XW2013

The Eco Drive never works properly for me--sometimes I could be waiting at a traffic stop for over 3 minutes without the Eco Drive ever kicked in. Usually three out of 4 times at a red-light it fails to work.

Does anyone else have a similar problem? Or I happen to end up with a lemon?

JALLEN4

The Eco feature does not activate every time the car stops. The engine must be at the proper operating temperature and the conditions must be judged right to maintain the interior comfort level of the car.

The ECO light, on the face of the speedometer, must be illuminated green before the stop for the system to operate and turn the vehicle off. If not green, it will make no difference how long you idle at stop, it will not turn the engine off.

Another interesting feature is that it will not activate more than four times in a row before being driven normally again. This will happen for instance when waiting in a line that moves forward one car at a time. After four stops, the motor will run continuously until driven normally again.

There is a detailed explanation in the Owner's Manual of the system. Read that before judging whether or not you have "Lemon".

venchka

By that definition, the system would never work for me where & how I drive.
Dumb "Technology".

Wayne

JALLEN4

That would certainly beg the question as to how and where you drive that would make it unworkable?

venchka

Typical daily commute: 4 miles each way, 1-3 stop lights. Typical ambient temperature: 90F+. A/C load at max. If the engine, and therefore the A/C, stopped I would be one unhappy camper.
Bi-weekly dash home: 250 miles, 70+ mph. Same A/C requirements.
I don't do stop & go driving if I can avoid it. A car without full time A/C is not an option.

Wayne

JALLEN4

I live in Southwest Florida where high heat and humidity are standard for most of the year. I have a similar commute and had the same questions when I first bought the car.

When stopped and the engine quits, the A/C continues to blow. If you sit long enough and the temp is high enough, you eventually will feel the temperature start to creep up-wards. Under normal day to day operation it is a lot less obtrusive than I ever thought it would be. There is also a switch on the dash to disable the system if you find it a problem. So far, I have not done that.

XW2013

The problem is that the Eco light never turns green properly. I browsed through the manual but it is not very easy to understand. I tried different ways of driving to figure out how to make the Eco Drive feature working properly. But could not come up with any solution:
1. If it is the AC--sometimes it works with the AC on but most of time it does not work even if I turn the AC off
2. If it is the window shield wiper--sometimes it works perfectly with it on, most of time it does not work even if I turn it off
3. If it is the engine temperature--sometimes the light was on right out of my garage without the engine warm up. Sometimes it does not work even after a long drive of 200 miles.
4. If it is the slope of the road--I live in Seattle, a little bit hilly with some big slopes. But right at the same red light on the same slope, sometimes it works, and sometimes it does not.
After observing these carefully for almost 3 weeks, now I am just getting even more confused about when the Eco Drive is supposed to work or whether it is just the Eco Drive on my car. :-)

PilotAlan

One thing I noticed over the last couple of days, I had my cell chargers and IPad charger in use, the car would not go into ECO. Unplugged them, and the light turned green. The chargers (especially the IPad rapid charger) draw some serious amps. There may have been enough draw to prevent the engine from shutting off.

What's more, the double USB charger apparently draws juice when a cable is plugged in, even of the phone is not connected to the other end. ECO didn't want to kick on. Unplugged the cables from the 12v plug unit, and the ECO display turned green.

newGLK

I agree the Eco system is not working properly on the GLK. I've had the suv since Oct and it can be 70 degrees out, no a/c on, engine is at operating temp and it can take 15 miles before it turns on. As in another post sometimes it goes on before the engine is at oper temp. I have also been stopped at a light and tried switching the Eco off then back on and it will turn green so something is def wrong with the programming of the system. I did a search to see if anyone else is having a prob and obviously others are unsatisfied with the systems sensitivity. I hope MB is going to correct the problem.

kozak79

Mine is working too well. The engine turns off over 90% of the time that I'm at a light. If I'm in traffic, it will turn off and on constantly as I am moving up and stopping, moving and stopping. I usually have to turn it off.

On a side note, anyone know how to "save" settings in the 2013 GLK? Most of my settings, like Eco Drive, get reset after the car is restarted. I want to turn it off and have it stay off until I decide to turn it back on.

JALLEN4

That would beg the question as to how we would know if it is working properly or not? The logic used by the designer may well be completely different than ours.

Landrover2001

1. Have your dealer scan the GLK's ECM (or whatever its called) to confirm whether or not its throwing any 'flags' specific to the auto stop/start. I know of one confirmed report where the auto stop/start electronic control module was defective.

2. As another poster mentioned, unplug any unnecessary USB cables (even those not connected on the other end to a phone).

3. When I have the heated seats 'on,' ECO almost never illuminates green.

4. I drive with the panorama roof open A LOT; ECO comes-on far less than if the roof is closed.

From what a lead/master MB tech told me, the algorithm used to control ECO start/stop functionality considers engine temp, emissions, electronics, interior comfort, outside air, use of ports, plugs, heated seats, and lots more before kicking-in; overall, it is programmed to err on the side of caution and it resets every time the ignition is turned-off (makes sense).

I do notice that now, with just under 3000 on ODO, the auto stop/start seems to kick-in a lot more. And I tested it with the AC last week; engine was off, cold air blew-in for several minutes (repeatedly) in heavy red light traffic. Pretty cool, literally.

Overall, I LOVE this vehicle, its power, refinement and MPG's!

MKenM

Glad you don't have to pay for that option. Sounds like that's something they didn't get right.

rmfnla

Maybe one of you with Eco Drive can experiment with driving with and without it for a few weeks to see if it really makes any difference in your gas mileage...

Bill Bryce

Smart Eco light stays yellow green light doesn't come on engine doesn't stop when stopped

Pyppaas

UK 2011 C class Eco stop start became erratic: worked less & less after 3 years till it doesn't function at all. Had a print out from Merc dealer - says nothing shows up & that Merc will not pay for parts unless they show up faulty. After over 2 more months still never worked. Dashboard ECO stays orange. Something MUST be wrong. It worked perfectly well up to just prior to first MOT.

kozak79

I thought ECO is based on battery amount. If your battery is low ECO won't turn on, to make sure the car can start again. Check your battery. I could be completely wrong though

LesF

there are many parameters that must be met before eco will engage. Engine temp, battery, etc. are just a couple of the basics. Once the balance is reached eco will function.