As a new GLC owner coming from a 2002 Toyota RAV4... and after having had my GLC for 6 weeks or so... I want to start a thread with the kind of simple suggestions, information and advice I wish I had had when I first got the car.

Here's my suggestion: post your top 2 or 3 tips or tricks you feel are essential in owning and operating the GLC.

I'm starting this thread partly because the manual is such a beast... and I'll bet there are a lot of people who don't know that the paper manual they give you when you buy the car is NOT the actual full manual. That has to be downloaded from the MB website. (The full downloadable manual is 416 pages long -- I guess this is the one which is available electronically on the car's screen... but come on... that's impossible to navigate.)

And let's just say the manual is... poorly written and organized... not worthy of the car... but that's another subject.

Anyway, here are my 3 tips and tricks, plus one bonus point.

1) For those who wash their car themselves, how do you turn the Keyless Entry off, and the Auto Mirror Closing off, so that you can wash the car without the mirrors constantly opening and closing, and the car constantly recognizing your key (assuming you have the key in your pocket)? Easy one. Before you wash the car, in the car itself, go into the Vehicle Settings (easiest way to do this is push the "car" icon button, then use the controller to click Vehicle Settings, then spin around and turn Auto Mirror Closing off).

On the other point, on the Key itself, push the Lock button twice -- this turns the proximity key off so that the key and the car are not constantly trying to talk to each other. (Extra point: the manual says that you can save some key battery power by turning the key off. So, for me, I keep my second key as a spare at home. I click the lock button twice to turn that one off. The key responds with two quick red flashes, then a longer red flash, to let you know it is off.) Clicking the Unlock button restarts the key so that you can use the automatic unlocking feature (assuming you have that, with Premium Package 1).

2) I've read in the manual that the right side mirror will automatically turn downwards when you put the car in reverse to help you see where the curb is when parking. (We're talking about US cars here. I assume this is the opposite on UK cars and in other drive on the left countries.) How do I make this work? This is not explained in the manual. I had to google around to find the answer. The key point is that for this feature to work the "selection" button for the right side mirror (i.e., the button below the circular mirror adjuster, on the right side) must be chosen for this feature to work. So, the way to do this is... put the car in Reverse (but keep your foot on the brake of course). Press the right mirror selection button. Now adjust the mirror to where you want it to be when you are parking. After that, as long as the car is in Reverse and the right mirror selection button was the mirror selection button pushed last (ie, the left mirror selection button was not the one pushed last), then the mirror will turn down. When you switch back to Drive, after a few seconds the mirror will return to its normal position. I guess the point of this is that sometimes you are in Reverse but DON'T want the mirror to turn down, as when you are backing out of a parking spot in a parking lot. But if you are parallel parking, this feature is very nice and useful. Just make sure you've pushed that right mirror selection button, to enable the feature.

3) How do I scan through a song/audio book/etc, which is playing on the stereo? Here's another one which isn't very intuitive. To fast forward, drag your finger to the right on the upper controller (the touch sensitive one) but don't lift it. Drag to the right a few inches and hold your finger on the controller for two or three seconds. The song/book will start fast forwarding. When you reach the point where you want to go back to normal speed, lift your finger. It should start playing normally. The same gesture to the right will go back. I find this a little buggy, but it works most of the time.

And here's my bonus point for new owners. Buried on page 152 of the downloadable manual is some advice about "breaking in" the car. Among the advice there is to not push the engine too hard for the first 1000 miles, and "ideally... drive in program E" (Eco mode).

Enjoy your GLC!

 

Thanks a million Lazydriver, great post. Surely what a forum is for....keep adding to it.

 

In relation to point 1....how to turn off keyless access when washing car. I simply leave the key inside the car....problem solved!


As for keeping the spare key at home....why not keep it in the car?

 

because if you forget to lock it anyone can drive it away

 

I'm not suggesting leaving the key in a visible location!!


I have my key hidden in the car but easily accessible to me in the event of me losing my first key while away from home.

 

Well whatever I respectfully suggest it is a bad idea. It simply means that anyone getting into the car can start it and drive it unless you can power the key down in such a way as to make it inoperable. I dont know whether a double press on the lock button achieves that or not. If you must leave the other key at the car then put it in a dry container taped to the chassis underneath so you can get in when you really need to enough to lie in the mud.
My son accidentally left his X5 unlocked out the front of his house only last week and had it robbed. Better than being driven away.

 

The key is disabled....yes, the double press does achieve this.


The car can be opened remotely online from my phone through the Mercedes Me site so having the key within the car is not a problem.

 

Not sure how your insurance company will view it if your car is broken into and the key is found and used to take it away?

 

I was just getting a quote from MB Insurance and they made a particular point of emphasising that leaving the key in the car would invalidate their insurance.

One thing I will try when I finally get my car is to test a little shielded box that my wife uses for her contactless payment cards, just for interest to see if the shielding would also block the car key. I obviously have too much free time.

 

I have found a nice safe spot for the key and I safely say it wont be found......... famous last words!!!!


Anyone care to guess where it is? (It's not under the flower pot)

 

LOL.
It won't be safe if we guess correctly !
I agree though if you are at the beach, or water sports, the last thing you need is wet remotes. The days of digging in the sand to find your keys are long over.
Jags new F-Pace has a wrist bracelet that allows you to lock the keys in the car and be active in sport, including swimming, no effect on bracelet, allowing you to unlock and lock.
Hopefully MB can reverse engineer a similar wrist band for its owners ?

 

I hope I don't offend you but you need to be very selective of the info provided on this forum. It is obvious to those of us who actually own and drive a GLC that people are making comments or claims that are not owners of a GLC. On the other hand there are some very useful info on this forum from owners of GLC. How do you tell the reliability of the info is a very difficult question to answer. My take is that whilst the GLC may have a few negatives, on the whole it is a great SUV for the price and those contributors who appear to focus on negative claims or make statements that some who owns a GLC ought to know better should be discarded. If you are unsure whether to buy a GLC just Nike it!

 

Ian o S, not sure what your point is... what specifically do you refer to in this thread?

 

Added to that, as someone pointed out a while ago, the larger percentage of this forum will be from those that have issues with their GLC and are coming on to vent. This is not the place to come if you're after a balanced view of GLC owners! Take the rough with the smooth.

Mike

 

You know the key can still be used by pulling out the keyless start button and inserting it in the ignition just like a regular key, right?

 

I kept my car at Comfort mode during my first 1000 miles and haven't used Eco mode and not really planning on using it. Too late now!

 

Yeah, this is exactly what I mean... how can MB put this on page 152 of the downloadable online manual... and not tell you that when they hand you the keys? The manual in general speaks of an organization that really wants you to bring the car to the dealer for any questions you have (because the manual is so befuddling in general). I'm guessing that dealers like it that way; it helps them build their relationship with you.

I'm always amazed, this many years after Steve Jobs revolutionized computers by making them "just work", that manufacturers don't realize the real money is in making the product simple and easy to use and understand.

 

Yes correct.....the key is disabled but all you have to do to activate it is press the unlock button anyway. But you got to find it first!!

 

Engine break in is the subject of much controversy...some say it should be gentle and slow and others say run it hard, just not for sustained periods. Many of the latter are pro motorsport mechanics. The one thing they all agree on is that you shouldn't run the engine 1) at the same RPM for long periods of time (uneven ring wear) 2) At redline and/or at very high RPM for long periods (not sure what the definition of "long" is but I would say no more than a minute or so).
The bottom line is, there may be an optimal break in procedure and one would think the manufacturer would know best but unless you are doing one of the forbidden things above, any gains/losses in engine life from the break in will be negligible.
On top of that, how many of you plan on keeping the car for long enough to reap the benefits (or detriments) of the break in?

 

In the USA "ECO" mode is the default driving setup. I am not a big fan of the engine stopping when you are at a traffic light etc. If you try and go to a mode (like Sport) where the ECO START/STOP is not activated OR hit the green @ button on the center console that will stop it. However, when you restart the vehicle the setting goes back to the default of ECO, which I don't want. I did find there is a way around this. If you don't like the START/STOP feature take a look at this.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/252811119026

 

This is incorrect. The default drive mode is Comfort in the US. If you are using any drive mode (Eco, Comfort, or Sport) and then turn the car off, it will automatically default to Comfort mode the next time you start it.

Perhaps you're conflating Eco drive mode and the auto stop-start feature. That feature, auto stop-start, is active in Comfort, Eco, and Sport modes. You can de-activate it by pressing the button on the center console. The button can be identified by the universal auto stop-start symbol. You can also disable auto stop-start via third party software and widgets available on Ebay, as described above, if you are comfortable with the potential impacts of those sort of modifications.

 

You are correct. Sorry I wasn't clear. The default IS Comfort as you stated; BUT the stop/start is active by default. So the stop/start is always engaged when you start the vehicle. And yes you can "just" push the green @ button and go on your way. But I wanted to have the stop/start always OFF so that is why I looked for a third party solution which I found and that is the link I put my first post. I am quite pleased with my modification and found out that this feature is NOT mandated by US law, but a way to get a better score on mileage estimates from the EPA. Found out the savings are insignificant. See link below.

 

2017 GLC 43 transmission shifting in Sport+ mode, versus transmission temperature.

I've only had this CPO (used) car for less than a week, but I've already noticed that the full throttle shifting is very smooth when the transmission temperature is cold (less than +50°C, and shown in blue on the AMG screen).

But once the transmission temperature is hot (+50°C or more, and shown in white on the AMG screen), the shifting changes to extremely hard bang-bang-bang... shifting.

Points of clarification:

No, it's not a defect. The hard shifting is very much like what people would accomplish with a valve body replacement on other cars. Appears to be a built-in feature here.

First noticed the cold / smooth shifting when I was trying to demonstrate the hard shifting. A bit later, as soon as the transmission temperature changed to white, hard shifting was enabled.

I'm referring to the AMG screen with the Boost gauge; the transmission temperature is at the bottom. Both engine oil temperature and transmission temperature are displayed in blue when cold, or white when hot.

I've not yet notice any difference with cold engine oil. But engine oil warms up quickly, while the transmission can be cold for 10+ minutes of highway driving after a cold soak overnight (at -22°C).

I'm not sure about other modes besides Sport+. I've not yet spent much time in (plain) Sport mode.

 

Have any of you figured out a way to split your NAV/Audio so they show up on the main information screen? Even CAR PLAY allows you to do this. I can do this on my 2019 E450 but not my 2020 GLC 300.