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MBUX not starting sometimes

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Old Oct 15, 2019 | 08:52 AM
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Question MBUX not starting sometimes

Hey everyone - every now and then, the MBUX screen doesn't start up when I open the car - totally black center screen. When this happens, no radio, navigation, cameras, etc etc. This has happened 3 times since I bought the car back in April, and there doesn't appear to be an obvious way to predict when it's going to do it. Each time, the screen has come back up and works as normal after locking the car and leaving it for an hour or two... the car has had the A/C drain recall done a few weeks ago, though don't believe my car was actually affected? It's a 2019 GLE 450.

Anyone else encountered this problem? I'm presuming it's a software glitch? Are there any ways to work around it when it happens?
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Old Oct 15, 2019 | 09:36 AM
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MBUX issue

Originally Posted by Wiggis
Hey everyone - every now and then, the MBUX screen doesn't start up when I open the car - totally black center screen. When this happens, no radio, navigation, cameras, etc etc. This has happened 3 times since I bought the car back in April, and there doesn't appear to be an obvious way to predict when it's going to do it. Each time, the screen has come back up and works as normal after locking the car and leaving it for an hour or two... the car has had the A/C drain recall done a few weeks ago, though don't believe my car was actually affected? It's a 2019 GLE 450.

Anyone else encountered this problem? I'm presuming it's a software glitch? Are there any ways to work around it when it happens?
Never had that happen. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery might work, but that is a pain. Needs to go to the dealer, unfortunately.
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Old Oct 15, 2019 | 09:56 AM
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unfortunately this is not a new thing. happens in the wife's 16 e550 cab as well... drives us both batty but dealer has been clueless on how to fix... and cause it is intermittent... well ya know how that goes...
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Old Oct 15, 2019 | 11:59 AM
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It sounds like maybe something might be loose?
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Old Oct 15, 2019 | 02:57 PM
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I had this issue with my Mazda. Navigation wouldn't boot up with the car or would randomly reboot while driving. The issue was just that the battery terminals needed to be cleaned and the connections tightened. Worth a shot...
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Old Oct 15, 2019 | 06:30 PM
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It has happened to me twice in 12,000 miles. Once it was in a reboot mode and the other time I had to restart the car to get it back.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 06:57 PM
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A software update will solve this issue. It is a known issue. Have your dealer perform a software update for the MBUX.
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 07:35 PM
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Mine did it once and has been good since the Software update.
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Old Oct 22, 2019 | 11:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Petmerctech
A software update will solve this issue. It is a known issue. Have your dealer perform a software update for the MBUX.
Many thanks! Now going through the agonies of actually getting the dealership to update the MBUX software....

They started off by claiming that there are no outstanding updates for my car. But the Mercedes Me button in the car connected me to a person who said that there is in fact an available update, called Fresh Update 2 (FUP2). So i'm now trying to get the left hand of Mercedes to communicate with the right hand.

Do you happen to know if there is some kind of workshop reference I could quote to get them to apply the update?
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Old Oct 22, 2019 | 11:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Petmerctech
A software update will solve this issue. It is a known issue. Have your dealer perform a software update for the MBUX.
Why does a dealer need to do it? I thought a big selling point of the system was supporting over-the-air updates...
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Old Oct 22, 2019 | 02:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Eaton
Why does a dealer need to do it? I thought a big selling point of the system was supporting over-the-air updates...
They should have said OTA capable. Doesn’t appear that they are ready on their end. Map updates are happening though not always promptly.
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Old Nov 13, 2019 | 11:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Eaton
Why does a dealer need to do it? I thought a big selling point of the system was supporting over-the-air updates...
The file size for the update is huge and the programming takes around 2 hours.. Also, the programming cannot be interrupted while being performed, otherwise the control module will be bricked.
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Old Nov 14, 2019 | 05:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Petmerctech
The file size for the update is huge and the programming takes around 2 hours.. Also, the programming cannot be interrupted while being performed, otherwise the control module will be bricked.
That's a shame. I thought I'd be getting feature updates regularly OTA like Tesla
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Old Nov 14, 2019 | 05:13 AM
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Originally Posted by JaCe88
That's a shame. I thought I'd be getting feature updates regularly OTA like Tesla
I agree with you.

However, I'd be happy if they just didn't make it such hard work to convince them to do the update, when it's clear that it solves a lot of bugs.. especially on a car that is barely 6 months old and appears to be 2 major updates behind already... Why are they so reluctant to plug it in and hit "update all"? If it's a question of time/cost then why not offer it as an extra paid-for service to customer who want the latest software on their cars? They're missing an opportunity here.

Incidentally, since the update, no more MBUX failing to start problems.. thankfully. Long may that last! Oh, and Tidal works, and is pretty good, but only when there is very good mobile signal coverage... which there isn't where I live. Can't see myself renewing when the free trial is over - tells me the service is unavailable, or there is no active subscription, far too often when the signal is weak.
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Old Nov 14, 2019 | 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Petmerctech
The file size for the update is huge and the programming takes around 2 hours.. Also, the programming cannot be interrupted while being performed, otherwise the control module will be bricked.
Well, then maybe they should allow the update to be downloaded from their website and put onto a USB stick so people can update that way.
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Old Nov 16, 2019 | 11:44 PM
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Mercedes made MBUX software update sound like a feature we thought we knew, until it wasn’t, at least in US. Quite a shame the solid brand name still cannot catch up with Tesla on the very foundation of modern infotainment.
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Old Jan 27, 2020 | 06:43 AM
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So.... the MBUX not starting issue is back. The FUP2 software update didn't fix it.

Have provided video evidence to the dealership. Hope that's enough for them to check all the wiring and maybe replace the MBUX controller module.

Deeply frustrating!
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Old Jan 27, 2020 | 03:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Wiggis
So.... the MBUX not starting issue is back. The FUP2 software update didn't fix it.

Have provided video evidence to the dealership. Hope that's enough for them to check all the wiring and maybe replace the MBUX controller module.

Deeply frustrating!
It's not the module. It's the coding within.
I've had my MBUX module replaced and it solved Zero problems. Now thy've changed the module, applied FU2, and also corrected some lines of code. (so the service department says). So far, no problems, but I feel I have a timebomb on my hands.

Last edited by tiri; Jan 27, 2020 at 03:36 PM.
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Old Jan 28, 2020 | 12:17 PM
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No comment...



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Old Jan 29, 2020 | 03:03 PM
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So today my car has had diagnostics done, and nothing found.. however, there was a TIP note that described a similar issue with the media screen going blank, and as a result my car has had “a **** load of software updates done”. Let’s see if it helps. Though I am not hugely hopeful that this bug ridden MBUX system is even out of beta testing yet...
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Old Jan 29, 2020 | 04:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Wiggis
So today my car has had diagnostics done, and nothing found.. however, there was a TIP note that described a similar issue with the media screen going blank, and as a result my car has had “a **** load of software updates done”. Let’s see if it helps. Though I am not hugely hopeful that this bug ridden MBUX system is even out of beta testing yet...
The updates helped mine a lot but I didn't have the same issues as you. This is such a neat car it's a shame they didn't do better with the software. My Service Mgr said the black screen was included in the FUP3 update for the US. Let us know what version you have if you can.
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Old Jan 29, 2020 | 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Ron.s
The updates helped mine a lot but I didn't have the same issues as you. This is such a neat car it's a shame they didn't do better with the software. My Service Mgr said the black screen was included in the FUP3 update for the US. Let us know what version you have if you can.
still on FUP2/063 ...

wonder when FUP3 will be out?
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Old Jan 29, 2020 | 06:14 PM
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I was told that they were shooting for 12-19 so it’s obviously late already. Maybe they are testing it a little more or found something to fix. By now they should have a list of fixes needed but after almost a year and probably more than a year of development one has to wonder....
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Old Jan 31, 2020 | 01:24 PM
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I just noticed that two companies that are behind MBUX are actually located in the same building I work in. One is on the same floor!

Cerence does the AI, and Nuance does the voice recognition.

What are the odds?




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Old Jul 22, 2020 | 04:05 PM
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Originally Posted by tiri
I just noticed that two companies that are behind MBUX are actually located in the same building I work in. One is on the same floor!

Cerence does the AI, and Nuance does the voice recognition.

What are the odds?



lol can you ask them when full screen CarPlay will be available and when the mercedes me store will be available in the US
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