Then you may or may not agree that the COMAND system has been far more reliable/bulletproof than MBUX. Stability of a system is a choice: you can either spend many years to get it right, or only a few to get it out the door.
I'm currently beta-testing the CHATGPT feature in "Hey Mercedes" voice activation. Very often, the car will take a couple minutes to bottle up a response that you can only access by navigating or touching the upper right corner of the screen and playing it. It's like a message in a bottle, but far more dangerous than it needs to be because the response wasn't immediately available and needlessly draws your attention away. Which genius came up with this as a solution? So much for the virtual assistant!

Edit: I forgot to mention the way to delete the message is even more mind-boggling! After you select "delete" on the message, the screen changes such that the "delete" is replaced by a check mark. I intuitively click the check mark thinking it's some sort of confirmation for the delete (it's not). The check mark retains the message. You have to navigate upwards where a dedicated "delete" button appears in the middle of the screen. Does this make any sense?!! Get rid of the stupid check mark!

 

COMAND has always been bulletproof for me. I am expecting MBUX to be a casserole of nonsense at times, but am looking forward to the functionality. I deal with AI a lot for work right now - I will say I probably will not be using "Hey Mercedes" that much though.

GM is no better though. My 2021 Suburban has Infotainment 3. It is Android based, and in spite of that has been pretty stable as a platform since they introduced it in 2019 (My 2019 Silverado had the midrange version of it, and it was solid. My husband's 2019 Cruze has the entry level version of it, and it is also solid). In the 2022+ full size SUVs, they went to Google Auto, and it has been a nightmare of lost features and stupid design decisions for folks. They ditched an excellent inbuilt nav for cloud based google maps (and yes, everyone uses AA or CarPlay, however they don't mirror to the HUD and if you forget to download offline maps are useless in low connectivity situations which shockingly still occur with alarming frequency on the eastern shore of MD and in DE). They are supposedly ditching device mirroring in their upcoming EVs and forcing everyone to use that nonsense, which would be enough for me to look elsewhere.

Cloud updates finally got me though, and since April every time I start my Suburban, my exterior mirrors move to a different position. The feature to tie them to the key cannot be turned off (you can, but regardless of whether you do it in the vehicle or in the app, it reverts on the next drive cycle), and even if you set all memory positions and exit position to the same thing it will forget them. Chevrolet dealers around here are hopelessly useless with troubleshooting anything halfway modern - they don't receive or pay attention to proper training for these things, and when you bring in these issues they either escalate a TAC case to nowhere or they say they cannot replicate, in spite of you being able to stand there and show them. This was the straw that broke the camel's back for me on top of not being able to get a loaner since COVID, period. GM doesn't know how to play in this price segment, and what is expected of a dealership at this level.

My loaded GLS450 stickers for $20K less than the Escalade I was looking at, so I am saving money my going with the Mercedes (how often can one say that).

 

Hope you have no issues w/the GLS and if you do, don't expect any GLS loaners!

 

Could be...

 

I suspect they just missed a clip connection while doing the other repair for the rear wiper. Would be the first place I would look myself. Probably had to disconnect it to get to the problem area. Should only take 3 weeks and 4 loaners to fix! Ha!

Speaking of loaners - #3 for me is another GLC, but this time it’s the previous generation. The one that works! The seats in it are very comfortable, wish they had kept them.

SW - we can do lunch soon for sure! I am rarely in my office in Tysons anymore, but will message you when I am next.

I do spoil my kids, no argument there. And how “so Loudoun County” of me to put a 16 year old into a Mercedes Benz! Ha! But I have a mental problem with him having a newer car than I do, knowing it’ll likely get beat on a bit. Giving him mine is actually the best decision on multiple fronts, including financial. It’s probably worth $15k now at best, so no real loss if it gets beat on. He better take care of it though (I’ve taught him better than that), but kids are kids.. I have only bought two cars in over 8 years, and feeling a little garage restless now. Not sure what I’ll do, in no hurry, but I’m thinking SUV of some sort now. Bit older, pesky back issues, all making crawling in/out of a sedan a little harder to do. I’m also a little tired of low profile tires and pot holes too. Feeling a little midlife kicking in as well, wanting a little more fun feeling. I think it’s going to either be a convertible or an SUV or a combination of both….

 

Its big and safe, I wouldn't worry about it one bit. Guy on ClubLexus just bought his kid the same car, just the pre-refresh version...

 

 

The good ol days! Haha

 

I don’t expect like for like - just give me something to drive. It’s not even an option with the GM dealers.

 

Based on this 250+ post thread, there's a good chance your loaner GLC may not "drive":
https://mbworld.org/forums/glc-class...-start-10.html

 

Just ask for something other than the current GLC as a loaner if you are concerned about it, no big deal.

 

The GLS is the big family car so I'm not looking forward to a loaner CLA, you know what I mean?

 

Ask for a GLB, not as big but it has 3 rows. A GLC wouldn't help your family any more than a GLA.

Its a loaner car, when you have the best and biggest cars a company makes you have to make do with something smaller and not as nice as a loaner. No company has their biggest and best cars available as loaners. When I had Lexus vehicles I woild bring my LS in and they would give me a CT or an NX as a loaner all the time.

The odds of you having an issue with a new GLC loaner are very small, I would enthusiastically accept one personally.

 

I will surely update you all once my car is in the shop next week!

 

In the spirit of this thread, anecdotal evidence is suggesting that Mercedes is no longer including a spare tire w/GLS purchase (even if you don't opt for the upgraded 3D Burmester package that clearly calls out TIREFIT in the Order Guide). I'll be keeping an eye on this in the dedicated thread.

 

yep! When you had a V8, 25mpg hwy, and just 4 gears. Best road trip car! One of our favorite vacations was in 2005 with it from Raleigh to Key West. Pre kids, pre wedding. Got chased all the way back by a hurricane. I miss that car. But newlywed wife couldn’t drive it, too big. I suspect I might hear the same on an S Class. This time however, it might come with the Uber App installed on her phone instead…😁

i like the idea of my son learning how to drive on my 212, which doesn't even have blind spot monitoring. Will teach him some of the requirements to being a good driver. I find some of this technology these days is a bit of a crutch to the core mechanics of being a good and attentive driver. I feel it myself when i spend time in a tech car and then get into mine. I find myself looking for the light in the mirror instead of turning my head further to make sure the lane is clear.

 

I'm curious to see this, I just checked my local dealership and every 2024 GLS they have listed except for the Maybach GLS600 shows code 690 minispare.

 

More and more cars are doing away with spare tires.

If she can drive a GLS she can drive an S Class! Almost exactly the same length, I think the S Class might be 2 inches longer. But, both are way bigger than the LS400, they were 10 inches shorter believe it or not, only 4.5 inches longer than your W212

Not a bad thing, only issue is the lack of active safety features which really do make a difference when it comes to distracted driving...

 

Yeah. So far we have 2 w/o spare and one who has (rayzam). Still investigating...

 

My 2024 GLS450 order switched from having a spare (originally could not get the 22" AMG Multispoke I wanted), to having tire fit once the 22" AMG Multispoke were able to be added.

 

Ok, so the folks w/22" wheels are the only ones w/o a spare at this point (rayzam has 21" wheels).

I don't know if we have finally solved the mystery of the missing spare but buyer beware if ordering a GLS w/22" wheels!
They should probably correct the OG to reflect this distinction.

 

@MDMercedesGuy, you haven't owned a Mercedes since your 2012 C250 (arguably a "Golden era" for Mercedes in my lifetime). Why are you so defensive of the brand despite the apparent shortcomings so prevalent in the current product offerings?
Why does Mercedes deserve your money and undying loyalty (genuinely curious)?

 

Just checked a very recent build (serial number 85000s) GLS on 2022s, has option 669 full size spare, not B51. So it looks like it's not all of them.
https://www.mbrvc.com/inventory/new-...f5ke8rb085309/

 

As I posted earlier in this thread, this brand has literally been a part of my life for 40 years. I've been to Sindelfingen and Vance multiple times in multiple capacities both as a customer and for work (my background is in automotive engineering). I don't see apparent shortcomings in the brand or its current product offerings, particularly when compared to the competition.

You act like I owned the 2012 in 2012... I owned it until about 2 years ago when I had a bit of a life change and needed its space in the garage for a while as well as the capacity of the Suburban.

I'll turn it around on you. How long have you been with Mercedes, and if you are so unhappy with them as a manufacturer, why do you still own one? You've been on here since May of 2023...

 

I specifically called out your 2012 C250 because it was better built back then and more reliable (you had already mentioned you got rid of it in '21).

My Mercedes history reposted for your benefit:
All of the above were brand new w/the exception of the CPO 2016 GL450. I have had a pretty good look at the evolution of Mercedes over the years whereas you only have the experience of the "fine wine" 2012 era.