My GL350 is one month and 1200 miles old. I have the 360 degree camera (it's pretty awesome except that at night of in a shadow it's pretty useless...infrared cameras aren't very expensive and would work really well in low or no light conditions) and various of the cameras have been intermittently out. Sometimes they all work, sometimes the rear camera doesn't work, although it deploys, and sometimes the right side camera fails to work.

My a/c panel also intermittently is having a problem. On a couple of occasions, the panel failed to light up when the car was started. The first time this took place, the panel was unresponsive for about 30 seconds. The second time it happened it was unresponsive for about 10 seconds before coming to life.

I took the car to the dealer and they said there was a software upgrade that should fix the camera and that was done. They told me that they're baffled by the a/c control panel issue and MB didn't have any suggestions. There was a low voltage code, which they cleared, but they didn't do any type of repair. They didn't tell me what caused the low voltage code and I didn't think to ask. They probably didn't know or they'd have fixed that and thereby probably cured the problem. Anyway, they told me to keep and eye on it and let 'em know if the problem reoccurs.

If the panel continues to occasionally be slow to fire up, that's little more than a small inconvenience. But, if the the panel completely fails on, for example, an upcoming road trip, that's a real problem. I think I read on this board or elsewhere that someone had the same problem but I can't find the thread now.

Has anyone out there had this problem and, if so, what was the solution?

 

same problem, but only one time. turn on the car, hot as hell inside, AC controls not lit up or responsive at all. wait about 1 min and it magically comes on.

has never happened again, so i haven't told the dealer about it. it's one of those awful things that you can't show them because it eventually comes back on again so if you take it to the dealer you will get the "could not replicate" answer from the tech and be sent home.

 

True enough. But, if enough people report the same problem maybe MB will realize that there really is a problem and figure out what it is and how to fix it. I know that my dealer called MB to see if they had any suggestions (at least the dealer told me they called) and I figure that MB keeps an eye on such reports even if they don't take action at the time. If the problem happens again it may actually be helpful in the long run to take it to the dealer even if in the short run the dealer sends you away with the "Could not replicate" routine.

And if the panel fails completely somewhere down the road after the warranty expires, you may have an argument for MB to repair it on their nickel if records show it was acting up within the warranty.

 

It has happened 3 times to me now where the A/C won't turn on at all. Actually just yesterday was the 3rd time. It took about 10 seconds to finally come to...and the other times took almost a minute. It's true...how can we show the dealer when it happens at random times. A little annoying though since it should be working perfectly.

 

My guess is that it's going to get worse without attention. As I mentioned before, if MB gets enough reports of the problem maybe they'll find out what's causing it. If you take the car to your dealer and insist they call MB for technical assistance when the dealer can't figure it out (which they won't be able to because no one knows what the problem is), eventually MB will do something. But so long as no one or only a small number of people report the issue, no solution will be sought.

Please do yourself and all of us who have this issue a favor by taking the car to the dealer.

 

I will certainly bring it up at my next service appt but that probably won't come for another 6-7 months. If it happens again however before that time, I will make the time to drop it off.

I was in for a total Comand system shutdown on day 6 of ownership. The screen was black all day long and they took it in, looked at it the next day and it was back on. Nevertheless, they saw it the day before when it was not working and did a software update on it apparently. That didn't help w the AC issue though .

Haven't had any camera issues at all for 5 mo/3500 mi. That happened A LOT on my X164 . backup cam would not come on or be a bunch of crazy yellow lines.

 

I have seen one GL's - a GL550 -the service procedure to to first reprogram the climate control - which is about 1 hr procedure - think of it as a being connected/updated from the "cloud".

In that particular case - the issue reappeared about 2 weeks later - and the 2nd stage was a climate control replacement - 2 days to get the unit in - and about a 3 hr shop time replacement/coding/programming.

Frankly, one out of 30-35 from my roof is not a "issue" - it's a exception - and frankly in internal malfunction of the sealed electronic control unit.

The sooner a owner brings his GL into service for this issue - and with the service protocol I have described both 1st and 2nd stage - the sooner you put the situation behind you and enjoy your GL more - and isn't that the point ?

 

I E-mailed my service writer with this information and we'll see what he says.

 

Well golly gee, I must not have been clear... like your GL goes to the dealer, they plug it in, I don't think your dealer has a cord long enough to reach your house...

 

Holy cow. I took my car in for the a/c panel problem and the dealer told me they couldn't find anything to fix. You then post a solution to the issue so I figure I'll send your suggestion to my service adviser to see if they'll try what worked for you.

And then I get a very, very nasty response.

 

We are very fortunate to have Fab on this forum.....he is "inside"and, no doubt, prefers to remain "anonymous" as far as our contact with our respective dealers is concerned ....and I think what he is saying is : rather than send your dealer his email, take his info and go see them, tell them what you want done. Yes....he can be blunt sometimes, but most of us have benefited from his advice.

 

In response to my E-mail, my dealer told me that a software update which just became available on October 1st is specifically aimed at the the a/c control panel problem. I took the car in about 10 days ago for the software update and the panel hasn't been an issue since. It could be just a little early to conclude the new software fixed the problem, but it looks like it did.

 

So do you have to take the car in for the software update or does it download through the command system?

 

Take it in.

 

good to know - thanks for posting. i will bring it up next time i'm due for service

 

It's now been more than a month since the issue with the a/c control panel last occurred so, nastiness aside, it looks like the software update fixed the problem.

 

Glad you took it in - yes, reprogramming solves the issue 90% of the time... and the Oct 1 "updated program addressing this issue " story from your SA is "smoke"... but that's on him.. not you...