Purchased the remote starter for my 2013 GL63. Had it installed by a trusted local auto install shop as opposed to my local stealership (price was considerably less). The install took about 3-4 hours. The attraction to the Mid City design is that it uses your existing Mercedes key so no added devices to incorporate into your key ring. It is important to note that I have keyless entry on the vehicle. So, let's talk about operation. You push the panic button once to remote start the car - it immediately flashes the hazard lights and about 5-7 seconds later it starts up. For safety/theft reasons the car remains locked after start up. To access the car you must press the unlock button to unlock the doors - it will not respond to the normal keyless go entry steps. Once you are inside the vehicle if you first step on the brake (like we all are programmed to do) the car will immediately shut off. So, instead of pressing the brake, you push in the keyless go start button - the hazard lights flash again and you are now ready to go. The device makes sure to keep the settings from when you last exited the car so if you had the heat cranked up then that's what you will find when you get in the car. But, it will not remember the seat heat/cool settings. If you are expecting to jump into a warm and toasty seat because you last left the car with the seat heater on then you are sorely mistaken. The process does involve the programming of both Mercedes keys so make sure you have both on hand during install. The cost of the device was $575 with shipping and I paid another $300 for install. All in all it is a good option if you are like me and like in a cold winter climate and have your car parked outside. It is quite worth the money on those freezing mornings I just wish it could somehow incorporate the seat heat/cool settings so I can get into a warm seat. Maybe it does and the installer missed something - would welcome other input from those that also use the system.

 

I dont trust any alarm/starter that does not come direct from Factory, I put the best alarm/starter on the market (Viper 5901) on my 1 year old Mazda 3 and it screwed up the battery and alternator. I pass

 

Did you order the mid city unit somewhere online? I was told it was only sold by certified dealers.

 

It was ordered by the installer who was listed on the mid city website as a suggested installer.

 

I had the "mid city" system installed on my 13'ML550 15 months ago and it has worked flawlessly. I paid the dealership $1200 which was high but wanted no issues should any problems arise.

 

Curious, has anyone tried one of the Mid City Radar Detector Interfaces on their GL?

 

@cookstar.. i too had the viper 5902 on my infiniti and it mess up my battery (drain it) So i know what you're saying but i also as the op installed the midcity on my c350 and its works great. Also, with it, they dont need to do any slicing to the wires in the car which is also great. And i havent had any problem with it too.

 

It left a bad taste in my mouth and I dont want MB denying my warranty if something goes wrong, I dont even want to know how much it would cost to get things repaired on this car without warranty.

 

Please understand the "install" process has changed substantially for MY2014 Mercedes - and new MY14 owners need to be aware the Mercedes DAS (Digital Authorization System has been dramatically "beefed up" in pre-emptive response to geometrically increased BMW thefts in Euro - where BMW DAS (especially on BMW's with remopte start - gone in 20 seconds) has occurred.

As a result - MB has even further increased the sophitication on onboard DAS for MY14 - and as a result the install "process for Mid-City SmartKey has changed dramatically.

For MY13 GL's - yes, Mid City was plug-n-play with no modifications necessary except dash tear down.

For MY14 however - with the increased DAS - not plug-n-play - requires modifying the ignition module adding a power pin-out - and also requires buying a 3rd key - which gets imbedded into the internal system - so your two original keys are actually communicating with the 3rd wired-in key inside the dash.

With the MY14 added ignition module mod - that scraps MB warranty on that $2K module - and your 3rd key cost will add another $200+ to what is required.

I respect Mid-City - however any MB dealer that "has" previously been doing installs will need to review that decision based on the modifications now required.

The MY14 Mid-City procedure completed Beta testing last week - and as of yet me and my guys have backed up a bit on MY14 installs - considering our decision.

The MB position on factory remote start has been firm - and point to the securtiy "door" Mercedes does not want to opne - and with MY14 MB has made that door much stronger - again, as preemptive action in response to BMW's fiasco when BMW allowed that door to open - do a google and see cam shots of BMW's stolen in like 40 seconds by drive by hackers in Euro/UK etc.

On "seat heating" with 3rd party remotes - won't happen - that ciruit by design shuts off seat heaters when the MB is powered down - and that ciruit is not "intelligent.

Keep the beat !

 

So any updates? Have you installed one?

 

I bought my GL550 last year as a CPO and the same Mid-City remote was installed and listed on the option sheet as an MB Remote Start. Works just as the OP has stated however I can unlock the doors by grabbing the door handle after starting with the remote. My dealer was familiar with the operation and stated that was the device they sell to other customers. I also added the DRONE Mobile device so I now have a subscription-based smartphone app that allows lock/unlock/locate/start from wherever the car has a good cell signal. Works great. Bummer about the 2014+ being locked down.

 

Thanks for letting us know about the installation. I just wanted to take a moment to correct a couple of things in your posting:

Once you are inside the vehicle if you first step on the brake (like we all are programmed to do) the car will immediately shut off. So, instead of pressing the brake, you push in the keyless go start button - the hazard lights flash again and you are now ready to go.

Yes, MidCity Engineering designed in a "takeover" procedure so that you can take over operation of the vehicle from the RS (Remote Start). One potential benefit of this is that you can go into a coffee shop to get a to-go order, leave the car running, lock it, and return without fear of having it stolen. The vehicle should respond to Keyless GO entry by touching the door handle recessed area as before. At least, every one I have installed works this way, and I have been installing these since 2007, when they were invented. If a thief entered your vehicle, the engine would shut down upon pressing the brake (plus the steering remains locked).

The device makes sure to keep the settings from when you last exited the car so if you had the heat cranked up then that's what you will find when you get in the car. But, it will not remember the seat heat/cool settings. If you are expecting to jump into a warm and toasty seat because you last left the car with the seat heater on then you are sorely mistaken.

Actually, that is technically incorrect. The "device" does not remember anything. All it ever does is send a START request, just as if you had pressed the Keyless GO button (if equipped) or turned the Smart Key clockwise to the START position. The vehicle itself is the thing that retains the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning) settings. The vehicle also does NOT turn ON heated or cooled seat settings once the engine START request has been received. Mercedes-Benz vehicles use a microswitch for the seat heat (and cool, if equipped) which controls a 5VDC (5 Volts DC) control circuit, analogous to a CAN (Control Area Network) BUS network.


The process does involve the programming of both Mercedes keys so make sure you have both on hand during install.

No, it does not require any programming of any keys. You can show up at the installation shop with only one key if you wish.

I just wish it could somehow incorporate the seat heat/cool settings so I can get into a warm seat. Maybe it does and the installer missed something - would welcome other input from those that also use the system.

The installer did not miss anything. It is the vehicle computer that decides to not re-engage any heated seat settings you may have left on when shutting down the vehicle. I get requests from customers about this all the time, working in New England. Maybe someday I will free up some installation time to figure out a way to turn ON the heated seats after the engine START request. But this would be strictly a vehicle modification.

It would help everyone if we could just keep in mind that ALL the MidCity Engineering remote starter does is emulate an actual (physical) engine START request. That is all it does, except it also has a 15 minute runtime timer, and it has miscellaneous other minor functions such as flashing the parking lights every 5s, and circuitry to allow "takeover". But in it's core function, all it does is repeat what happens when the operator physically pushes the Keyless GO button or turns the Smart Key clockwise to the START position. Thanks!

PS: I'm still fine-tuning my ability to change text color!

 

Just as another data point, I had the compustar and drone units installed in my 2013 166 ML in December. Once I learned the nuances of the system, it has been an incredible addition to the vehicle this cold winter. In fact, I find myself leaning towards taking the ML over our other cars because I can warm it up in advance.

The most notable finding is the fact that you can only start the vehicle 5 times in row via remote start and then it needs to be started normally via key (keyless go is ok too). Otherwise the merc system seems to lock it out and the compustar flashes an error code that its out of sync. A simple 15 second key start puts it back in sync.

I went with the compustar module becuase its made specifically for MB, other feedback online was positive, but mostly because I could get the compustar+drone for $300 less than the local mid city listed MB dealer wanted for just the Mid City key start unit. At that price, it was worth the risk.

 

If you have a great brand like dei products (viper) then it's all about how the installation was done

All joints between wires should ideally be soldered and appropriately insulated and any relay ignition cut off should be inspected from time to time as arcing can cause internal metal melting and fusion and kill a battery quick