irieblue

http://mbrace.mbusa.com/services-page.htm

It looks like Mercedes wrote a smartphone app, renamed the teleaid service mbrace and bumped the basic price up by 16% per year (from $240 per to $280 ), but it seems like you can now do the following:

Securely lock* and unlock your Mercedes-Benz vehicle doors from your phone.

Find your vehicle on a map**
Contact Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance for help
Search for nearby Mercedes-Benz dealerships
View your key mbrace account and vehicle information
Contact your Mercedes-Benz dealer to conveniently schedule a service appointment or speak to a sales representative
Call Mercedes-Benz mbrace Response Center for questions regarding your mbrace account
Call Mercedes-Benz Financial Client Care Center for account assistance
Secure system validates user's credentials prior to allowing access to the application
Simple and intuitive user interfaces allow for quick and easy navigation


*Door lock service is only available on the following Mercedes-Benz models: MY07 and later S-Class and CL-Class, MY08 and later C-Class, MY10 and later E-Class and GLK-Class.
**Vehicle must be within 1 mile of the user to be located in order to prevent improper use of this feature.

s600ed

I wonder why this is? Wouldn't it be nice to have this kind of feature to take the place of lo-jack if/when the car is stolen?

irieblue

"wonder why this is? Wouldn't it be nice to have this kind of feature to take the place of lo-jack if/when the car is stolen?"

This is so your wife can't track where you are

The mbrace/teleaid center always knows where your car is. Your S class has it's own CDMA based phone that's always connected to the network (even if your car is off.. That's why the car has a second battery in the trunk). I'm surprised that people actually pay for low jack if they have the tele-aid service.

I think this limitation of 1 mile from the car, is strictly so that the location of the car won't show up if the querying device (a smart phone) , or ex wife on a computer is not within 1 mile from the car.

Teleaid requires a police incident number before they typically locate your car, i'd be surprised if lo-jack does a locate without a police report.

I called the mbrace center tonight, and got the impression that teleaid is transitioning over to a new system, and that I just need to switch over to the new service. The mbrace phone number for existing teleaid customers is...

877-661-7024

and their hours of operation are (East coast times)
7am-12 Mon- Fri
7am-6pm Sat

RajwanyS550

"This is so your wife can't track where you are "



Or Vice Versa

TDwayne69

I just got off the phone with a representative from mbrace and they informed me that, I would have to get the equipment in the car changed to embrace. This would be the internal working, to include wiring and software. So its not a simple as just switching your current service, I'm going to see how much the process cost.

Chucky300

Just made the appointment with my dealer. I was told by Embrace that there is NO CHARGE for this switch. I am going in tomorrow (Monday) at 7:30am.

I will ask them to reconfirm there is absolutely NO CHARGE (Parts, Labor, etc).

If there IS a charge, I will cancel the service which I already paid for and take my car back.

$240 a year for the slim chance I will need to use this service is one thing - having to pay an arm and a leg to switch over? Not worth it in my opinion.

TDwayne69

Yes, please do post any updates. I received an email yesterday from their customer care department asking me to survey my experience with them, needless to say I gave them poor. They weren't even able to tell me if there's a cost related or even what the process was.

Chucky300

I started a thread in OFF TOPIC about this - my experience has been disgusting from the moment I called MBRACE to get started with this.

https://mbworld.org/forums/off-topic...id-mbrace.html

Take a look - you will have a good laugh. My favorite part was when Soveriegn Motors (Brooklyn's only MB Dealer) had no idea what the hell I was talking about when referring to MBRACE.

TDwayne69

Hey Chuck,

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Tony

NJS430

Mercedes is offering the Mbrace service at $299 for life to existing teleaide customers. Not a bad deal if you ask me. I just switched mostly to get that nifty little iphone app that allows you to lock the car from a mile away just in case you can't remember if you did or not.

TDwayne69

Was your Tele-aid subscription almost up or did you just choose to go ahead and switch to Mbrace? I just spoke to my dealership and they suggested that I wait until my tele-aide subscription was up. Do you know if they have a deadline for taking the life-time offer?

Thanks,
Tony

NJS430

The dealer said it's just software. I'm going on Wednesday for the update. The rep at mbrace (877) 661-7024 told me the $299 offer is only good through year-end and that if you buy a new car between now and the end of 2010 you can transfer the lifetime subscription for $99. You can also get a free three month trial of mbrace-plus. I didn't opt for it because it only adds features I don't really have a need for since the S already has Nav and Traffic built in. I had a year left on my Teleaide contract. Since I'm switching to a single fee lifetime subscription there is no reason to wait. I would call the number above as they seem to be set up to handle this. I'm not sure the dealers are as well versed but they have to do the software upgrade for free so maybe its not worth it for them.

Chucky300

I did the service today - took a while because I was the first one (oddly enough) at MB Manhattan to do this.

I have the App on my phone. Its not as cool as you think. You will see what I mean. To unlock the car - you have to the unlock feature - then walk up to your car and hodl the trunk lid lever for 50 seconds.

To Track your car - your phone has to have GPS - and I assume I don't have GPS on my phone because it costs extra per month. So that feature doesn't work.

Question! $299 for life? I paid $240 for the year. Where'd you hear about the $299 for life? I will call them up and if they don't extend this to me - I will cancel. In truth - I only got it for the gadget and the "peace of mind" that comes with knowing if I crash - someone is watching.

Chucky300

Eeeps - i have to call that number 2morrow and get them to up me to the lifetime membership - especially after what I went through to get the darn thing at all!

TDwayne69

Let us know how it goes, I'm still on the fence right now.

NJS430

I was given the number in my prior post when I called MBUSA on Sunday to inquire about upgrading. They said this was a special group handling that who worked Mon - Sat. I called today and they offered me the $299 deal. How could I refuse?

I kind of like the idea that you have to hold the trunk handle for 50 sec. Although with keyless go it's kind of hard to lock the key in the car. I think you would have to throw the key in the trunk just before it closes and locks. Hopefully, you can lock it from a mile away when the though that you might not have locked the car hits. I have an iphone so the GPS is built in. The iphone is a great device - no complaints. I'm sure the app is nice on the iphone.

MACHC5

$299 for Lifetime Service...

lungs414

I was stupid enough to buy an 09 s550 in Sept. According to MB I am not eligible to get Mbrace on my car until the end of next year. I also will not be able to take advantage of the $299 lifetime contract. I already paid for 5 years of teleaid totaling about $895 for the crap service, so I cancelled and got a refund and put in a complaint. The operator said I was the 2nd person today with the same complaint and its only 9:00 am. The customer service rep said he "understood" and would escalate my concerns and to expect a call back within 48 hours. I still get my year free "yippee" of teleaid. I too live in Brooklyn ny, and teleaid took over 2 hours to come to my aid for a flat tire twice. The second time after waiting I started changing it myself and as I was putting the flat in my trunk the guy showed up and asked if I needed help.
This whole deal sucks I'm sure next year it will cost more and I probably will have to pay for the upgrade too. I told the rep my next car will be a BMW and this will be the reason. Maybe they will do something but I doubt it. Just tired of being screwed by MB.

NJS430

I think there is something in the contract that requires them to offer teleaide to people who purchased cars in your date range.

lungs414

According to a senior rep from MB there is nothing that can be done until 1 year from now. I don't care about the legal BS, I paid $895 for 5 years of teleaid when I bought the car in Sept. and am tired of getting screwed from companies who change something and I get the short end of the stick. I told the rep to let me pay for the lifetime membership now and make it active in 1 year so long as I get the $299 price. She told me her hands were tied legally and would note my account. I then told her I am cancelling teleaid and promptly cancelled my 5 years, got my money back and said if I have to pay 1 dollar more next year to switch over I will switch to BMW when it's time for my next new car. She says she didn't mean to upset me, I apologize, blah blah blah. I told her I am fortunate to buy any vehicle I want in this price range and I am not upset, it's a business decision to not allow MB to screw me anymore. She offered to buy me and my wife dinner at my favorite local restaurant, took the info and free dinner for us. Yipppeeee. So if you complain enough you too can get a free meal, but no mbrace for you, its like MB is mbrace **** from a Seinfield episode.

jbondox

oh my god... you need to relax... did you not get your way often when you were a kid?

going from a MB to a BMW is not a threat it is more like.. "I am going to shoot myself if in the groin if I can't get my way"... E-gads...

lungs414

I realize to some on here (jbondox) going from MB to BMW would be like sacrilege, but in the end it is still a car. Maybe you go to bed counting Meredes and not sheep but I dont. I just will not accept paying $895 for five years of bad service over a $299 lifetime contract simple as that. And yes I like most people try to get my way, why not. You ***

jbondox

well coming from a BMW, I know first hand. I try to get my way all the time, however I am not a complete moron about it. Maybe I am misinterpreting your tone in the post, but from what I gather you are coming across like an arrogant ****.

lungs414

Whatever you say to me sticks to you because you are the glue.
So there

jbondox

LOL