guess I am too used to audi where even without paddles, there is always + - manual shifting.
gear paddles, light knob and usb port..
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 113
Likes: 1
ML350
gear paddles, light knob and usb port..
I've got this little list of minor niggles. Am I missing something?
Gear paddles - They are paddles, but not like you expect. You can't use them to select gears like you can with any flappy paddles I've used. For a start nowhere is shown what the ZF box is currently in. Second, they function as sort of engine braking modes. Yet at the same time if you are cruising at 40mph and press UP, the ZF may go from 6 to 7. But nothing is shown. They are a very weird way to select transmission modes.
Light knob - is about the only dial that is not lit up at night. I mean, the icon is shown lit up, but the positions are not lit up so you don't actually know except from memory where Auto is, where parkers are. Etc. I think that is really weird.
USB port - the USB port has a typical 2005-era anaemic max charging current. If I plug in the iphone, for an hour, it has charged 20% .. With a proper USB charger an hour is more than enough for full charge.
Keyless - if you walk up the car grab the handle and pull chances are the door won't open. You have to either do that twice, or grab, wait, then pull.
Gear paddles - They are paddles, but not like you expect. You can't use them to select gears like you can with any flappy paddles I've used. For a start nowhere is shown what the ZF box is currently in. Second, they function as sort of engine braking modes. Yet at the same time if you are cruising at 40mph and press UP, the ZF may go from 6 to 7. But nothing is shown. They are a very weird way to select transmission modes.
Light knob - is about the only dial that is not lit up at night. I mean, the icon is shown lit up, but the positions are not lit up so you don't actually know except from memory where Auto is, where parkers are. Etc. I think that is really weird.
USB port - the USB port has a typical 2005-era anaemic max charging current. If I plug in the iphone, for an hour, it has charged 20% .. With a proper USB charger an hour is more than enough for full charge.
Keyless - if you walk up the car grab the handle and pull chances are the door won't open. You have to either do that twice, or grab, wait, then pull.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 6,130
Likes: 1,117
A gaggle of MB's
Jellies,
Aussie - right ? I am not familiar with a download site for a pdf for the Aussie Owners Manual, and I am a bit limited here to reference to the US Owners manual and US COMAND manuals which you can download from Owners Support at mbusa.com
1) The tranny is NAG1 7G+ mate - but if you choose to call your ZF thats your choice. Paddle Passing/power gear: As a alternate to "accelerator kickdown" passing/power gear can be engaged more smoothly and coming out of passing/power gear more smoother with some practice with the paddles: at speed hold down left paddle 2 secs and tranny shifts to "passing/power" gear for that speed, you will visually detect that most easily looking at the tachometer seeing the "uptick" - from passing/power gear either upshift using right paddle one click at a time, or holding down right paddle 2 secs takes back into auto.
Yes : you can use left paddle to manually lower restriction range/sownshift, to add engine braking power to a driving situation
2) Light knob, I can see how you can be agravated by that, however I use auto 100% of the time so that doesn't bug me as much as it bugs you
3) the port in the center console box is a USB-data port, and not designed to be a USB-charging port - the juice that goes to that port is suffcient for things like USB memory sticks or USB music players and the like . For equivalency charging for a phone use a cig adapter charging plug either in the front console or the rear console.. the best "use" I have seen of the USB-data port are some customers of mine that have ripped their entire CD collection to MP3 and store on a USB memory stick.
Just trying to be helpful mate...
Aussie - right ? I am not familiar with a download site for a pdf for the Aussie Owners Manual, and I am a bit limited here to reference to the US Owners manual and US COMAND manuals which you can download from Owners Support at mbusa.com
1) The tranny is NAG1 7G+ mate - but if you choose to call your ZF thats your choice. Paddle Passing/power gear: As a alternate to "accelerator kickdown" passing/power gear can be engaged more smoothly and coming out of passing/power gear more smoother with some practice with the paddles: at speed hold down left paddle 2 secs and tranny shifts to "passing/power" gear for that speed, you will visually detect that most easily looking at the tachometer seeing the "uptick" - from passing/power gear either upshift using right paddle one click at a time, or holding down right paddle 2 secs takes back into auto.
Yes : you can use left paddle to manually lower restriction range/sownshift, to add engine braking power to a driving situation
2) Light knob, I can see how you can be agravated by that, however I use auto 100% of the time so that doesn't bug me as much as it bugs you
3) the port in the center console box is a USB-data port, and not designed to be a USB-charging port - the juice that goes to that port is suffcient for things like USB memory sticks or USB music players and the like . For equivalency charging for a phone use a cig adapter charging plug either in the front console or the rear console.. the best "use" I have seen of the USB-data port are some customers of mine that have ripped their entire CD collection to MP3 and store on a USB memory stick.
Just trying to be helpful mate...
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 113
Likes: 1
ML350
no offense taken 
I really think the paddles are counter intuitive it is like putting a kickdown button (which is at the bottom of the accelerator pedal anyway) on the steering wheel, combined with an engine brake selector & what really bugs me about it is there is no way to know what gear the transmission is in currently. Flappy paddles were introduced so one could change gears manually without taking your hands from the wheel, but these are something else. They are mode selectors masquerading as flappy paddles. I believe in the AMG ML63 they function correctly, however. They could have functioned correctly all the MLs too - & without missing any of whatever their current function is.
As for the USB data port, I don't see why they needed to cheap out. By far the most common thing to plug into it will be phones and to charge phones. It must cost 20 cents to have made it a higher power output.
Mind you I have not tested the mercedes MMI cable as a charger yet - mainly because, again, mercedes are not in any hurry to add a lightning connector to their collection of free adapter cables. But I have a feeling that when i do (with an adapter), I'll find it also is on mega-slow charge. I'd like to find out I am wrong though!
I really think the paddles are counter intuitive it is like putting a kickdown button (which is at the bottom of the accelerator pedal anyway) on the steering wheel, combined with an engine brake selector & what really bugs me about it is there is no way to know what gear the transmission is in currently. Flappy paddles were introduced so one could change gears manually without taking your hands from the wheel, but these are something else. They are mode selectors masquerading as flappy paddles. I believe in the AMG ML63 they function correctly, however. They could have functioned correctly all the MLs too - & without missing any of whatever their current function is.
As for the USB data port, I don't see why they needed to cheap out. By far the most common thing to plug into it will be phones and to charge phones. It must cost 20 cents to have made it a higher power output.
Mind you I have not tested the mercedes MMI cable as a charger yet - mainly because, again, mercedes are not in any hurry to add a lightning connector to their collection of free adapter cables. But I have a feeling that when i do (with an adapter), I'll find it also is on mega-slow charge. I'd like to find out I am wrong though!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 6,130
Likes: 1,117
A gaggle of MB's
There was a Tom Cruise movie a few years back called Vanilla Sky - one of the key lines in that was "open your eyes"...
When using the paddles.. when changing gear, the gear should show up next to the D indicator in the cluster.
The delay on a Lightning adapter cable is on Apple's end, and the delay is not specific to MB at all..if you have the Lightning adapter end provided with your I5, use it, it works great.....
When using the paddles.. when changing gear, the gear should show up next to the D indicator in the cluster.
The delay on a Lightning adapter cable is on Apple's end, and the delay is not specific to MB at all..if you have the Lightning adapter end provided with your I5, use it, it works great.....
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 113
Likes: 1
ML350
apple don't make those pigtail cables
mb develop and make them
the dealer said the reason one wasn't available was mb wanted to wait in case apple "changed their mind again" lol
as for paddles indicator I opened my eyes and saw what I saw first time: it isn't possible to tell what gear the engine is in, just what number you select (which is impossible to predict).
for example, at a stop play with the paddles and get all different numbers to appear these are not the current gear, While going, play with the paddles it will light a low number up, then cycle that higher or lower (these are not the number the box is in). While driving in auto, press right paddle and no number appears but engine changes.
it's a mess. just IMO, obviously you love it!
mb develop and make them
the dealer said the reason one wasn't available was mb wanted to wait in case apple "changed their mind again" lol
as for paddles indicator I opened my eyes and saw what I saw first time: it isn't possible to tell what gear the engine is in, just what number you select (which is impossible to predict).
for example, at a stop play with the paddles and get all different numbers to appear these are not the current gear, While going, play with the paddles it will light a low number up, then cycle that higher or lower (these are not the number the box is in). While driving in auto, press right paddle and no number appears but engine changes.
it's a mess. just IMO, obviously you love it!
Trending Topics
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 619
Likes: 34
From: East part of Texas
2017 CLS550
All I use the USB port for is to play digital music. The SD card slot also works well for this. There are about half a dozen ways to play music and I think that is neat. As far as the paddles are concerned, it is not a sports car so I have absolutely no need for them. In fact, I wish the car came without them. The day I got the ML 350 I played around with the lights. I decided to put them on auto and it has never moved from that position since. Like almost everything, our individual needs and desires for the ML are all different.
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping
Verdad Gallardo
10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used
Verdad Gallardo
Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 94
Likes: 0
S550, SRX, ML550
All I use the USB port for is to play digital music. The SD card slot also works well for this. There are about half a dozen ways to play music and I think that is neat. As far as the paddles are concerned, it is not a sports car so I have absolutely no need for them. In fact, I wish the car came without them.
Those paddles are quite useful for mountain driving - for example on long steep descents it's very useful to be able to drop the gearbox down a gear or so to keep the car running at a constant speed. The alternative is to constantly use the brakes all the way down, not so good for overheating and premature brake wear.
I don't use paddles for overtaking, but then again I have the 550 with enough engine power to move small planets. On a smaller variety of ML (such as perhaps the euro spec 250) it might be handy to be able to pre-select a gear before attempting to overtake someone on a highway. I used to use this feature on my smaller Audi's all the time back in the day.
Member
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 158
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
'15 GL350 Bluetec
Those paddles are quite useful for mountain driving - for example on long steep descents it's very useful to be able to drop the gearbox down a gear or so to keep the car running at a constant speed. The alternative is to constantly use the brakes all the way down, not so good for overheating and premature brake wear.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 337
Likes: 0
From: Hong Kong
2013 G63, 2015 S500, 2016 C63 coupe
companies are required to get the new mfi 6.0 in order to produce cables/ accessories with the new lightning cable. So far apple has been slow in approving the new contracts.
