Yesterday morning, when I started backing out of the garage to head out of town, my back up screen was blank with a failure notice.
I shut off the car, opened and closed the driver's door, started the car but it was still inoperative.
Everything else worked.

Drove a half hour, parked the car for 15 minutes. Got back in, while waiting for my Wife's appointment.

This time the seat and wheel were in the exit mode, and their controls didn't operate anything including the mirrors, which were stuck in backup mode (pointed down). The backup camera now worked.

I pulled out the code reader I had in the back and it identified a list of failur codes related to mirrors, seats and CAN.

Left the car. Got back in a half hour later and everything worked.

Similar symptoms happened about 2 years ago. Various systems struggled for about a day and then it was as if nothing had happened.
I learned from this forum that there was a non-recall download going on during that month, and I attributed my experience to the download. Nothing else permanent has popped up until now.

So far the one thing that's different is that The previous download shows up on Mercedes me. So far I haven't seen that on the app or online. The app shows software updates 5/15/24, 8/22/23, 1/11/23. That last similar episode, when various systems were disabled temporarily, was about August of 23, same time frame as the download.

(Ironically, my next stop was to return my Amazon code reader, because after thinking about it more, I decided I just didn't want to go there at this time.)

Today everything seems fine.

I retrieved the data from the code reader, which identified 36 issues with the body system, all of which were stored except for four which persist.
All other systems were without code.

Yes, this is my first time using a code reader. No, I don't know what I'm doing.

Any input or feedback?

 

Certainly sounds like some sort of software glitch or run-time error, it certainly sounds weird the update details weren't listed in the app and/or the car, the 12V battery is doing fine right? Bad (old?) batteries could cause voltage issues that affect various systems. Which code reader did you use?

 

Some good questions.
Over the last week or so, the app is showing my battery to be "partially charged," although my meter shows 12.4V resting. It's four years old, but I don't do many short drives, and they usually last 6 - 8 years for me.
There is a possible correlation. So I'll put my CTek on just in case.

The code reader is a "2024 LAUNCH Creader Elite for Mercedes-Benz." $130 after 40% "discount."

 

I see, hopefully it is just a voltage issue and gets resolved when the starter battery gets charged sufficiently. The voltage you mentioned however seems to indicate a healthy battery though. Instead of using a voltmeter, just use the car's built-in voltage display under the workshop menu. youtube.com/watch?v=SmXO-mt7p7E

I see, ya that is a good scanner/code reader recommended by many forum members here.

 

A few things...

1) You can disable automatic software downloads. It will reduce the entropy. The system will still notify you about available updates but won't try to install them automatically.
2) The code readers... They largely don't matter, you need Xentry (dealers and shop who pay for official licensing have it) or at least higher end Chinese scanners. To expand on it a bit - your typical ODB2 reader, in most cases, will read a fraction of the diagnostic data, often what's legally required to be presented - CELs, emissions, etc. Most of the per module data will either be missing, generic or presented with no regard to topology (what's connected to where, bus, dependencies etc). You don't necessarily have to go to the dealer to perform the diagnostics as the dealers can pull the info remotely if your Mercedes Me app is configured properly in regards to the "service" provider.
3) Yes, the Mercedes.Me will report 12.4V as "partially charged", I believe its the exact threshold for that message. The message itself is harmless, unless it persists for long periods of time or escalates to "low" batter warning. It's unlike to have anything to do with the earlier issues.

 

@stktyz33 1. My automatic download is disabled.
2. My code reader does all that, but codes aren't my issue(s).
3. My 12.4 resting voltage reading confirms that it's not a battery issue.

I was just describing my troubleshooting process which led me to this post.

My suspicion is that a download was taking place, which caused goofiness and here and there.
That was a guess because of my experience at the approximate time another download was known to be happening.
It's my understanding that these downloads start and stop as you you start and stop your car, or as cell service is interrupted.

In any case, I'm trying to pinpoint the situation that might have led to various systems going goofy on me and then fixing themselves.