1guitar

I recently purchased an S550 - 4matic with 17,000 miles on it. Well, when you buy the flagship of the company's lineup and pay a pretty penny for it
I don't think it's too much to expect everything in the car to work and most importantly especially if the situation requires you press that big fat Red Button in the middle of the mirror, that button means there's been an accident and someone needs help. I guess nothing much has changed in germany, I guess life is still cheap there as when I went to press the Big Red Button nothing happened?!?!? MB has recently moved the company headquarters to Georgia from New Jersey. The people in GA are indeed very hospitable but when it comes to moving their butts, it might as well be 1957 because at the speed the new MB employees move down in GA if your waiting for help from them better bring your sleeping bag!
Everyone told those morons at the MB headquarters not to move the USA headquarters to GA, just leave it in NJ but MB corporate is as dumb as they've always been, so they said screw the customers we'll move the company headquarters to GA, of course they moved it there to save money because they can hire some Gomer from the backwoods for $5 an hour instead of paying them $15 an hour, neither of which is a living wage.
Well after this bs they put me thru next go around I'm buying American, probably a Lincoln as I happen to like the body style of their new Towncar (I believe that is the name of the new body style). 10 Years ago when you bought a new or a 2 year old MB S500 the dealers would do whatever they could for you, now, the very second you drive out of the showroom they forget your name. I've been buying MB's for the past 30+ years and this is the first CPO I've ever owned and it will definitely be my last. Welcome to the world circa 2017, how much do you have to spend for someone to take your problems seriously, 1/2 million! The way MB is run today if I owned that company that Dr. Zoohead or however his name is pronounced, he be gone in the first 5 minutes under my ownership.
MB, ATTENTION ALL OF YOUR PRESIDENTS, VICE-PRESIDENTS AND OTHER OVER PAID FOOLS, THE FOLKS HERE IN THE USA ARE KEEPING YOU IN BUSINESS AND IF WE STOPPED BUYING YOUR CARS YOUR EARS WOULD OPEN SO WIDE WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO STRAIN TO SEE CLEAR THREW TO YOUR OTHER EAR! LET'S MAKE MAY BUY A LINCOLN OR CADILLAC MONTH.
OR JUST DON'T BUY A MB OF ANY KIND, YOU'LL SEE THESE MONKEYS START ACTING AND TREATING US LIKE WHAT WE ARE, THEIR BEST CUSTOMERS! THEY DESERVE IT, GOD KNOWS THEY DESERVE IT, LET'S GIVE IT TO THEM. BUY AMERICAN!
A PATRIOT!

Socalsteve

So, what went wrong? Not sure I exactly understand what you are complaining about. Please be specific so we can all learn from your experience.

Thank you!

MTrauman

Wow! Sorry but did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.


Can you explain your problem?


The safety features are second to none with MBrace (IMHO). The MBrace in car apps are another story however.


When I was run off an interstate highway and smacked at tree at 60mph with my '14 S550 4matic dangling in the air resting on the tree MBrace was right there keeping me calm with an automatic call to alert the state police and an ambulance. I walked away without a scratch. Ordered a '16 S550 4matic within the week to replace that car after I got the word from the insurance company of the car being totaled.


Just as an FYI--my wife's new 2017 Acura MDX actually did just have troubles with the AcuraLink System (same as MBrace) and the button did not work when I tested it a couple weeks after delivery. There was a communication problem that Acura had to fix so maybe your situation is like our new Acura. These are mechanical/electrical things. I recommend testing your MBrace buttons periodically to make sure everything works.

1guitar

I bought a 2014 S550 CPO MB and the car was sold to me and I was told the car comes with a 3 month complimentary MBtrace which gives you the ability to download Google map directions directly to your car, lock and unlock your car's doors as well as being able to call for car assistance if you have a mechanical problem. I have a mechanicl problem and I am disbaled so changing a tire is beyond my ability, plus I'm old which doesn't make things easier. Ok, so I buy a $70k CPO S550-4matic and I was told first the road assistance comes with the car and is in effect for the life of the time I won my car. The next day I am told by the people at MBrace that the road assistance is only effective for the balance of the original warranty that came with the car, one thing is pretty different from what I was told prior to paying my money to buy the car, a lure to lure you in to make the buying of the car more attractive. I joined AAA today. Secondly, I had a flat tire around 11am yesterday, I press the i button for road assistance, nothing. The buttons didn't function, no lights nothing. After 20 minutes on the cell phone I was told that I have to go to the dealer and the dealer has to program the car so that it will function with my smartphone or some such thing because I am not the first owner. I don't think it's too much to expect the dealer that sold me the car within the last 2 weeks to have taken care of this. Also, this system doesn't require any smartphone for this system to function. So, in a nutshell my problem is that what I paid for, the MB MBrace to work upon taking ownership to work didn't work and I'm still getting the run around. And as usual they told me to come back tomorrow which I will and if it still doesn't work the dealer's in for some serious problems. One thing I will say in deference for NJ, this is a pretty screwed up state but the lemon law in this state is definitely slanted towards the buyer.
If the dealer cannot repair your automobile by the 4th time than they have to take the car back and refund your cost and all fees in total as well as the costs for any rental cars, ancillary transportation, etc. That is why you rarely hear of people around here getting stuck with a lemon as if a dealer sells you a piece of junk they'll be the ones wearing it and you don't need a handful of lawyers on your side, all you need are receipts, that's it.
A Patriot

Socalsteve

Once you have the MBrace set up and you have the app on your phone, you will be able to upload an address into the carsnav system from your phone. It has nothing to do with Google Maps.

Secondly, you will need to get an account with MBrace and your dealer can do this for you. You will need to give them a credit card because after 3 months, they will want money from you.

The included roadside assistance is good through the life of the warranty, but you will be able to pay a monthly fee to MBrace and it will still work. Complimentary Roadside assistance for any car company never goes beyond the warranty period.

It seems that the only thing wrong with your car is that the dealership never set you up with an MBrace account. Once you have the account set up and the app downloaded on your phone and working, you will be good to go!

Your vehicle is not defective and is not a lemon.

Wolfman

I understand that people can be angry but this is a worthless rant, just blaming everyone else.

If anything, it is normally the dealer's responsibility to setup the MBrace account at the time of purchase. As stated, this is required to even get the trial period going. But it can be done afterwards but needs to be activated before it can be used.

This has clearly nothing to do with the car, where MB USA is headquartered, how much their staff makes, etc.

I do have to say that it's annoying that roadside service has been reduced from what it used to be. In earlier years, roadside assistance was not limited to the age of the vehicle or if it was purchased at an MB dealer. All it had to be was a Mercedes.

Every MB dealer used to have their own roadside assistance trucks (typically ML's) and provided some simple services for free, such as an emergency tank refill, tire change and maybe some simple fixes that could be quickly performed on the spot (fuses, etc.).

A tow was not part of it though and there were other limitations. Neither was the service scalable and was often only as good as the local dealer roadside staff.

Corey140

I thought, Google and Mbrace had a divorce since HERE came along?

Either way, it sounds like your mbrace account was never set up correctly so it is unable to connect to the network. You will have to go to the dealer to do enrollment, most likely then it should work for you.

sean1.8t

Haha you're going to switch from one of the best car companies in existence to buying a ****ty american built (I'm sorry, I'm a patriot through ant through but american car companies are crap) car, all because when you pushed the S.O.S. button, they were a little slow in helping you?

Wow.

sean1.8t

Haven't used MB's roadside assistance yet, but if for any reason they don't meet my standards, I'll just re-sign up for AAA. It's like $50 a year. Not the end of the world.

Time4mybenz

Sadly many benz stealerships arent any different than any other dealership. Many of them are the car sakesman stereotype. I ended up getting my s550 from another state and had a wonderful experience. As others stated mbrace account has to be setup and active for those buttons to work. I also am a patriot and gm cars have come along way but no car comes close to the s550 in comfort luxury and joy of driving. Mercedes benz really did a wonderful job with this car.
You had a bad sales experience but you should soon be able to sort the issues and enjoy this amazing car.
The world has changed and customer service and trust arent like it once was. You were the victim of salesmen using common tactics to get your money.

hyperion667

You have NO idea the mental duress this guy is under

newyorktoLA

Similar thing happened with the Mbrace in my 2015 C300. Stopped working out of the blue a few months ago despite paying for the services - when I pressed the "i-button" or the SOS button, all I got was a "SOS services inactive."

Turns out the mbrace software needed to be flashed by the dealer for the cost of $195... FYI if the mbrace module does not work, it DOES NOT fall under the warranty. Confirmed with MBUSA headquarters. A bit ridiculous, but I use the features quite a bit - surprised that I had to pay though