1guitar

Yesterday I tried to start my 2019 E300 using the remote program on my IPhone, the Mercedes Me Connect app. To no avail, the program no longer works and this is the second time in 6 months this has happened. MB engineers are the biggest bunch of ***** in the auto world. That added to the fact that MB is trying to nickel and dime their customers by making them pay for all of their remote services.
I have been driving their cars for the past 30 years but after all the screwups they have put their customers thru over the past 10 years I am done with MB and their overpriced technical nightmares. It’s truly a shame as I can remember when MB built some of the best cars on the planet but now they build electronic wonders that leave the customers wondering if they’ll work! No more empty promises, no more unknown delivery dates, enough is enough. Mercedes Me Connect that works one day and the next day it dies.
I remember when MB promised they wouldn’t change that system until they worked out all of the bugs, more lies trying to defend their flawed electronic systems.
It’s truly shameful.

superswiss

No issues here. It's been quite reliable since they rolled out the new version of the app. I don't use remote start specifically, but occasionally lock/unlock the car from the app. There are restrictions on remote start, for example can only start the engine twice between manual starts. Could be issues with your specific car or cell reception in your area. The car needs a good signal to receive the command. Also make sure your services are actually still active. 2019 vehicles are all coming up for renewal this year. Sometimes the HERMES module in the car can lock up and needs to be reset, but personally haven't had any issues with it.

Mr. Toad

The experiences of superswiss notwithstanding, I've also found the MB apps and their associated "customer service" to be pure crap. When the time came, I declined to begin paying for an absurdly dysfunctional product and simply deleted the app.

superswiss

To be fair, judging from the model year in your profile, you are talking about the old mBrace system. mBrace was MB's first attempt at a connected car platform and as it goes with V1 products, they generally need another go to get it right. Mercedes me connect has replaced mBrace in 2019+ vehicles and we are now on V3 of the phone app, They quickly replaced V2 of the phone app, because it also had issues. The mBrace phone app is V1. Admittedly, the initial version of the new Mercedes me connect platform was rushed to market to be ready for the 2019 models, but they went back and rewrote the backend services as well as the phone app. They still haven't re-released all the services in all markets, but the ones that have been re-released actually work now, along with the latest phone app barring any specific issues with individual cars.

Mr. Toad

That doesn't excuse the fact that it was an appallingly bad app with appallingly bad customer support. MB needs to take a page from the Toyota handbook and properly test their products before implementation, instead of using their customers as test subjects.

superswiss

Absolutely agree, however it also doesn't help to keep bringing it up in context of the new platform that has nothing to do with the old one. It's like somebody who still keeps *****ing about Windows Vista. The world has moved on from it. I understand that your car is stuck with the old mBrace until you buy a new car or MB decides to migrate the older cars to Mercedes me connect, but your experience with mBrace doesn't help anyone with a 2019 or newer vehicle that doesn't use it anymore.

ErichG

I have a 2013 ML350 and will lose MBRACE as well. To be perfectly honest, I only used the car locate feature when parked at DFW Airport after returning and forgetting where I parked my car. Which I might add for those you disgruntled here about loss of MBRACE, you can easily replace this with a cell phone app using a GPS tag on your car (not expensive at all), some of the items lost can be replaced by cell phone apps including the navigation (always used my cell phone for that vs MBRACE.....as the cell phone apps were updated more). The unlock your car remotely, crash identification and remote start I can live without. I am very happy with my Mercedes even though I also got hit with the whole BLUETEC scandal thing and had to get the emissions replaced. But they wrote a check for $3500 and considering I got a USAA vets discount of approx $3000 buying the car new. Combined thats not a bad discount. On top of that the BLUETEC and diesel mileage puts my former Buick to shame. Insurance costs were lower as well for the Mercedes. At any rate I planned to only have the car for 10 years but after I bought the car I landed a work from home position and so my mileage after 10 years is under 30k still. So maybe I will hold on until retirement. My next Mercedes is going to be customized more, probably a Sprinter or Van from the firm linked below. They produce the full up pop top like VW Vanagons used to offer but they will install it on Mercedes along with other interior customizations. Check it out: https://sportsmobile.com/conversion-type/tailgaters/ That will be my next choice after I am done with the ML350 as I like to go camping.

superswiss

Don't even need a GPS tag. The iPhone for example automatically remembers where you parked based on the Bluetooth connection to the car. Basically the moment the car disconnects the Bluetooth connection, the iPhone marks your parking position on Apple Maps. Google Maps has the same capabilities, but it only seems to work for me when I use Google Maps to navigate somewhere. Then it remembers where I parked at the end of the route. The only problem is if you travel and you pair your phone with a rental car, it will then replace the parking position with that of the rental car.

MBenzEnthusiast

I really hope maybe there will be a retrofit kit to update the older models so that these features can come back. That’s the only way for remote start right? Or any wireless features?