I have read the 2018 GLC300 Battery registration thread many times and am still confused. In addition, I saw no mention of whether 2020 model years needed battery registration.
The battery in my 2020 GLC300 is 5 1/2 years old with 67k miles on it. I keep a close watch on the charging levels and its behavior currently is the same as it has been since I bought the car and driven it in the scorching southwest Arizona climate. That is, everything works perfectly with never an error message. I worry because I've never owned a car with such an old battery.
As we all know, 2020 introduced the "facelift" GLC300 with superficial visual changes but significant electronic changes. Is it possible the battery management software was changed to enable such longevity? I worry a replacement battery from my dealer will be far more expensive than if I made the change myself. Will I need to actively reset the battery charge cycle counter?

 

I had an 8 year old Tacoma, 2009-2017 back then, The battery was still fine when I got rid of that car with about 100k miles. That had a Panasonic battery. I don't know if they manufacture batteries but that was the 'brand'

 

I recently changed the battery on my 2019 GLC 300. The battery was stamped around 06/18 so it lasted literally 7+ years.

For the battery reset counter, I can confirm that the procedure exists and is a step in battery replacement process according to Mercedes (battery change procedure exists somewhere on this forum).

You can reset it yourself via a 3rd party scanner that has enhanced MB functionality. I can link you to what I purchased if you want.

 

@DYC300 I'm uncertain if the OP (or the subsequent poster) needs the info but I would be grateful if you would provide a link to the third party scanner with enhanced MB functionality.

I'd also be curious to know the brand & model of BATTERY you purchased alongside your reckoning of the amount of time it took you to effect the replacement of your battery.

TGH

 

Seeing some shop prices and I have not still got confirmation the need on a 2020 GLC, I looked on Amazon for scanners. Seems like there are many for the $100 +/- range so might be worth a shot. But I would like to have any info on a moderate price scanner that will work for an MB. For the life I me, I can not understand why any brand battery will not be acceptable. Just delivers some DC electricity. Sure, some may be more long lived than others, but as far as output for voltage, isn't a battery a battery?

 

Not really. 12VDC is still 12VDC but batteries have become quite a different animal over the past few decades.
I just posted in another thread in this section where you asked other questions.
Let me know if you still have questions. Glad to help if I can.

 

I have a 2020GLC and a 2021 GLC300. I installed an H7 NAPA Legend AGM battery 94R 800CCA/80AH. I did the battery registration (reset charging counter) myself with an Autel MX900 ($500+). I've worked on MB, Porsche, Infiniti, Honda and Nissan with no trouble. I think of it as a mid level OBD scanner. I don't know what your definition of moderate is.

 

The one I purchased is called the LAUNCH Creader Elite for Mercedes-Benz which is $150 USD at the time of this writing:
This scanner is pretty nifty as it can scan all the MB modules and report out codes and such. In addition it has read/write functionality so you can reset the battery cycle counter on your car.

The battery I purchased is the Interstate H7 (94R) AGM battery for $179.99 at Costco. You can purchase it from Interstate directly or from other retailers but I think it was a bit pricier.

I would recommend you take a peek at your car battery and confirm the battery capacity, crank current, dimensions, etc.

The whole process from removing the battery to installing the new battery and reprogramming the car took about 35 min or so.

I've attached the instructions for replacing your battery. You can see on step 13 that you must confirm the battery change in the front SAM module (which the scanner I linked above can do!).

Hope this helps.

EDIT: Wanted to mention this. The whole reason I looked into this topic is because I felt silly for paying other shops $400-500 to replace the battery and reprogram the car. If you have several Mercedes cars that need reprogramming then buying the scanner is a no brainer. It's cheaper than 1x hour of shop labor in my area!

 

MB is not the only manufacturer with a battery management system that needs a reset when changing batteries. If you're still forging forward, buying your first scanner can be a bit confusing. There are so many and the capabilities usually increase with price. More and more vehicles are designed to require bidirectional OBD scanners just to reset the oil service reminder. Currently, MB allows a particular sequence of pushing buttons to dive into secret menus but I know another German manufacturer that has no such option. Vehicles are losing the dipstick fluid level check. The diagnostic features can alert to potential trouble well ahead of a check engine light. The biggest difference is to the DIYer. It's a requirement for maintenance services. Besides service resets, other examples include positioning the e-brake for rear brake service, reading the transmission temperature to set the overflow level and other troubleshooting help like viewing O2 sensor response, short term and long term fuel ratios, spark plug misfires, etc.. If/when you do get a check engine light, you can run your own diagnostic to get an idea as to how urgent and what your response should be. Determine how deep you're interested in car maintenance and how many different makes you want to be able to use it outside of MB. Value can add up quickly. There is alot of videos on YouTube to help show you with the job steps. It's not for all. You will need to possess certain skill sets/competencies, tools, desire/motivation, willingness to learn and shoulder all risks. This has been a hobby of mine. I've avoided more service cost than money spent on tools. Good luck.

 

Very true comments in that it is becoming more of a challenge for the shade tree mechanic to do his own work on the modern cars. More tech and knowledge is required to do simple task.

Remember, stealerships don't make their money from selling cars, it comes from all the other areas of support sales including service, parts, warranties, and accessories.

Regard to battery management systems, I think BMW get the trophy for the most insanely over engineered system on the planet. Total Lunacy when it comes to BMW monitoring your DC power system.

 

All good information and it looks like your replacement battery is of the right type. I only mention this because you attached a copy of the WIS document and while it is complete, it is missing some of the supporting information important to the scope.

Notice how the WIS document has reference documents over to the side all shown in red or blue. Those are documents MB wants you to review to be sue to have all the information required for the battery replacement. One of those documents provides additional information on both the Lithium and the Lead Acid type batteries. Once of the key items within these documents is the warning about installing the correct type of replacement battery in that it MUST be of the same type as originally installed in the car. Otherwise MB states it will cause a problem with the charging system of the car. That is a very real warning to take seriously.

So while the battery group size and capacities are critical, so is the type of battery you install. That cheap battery from scamazon or the tractor supply store might not be the best choice even though it has the capacity ratings your looking for.

 

From your signature, it looks like you live in Silverstone.
Are UK procedures the same as US?

 

Say What? You must not be a race fan.
We have been doing that race thing here in Indy for about 125 years.

 

Site is having issues and double post was shown.

 

.....if you call that circle track stuff "racing"......🤔
Your table there also omits Pikes Peak, which only missed one war year since 1916.
But I'll throw in the Isle of Man TT as the oldest scariest venue. (YIKES!) 1907.
(Standard conversation between Roundy Rounders and Road Racers.)😎

 

Not sure Pikes Peak belongs in that table. Perhaps we should ask the Unser family if they think it should be in the same table.
I did not make the table. The table was generated as a reply to an AI question about the "Racing Capital of the World".

Yes, it's funny how events are debated about real racing. Only thing else I can say is that the Indy 500 has been and is still the largest single day sporting event in the WORLD.
Hard to compete with a half million people that show up on the same day inside an open air stadium with reserved seats. Some think it's a big party ( it is that too ) but most people that show up are true dedicated race fans.
So yeah, I would call it a pretty popular event in the racing community.

 

Pikes Peak is in my back yard, and Uncle Louis built an engine for me! I'm pretty sure that family would name Pikes Peak.
The newest Unser on the scene (Loni, age 28) is all road racing (Pikes Peak, Porsche Cup) and Baja type racing. Not Indy.

The Peak is attracting more types of cars from lots more countries. Nürburgring is similar in that respect, and a quick time in either place is a feather in the cap of manufacturers and teams. Nobody brags on their lap times at Indy, but sub seven minute laps is advertised widely. EV's are competing for bragging rights on the Peak AND the 'Ring. (VW ID.R anybody?)
The Isle of Man TT has to be the event where safety and fear are abandoned and Cajones take the prize. (YIKES!)

The "Racing Capitol of the World" is different for different fans. Some don't consider ovals to be "racing" and might call Monaco or Le Mans the Capitol. Those are part of the Triple Crown, and Daytona calls itself the "World Center of Racing." Then there's the Monte Carlo and Dakar Rallies.

For a Big Event, Indy has the highest attendance. Charlotte, Silverstone and Speedway (Indy village) house multiple teams and sanctioning bodies.
They are all "capitols" of the sport.

My "Pilgrimage" is to Road America. It's what I consider my Capitol, even though Pikes Peak is more universal than all of the above.

Apologies to the Forum for digressing from batteries. It was intended to be harmless.

 

No idea where or what Speedway (Indy village) is.

OK then we need to alert everyone that the age old nicknames need to be changed because you say Pikes Peak is the Racing Capitol of the World.

I have nothing else to add since I'm a Brit living next to Silverstone and the Royal Marines are waiting for me.

 

Hi, new here, migrated over from 5 yrs. on the GLK forum. Previously owned a 2015 GLK 250 (diesel). Traded in for a 2021 CPO GLC 300 with 53,000 miles, almost mint condition. What a difference, in terms of refinement and comfort. And I don't have to concern myself with the highly complex and sensitive emissions system.

But less than a week in, I am getting messages on my Merc. app and on the car that the battery is low..... so much so yesterday that the car would not even start. I pulled out my old Schumacher XC10 charger, and gave it a few hours to recharge, til it indicated it was fully charged. No messages on the car now, but the Mercedes app is still saying that the battery is "partially charged." I'm sure that it is the original battery, and the car was sitting for a couple months at the dealership, and we got a real good cold spell this last week in CT. So we will see if it was just from lack of use, or an old battery just not holding a good charge. One thing is quite obvious from my previous GLK - this GLC has a LOT of lights - LOGO projectors, foot well lights, instrument cluster, ambient lights, and not to mention using the heated seats/wheels in this cold snap. Would it be wrong to call it real heavy on electronic consumption? (and thus more prone to battery drain)

 

What is the sticker date on the battery? You'll have to remove a plastic panel passenger side of the engine bay. If less than 3 years old, I would take the battery out and fully bench charge. Next perform a carbon pile test. If it passes, fully recharge on the bench and reinstall the next day. If it fails, replace and recode.

 

Congrats on the new ride. That's a very nice upgrade to the '21 model with all the new tech. Rest assured that your electrical system has been designed to operate properly with all the new loads you describe.

Your OEM battery is a very high quality battery. Much better than average replacement batteries you will find at the local parts store.
As long as your battery has not been physically damaged or abused in some fashion, I will speculate it is still a good battery and just needs a proper charge to satisfy the BMS and stop giving you low or partial charge warnings.
Your guess about the car sitting for months is probably the correct reason for the problem. While the car was sitting on the dealer lot, they never would put a charger on the battery unless they had a problem starting the car. So it sits and sits without running very long as a lot boy moves cars around or it gets a short test drive by a potential buyer. But that sitting and short drives actually causes the battery to loose charge and eventually trips the system to an alert of a low charge state on the battery.

A proper charge will bring the charge and improve the battery health thus eliminating the alerts.
A good quality automatic battery charger is the best method to charge the car in the garage, You don't need to take it out of the car. Use the convenient connection terminals under the hood provided by MB as shown with pictures in your owners manual.
The automatic charging program will provide the proper amount of charge without causing damage and then switch to a "maintain" mode and keep a float charge on the battery until you are ready to roll. This method will insure your battery is well maintained and prolong it's health state to last at least 5-7 years.

An alternative method is to drive the car for an extended time at highway speeds. This will take over 30 minutes or more based upon the existing charge state of the battery. With the low charge warning it should take about an hour to fully charge by driving.
Short drives (30 minutes or less) don't really provide any appreciable charge to the battery. Repeated short drives over time (months) will eventually lower the charge state and set a low charge warning. An occasional long drive on the highway or using a good quality automatic charger is the solution to your problem.

 

Excellent description of how we should maintain our batteries ^^^^^^^^^^. I also have a '21 and top my battery off every 3-4 days with an external battery charger. I'm not a believer of leaving the battery on a trickle charge any length of time. In my experience, it doesn't add longevity to the battery. I periodically top off all my batteries, tractors, lawnmowers, truck, etc. I typically get 8-9 years of service life out of my batteries. I also use Walmart Maxx batteries and can't recommend them enough but only if you maintain them properly. Most folks don't understand that just driving your cars for any length of time will not fully charge your battery so a periodic external charge is paramount if you don't want to replace your battery every 3-5 years. Also, NEVER let your battery completely discharge. It shortens your battery life substantially.

 

Excellent post.

I'd change the term "automatic battery charger" to "maintainer," which is more readily recognized.

A Maintainer will not overcharge, where a "trickle charger" will. Smart vs. Dumb.

The worst thing for a battery is staying at a low State of Charge. Occasional deep discharges are more tolerable if it's recharged almost immediately.

A Maintainer addresses that issue, plus it senses when all those electronic guzmos have depleted the battery and (yes) automatically initiates a charge cycle. It varies current and voltage to provide the best algorithm.

Yes it takes an hour of driving to fully charge.

If I'm gone for a week, the car is on my Maintainer. If I were to store the car for a long time (weeks +), it's also on the Maintainer.

The GLC is now 7+ years old, and it never even shows "partially charged," which was a regular warning until I began my "no more than a week" program.

 

More good information ^^^^^^^ except for leaving a battery on a 'Maintainer' for any length of time. Yes, a Maintainer will sense when the voltage drops to a level where the charger will kick in again and top off the battery. The problem with this is with a wet cell LA battery, the electrolyte starts boiling again trying to maintain a constant state of full charge. Every time this happens, your battery is losing more electrolyte killing your battery. With our AGM batteries, I'm not quite sure what the behavior is because AGM batteries are constructed differently. Although I suspect the behavior is the same just in another form. Also, if your 'Maintainer' is not specifically designed for AGM batteries, the AGM battery will never reach a full charge as the charging voltages are different than regular LA batteries. No battery likes to be in a constant state of full charge. Just like your cell phone. The recommended state of charge for your cell phone is between 40-80% and to never leave it plugged into the charger. Yes, I know cell phone batteries are a different chemistry but the common theme here is a constant state of full charge for any battery chemistry is detrimental to the longevity of the battery. Everyone's mileage will vary but I've killed more batteries trying to leave them in a constant state of full charge than just topping them off occasionally. Maintainers have there uses but should never be left on for any length of time. Especially if they are left unattended.

If you want to significantly extend the life of your Wet cell/AGM LA Battery, do the following:

1. Never run any battery below 25% capacity. Doing so will permanently harm your battery.

2. At least once a month, depending on car model, connect a smart battery charger specific for the chemistry battery you are trying to charge. In other words, you need an AGM specific smart battery charger. I recommend the CTEK or NOCO smart chargers. They have an AGM specific switch on them. Batteries like to be charged with low current. I use the CTEK 5.0 as my primary charger. Yes, it takes longer but I've found >10A chargers can and often overcharge and confuse battery termination algorithms. Low current smart chargers take longer but are much safer and offer a more thorough charge in my experience. They also are less likely to boil off your electrolyte like higher current smart chargers will. The temperature of your environment needs to be between 60F-80F. I know for a lot of folks this will be a problem but batteries do not like extremes on either end of the scale.

I live in a rural area and my GLC is stored in a covered garage so the car is constantly trying to find signal and stay connected to the cloud draining my battery. My original battery will pretty much be in a deep state of discharge in 4-5 days if I don't drive it or recharge it. My GLC is not my principle driver so it's easier for me to just top it off every 4-5 days with my charger. I never leave the charger connected for more than 24-hrs after it finishes charging. My original battery is just over 5 years old and showing no signs of degradation. For those who use there GLC's daily or more often, just top your battery off once a month with a smart charger and you should get 5-7 years from your battery easily no matter who makes it. I also recommend you let your car sit undriven for 12-hrs for your battery to reach a resting/steady state before charging. Trying to charge the battery right after driving it will usually give a smart charger a false sense of battery charge.

 

Thanks all the great information, it is much appreciated. After about a 30 minute drive when I got to my destination, checked the Merc app and it was saying battery was "charged." Then after the ride back (mostly highway) at home it was again saying 'partially charged.' Back on the charger again.... after an hour now says 'charged' again. Maybe it'll take a few cycles of this, and a good long trip to bring it back completely.
Does anyone find that the Merc app not as accurate as the computer system in the vehicle? - I wasn't getting any warnings in the GLC.
Could also be that the charger stopped prematurely?. It's older but reputable... Schumacher XC10, 2 6 or 10 amp settings, an AGM setting, and designed to be automatic and smart....