery after signing the form.

monicash

Wow! Seems like the situation has gotten worse than expected. I ordered in June and still waiting to hear on next steps... My dealer guesses that early 2022 is when it will be ready, but that seems optimistic on what I am reading here...
I am now also being told that the "Premium Package" is no longer available....

monicash

WOW! where did you hear that the chip is not expected before next June??

tibubble2

I ordered a 2021 GLC 300 4Matic on Feb 24, 2021. Was built on June 10. Left Germany Jun 29. Arrived in Long Beach July 23. Signed waiver on July 25 accepting the missing comm chip. Got new status on Aug 19 that the Vehicle Prep Center was waiting for parts. Suspect that my car with the additional rear airbags was impacted by the recall of the side impact sensor. New forecast for releasing the vehicle is now late Sept or early Oct 2021.
Cannot find a comparable GLC within a 500 mile radius (Driver Assist/Prem Package/Multimedia Package/Dashcam/No sunroof/wireless charging/LED Logo Projectors/Surround View/Burmester Sound/12.3” Instrument cluster/rear side airbags). Inventory on GLCs is very low. Lots of GLCs stuck in Long Beach. They may be waiting for the comm chip too.

I quess I have to do with my old faithful 2002 C230K coupe.

gfmohn

That's what my dealer rep. told me in June. In July, he changed that to "...a year from now...," meaning 07/22.

I picked up my E450 on Tues., 08/24/21. It is a huge step above my previous C300 and C43. I didn't know cars could be made that good. "The Best, or Nothing" finally really applies.

SmokinJoe

My fully loaded E-350 with most every available option came less the Hermes chip.
Beautiful, incredible car and so fast for a 350!
Chip supposed to arrive 1st quarter of 22 bur I'll believe when it arrived.
I'm not so sure on the wireless charging statement related to missing chip as mine appears to be working.

monicash

Oh wow! I ordered a car with the rear airbags too. Wasnt told that there is a recall happening there!

monicash

Congrats! When did you order it? And how long did you have to wait for a production date?

SmokinJoe

Ordered in March, build in late June, Made it to Jacksonville Port late July. Took delivery July 20.

gmt58

I now too have to sign for a 2022 E450Matic Coupe that I order in May. No internet module.

Additionally, no Hands Free Access to the trunk. And no Augmented Video for Navigation.

All other features and options, including Warmth&Comfort, Premium, Head-Up, Air Ride, wireless charging, all seem to be there. They credited $100 for the missing hands Free Access and $300 for the missing Internet, with a promise to retro fit next year for free.

All in all a very disappointing experience, but I suppose I should be grateful I can get anything at all.

SmokinJoe

We're all in the same boat I suspect and I'm sure Mercedes isn't happy.

gmt58

Does it seem reasonable to try and "hold back" say, around $5000, until the HERMES module is installed? If I had a contractor building something at my house and he completed most of the job but wasn't finished, I wouldn't give him all the money. I'd hold back money so he had to come back and finish. This seems like the same kind of situation.

SmokinJoe

Nope, because they don't have to sell you the car. And in this current economy, they won't and will sell it tomorrow.
My brother was offered $10K it he didn't want his car. (2021 Corvette)
In my case they didn't even get or want a deposit. Florida

gmt58

Yeah, I figured. <sigh> I hate being had. I'm going to bite the bullet here, but being grumpy all the way.

gmt58

It's just that you know how this goes. The cost of retrofitting Comm modules in the fields is quite high. Therefore, MB MUST, as a matter of fiduciary responsibility, take all Comm units they get and install them in factory cars so that they will reduce the number of cars in the field that they have to retrofit. That means no car in the field will get a retrofit until supplies of Comm units are so high that MB knows they will never have to ship another car with a missing Comm unit. Only then will we get our upgrades.

Who knows how long that will be.

superswiss

Yep, don't expect to get missing modules anytime soon. Until there is enough supply for new cars rolling of the production lines, there won't be retrofits. It seems the current supply is being prioritized for the more expensive and higher trim models. AMGs for example seem to still come with the HERMES module. The supply that is available is going to the models with the highest profit margins.

Also, expect the shortage to last for a long time. Just read the following article today, which highlights the core issue underlying the chip shortage for the car industry. They rely on obsolete technology that's often over a decade old. Chip manufacturers are not keen on making investments to expand production capacity for old chip designs. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense for them.

https://fortune.com/2021/09/17/chip-...stone-age/amp/

gmt58

Thanks. That was a great article.

It can easily explain the backlog of things like heated steering wheel controllers, or trunk openers. I can certainly see old chips being used in all the safety systems and the engine control systems.

I'd have a harder time believing that MBUX is based on 20 year old chips.

It's hard to believe that the HERMES Comm module that supports Car to X communications is based on a 15 year old chip design. If that's going to work at all, it has to be based on at least LTE chip designs, and hopefully 5G chip designs. Likewise wireless charging that some people are having a hard time getting also cannot be based on old designs since that didn't exist more than a few years ago.

superswiss

Well, a typical circuit board in something like the HERMES module has more than one chip. The LTE/5G chip is just one part. There's also a microcontroller/CPU, RAM etc. and those can use older transistor architectures. One could still build a PC today with an Intel Core i7 from 2008, but Intel has long moved on to new transistor architectures with their latest x86 CPUs, and it wouldn't be a wise idea to do so. But there are risks with newer architectures as always. The Skylake architecture for example had several bugs that Intel had to fix and OS developers like Microsoft had to come up with workarounds.

monicash

Yeah, this is all nuts!!

tibubble2

My dealer called about my 2021 GLC 300 4Matic that I ordered in Feb 2021. It was rolling off the transport and I could pick it up the next day. The night before I was worried about whether the dealer would try to get above MSRP for the car and whether they would low ball me on my trade in (2002 C230K coupe). To my amazement the dealer gave me 9% off the MSRP and gave me $1500 for the trade in which was what I expected. They were grateful of my patience for the long wait. Without the Hermes chip the price was lowered by $350 for the Augmented Reality, $300 for the Hermes chip, and $200 for the dashcam. Once the car is fitted with the chip, Augmented reality and dashcam should work along with the other features the Hermes chip enables.

The GLC is my first SUV so it seems a lot bigger than I am used to but with the driver’s assistance package, blind spot detection, and the surround view cameras it will be easy to get used to. The MBUX assistant feature is very nice.

Mr. Toad

It will interesting to see how warranty claims work out on these cars, what with so many things being retrofitted at undetermined future dates. I expect chaos and pissed off owners.