S Class Command System GPS
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S500
S Class Command System GPS
Can the COMMAND system with GPS from a 2004 or newer S-Class replace the system in a 2003?
I recently bought a 2003 S500 with the CD GPS Command system which, even with the newest CD package, lacks many of the roads and POI's in rural areas. I am wondering if the Command system with GPS from a 2004 or newer S500 can be easily substituted for it and if the newer versions are a lot more up to date and have good coverage of rural roads and POI's.
I'd appreciate any information and/or suggestions you might be able to offer.
I recently bought a 2003 S500 with the CD GPS Command system which, even with the newest CD package, lacks many of the roads and POI's in rural areas. I am wondering if the Command system with GPS from a 2004 or newer S500 can be easily substituted for it and if the newer versions are a lot more up to date and have good coverage of rural roads and POI's.
I'd appreciate any information and/or suggestions you might be able to offer.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Midwest USA
2004 S500 & 2011 Mini JCW
The command unit itself does not play the DVD, there is a head unit in the trunk which does. I am also pretty sure the fiber optics for the newer cars uses a different protocal which may be another problem.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Tampa, FL
2005 S500 4-Matic, 1978 450SL
The DVD-based nav systems are designed for the MOST fiber optics bus. The CD-based systems are designed for the D2B fiber optics bus. The two are not interchangeable. It has nothing to do with the media.
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S500
Thanks for your replies. I guess getting a GPS navigation system in my S500 that is any good for navigation requires using a portable unit like my Magellan Maestro 450, and I wasted my time finding a S500 with navigation.
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From: NoVa
2004 S55 (SOLD, miss it every day), 2009 GL550
You can find better units for $100 (any Garmin)
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MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Tampa, FL
2005 S500 4-Matic, 1978 450SL
But don't forget - your COMAND 2.5 nav was likely designed in 1998 or earlier, and that Garmin you get at Best Buy was designed 10 years later.
The disappointment to me is that MB does not implement a great deal of the information available in the NavTeq database - such as specific house numbers and a decent "yellow pages" (points of interest) feature even in its DVD systems.
Last edited by Skylaw; Nov 30, 2010 at 09:49 AM.
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S500
It's a shame that Mercedes-Benz, supposedly one of the best automobile manufactures
in the world would put such a crummy GPS navigation system in their vehicles.
My daughter bought a used Jaguar XK-8 about two years before I bought my MB S500 and the navigation system (Alpine) in it was as bad as the MB systems. I thought the MB systems had to be better but I see I was wrong.
What really hurts is the nav system in my wife's previous Chevy Suburban and my Cadillac were great - light years
ahead of those in these foreign luxury cars.
My daughter bought a used Jaguar XK-8 about two years before I bought my MB S500 and the navigation system (Alpine) in it was as bad as the MB systems. I thought the MB systems had to be better but I see I was wrong.
What really hurts is the nav system in my wife's previous Chevy Suburban and my Cadillac were great - light years
ahead of those in these foreign luxury cars.
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From: Tampa, FL
2005 S500 4-Matic, 1978 450SL
And what model years were those cars? Did they have aftermarket systems, or were they OE? Don't forget, your current MB is not exactly a new model. The major updates were in '04, '07, '09, and '10 for MB telematics. If you had older domestic cars with relatively new aftermarket systems, you would have better nav function than your early MB equipment. Same if you compared a '00 vintage Garmin to a new one.
As for Jaguar, it was Ford for a long time. And the newer domestic Fords ('09-'11) have perhaps the best telematics equipment currently sold.
Last edited by Skylaw; Dec 1, 2010 at 11:36 AM.
Junior Member
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2007 GL 450; 2004 S500
On my 2004 MB S500, I swapped out my old NAV DVD player (located on the LHS in the trunk), with an exact working replacement. Part #: 2208206085. I bought the used player from California and I live in Maryland. The replacement NAV player accepted my NAV DVD, updated the software but defaulted to the LAST destination it has been – somewhere in California. How do I reset the NAV system to show my current location?
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 21
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2007 GL 450; 2004 S500
How to reset NAV system in W220 to show current location
