w2830

Hi all,

I had been lurking here for some time to know the s class before I finally pulled the trigger and got my first Mercedes two days ago. It's a 2013 S550 with 50,000km, I paid $50,000 CAD before tax for those interested. As far as know it's has all the options including the rear seat package.The car is totally an overkill for us (a couple with a one year old). But my notion was we are just paying a little more than a brand new Accord for a piece of automotive art. Yes, I am aware it's easier to get into one of these than maintaining them. I do consider myself a car guy and know some stuff about them. Loving it so far and been trying to figure out all the features about the car. I do have some questions to ask and hope to get some easy answers.

1: parking sensor beep?
A bit disappointed to find out it doesn't have surround view camera for a 2013. Would be much easier for the wife. My question is it capable of beeping when approaching obstruction like BMW and Audi? I find acoustic feedback is much more useful and intuitive than staring at the screen.

2: What kind of source can the video be played from? Is burning DVDs the only way to enjoy the video? It seems like it in the Comand. Any chance with USB flash drive, SD card or even iPod? (Tune2air WMA3000a is on the way)

3: is there other way to skip a track other than buttons on steering wheel when it's not on the audio screen on the main screen?

4: Do the head rests for the front seats move forward and backward other than up and Down?

Thanks a lot for your time in advance.


Neil

apl175

Some of the answers may not be entirely accurate because of difference in options in Canada vs. USA. Here is the USA brochure for W221 for the final 2013 model year
https://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/DigitalAssets/pdfmb/brochures/2013-S-Class.pdf

1: parking sensor beep?
Yes, on my car there are beeps when approaching front or rear obstacles, provided your car is so equipped. If your car does not have the little round senors in the front or rear bumpers, its safe to say that it doesn't have this feature. There is also a visual display in the instrument cluster for the front sensors, and a series of LEDs in the rear headliner that are visible from the rear view mirror for the rear sensors.


2: What kind of source can the video be played from?
From the factory, DVD is the only way to view video - and only while the car is stopped, unless your car has SPLITVIEW. Certain models WITHOUT rear view camera have the ability to connect external video via a connector in the glove box.


3: is there other way to skip a track other than buttons on steering wheel when it's not on the audio screen on the main screen?
There are FOUR ways to change tracks:
- While Audio is displayed in COMAND, you can turn the COMAND controller one notch in either direction to move forward or back in the track list.
- While Audio is displayed in COMAND, you can briefly move the COMAND controller left or right to move forward or back in the track list. Holding the controller in the left or right position to the point of resistance will fast forward or fast rewind the current track.
- While Audio is displayed in the Instrument cluster, you can use the arrow up and down keys on the steering wheel to move forward or back in the track list.
- If your car is equipped with Enhanced Voice Control, you can push the voice initiate button on the steering wheel and say commands like "Next Track" or "Previous Track"

4: Do the head rests for the front seats move forward and backward other than up and Down?
Yes, if you reach back with both hands, on both sides of the headrest cushion, and pull both sides evenly towards the front of the car, the entire headrest will telescope out and up slightly.


My best advice as a new W221 owner, since you state you are a car guy (especially if you do not have any warranty remaining) , is to consider getting a "compatible" version of the Mercedes Star Diagnostic tool (about $400 USD). The first time something goes wrong with an interior accessory, or a check engine light comes on, the system will pay for itself in diagnostic time, accurate parts replacement and repair procedures , and not having general frustration.

w2830

1: Yes, found all these work when I got a friend to test it last night. Turn out to be even better than what I used to in BMW and Audi. Awesome

2: The car does have split view package. Is DVD RW not supported? because the one I tried did not work. I do remember seeing DVD RW as a compatible source somewhere. I will dig into the manual from the link.

3: Skipping tracks. I was aware of all these ways to do it you mentioned except the voice command. Was hoping for a more direct and permanent solution, I think it's not uncommon to have neither the instrument cluster nor the main screen on the media display. A dedicated set of buttons for that task would've made a lot more sense. Anyway, the voice command seems to work pretty well. I am going to find out what else it's capable of.

Definitely going to check out the Mercedes Star Diagnostic tool you mentioned. It still has a couple of months left on the factory warranty. Have already gone through some threads here regarding the extended warranty. Given the fairly low mileage and the fact I only put a few thousands of kilometres on the car every year. I am debating if it's sensible to invest $7000CAD in a four year extended warranty with $250 deductible. Thank a lot for the info. Really appreciate your time

Polar Bear

I am almost certain they are, but I mainly use DVD-DL (which obviously not produced in an RW format) to copy live concert DVDs in DTS 5.1 and also some DVD-Audio format DVD-DLs from high resolution tracks from hdtracks.com.

That must be something unique with SPLITVIEW? My car indeed has a rear view camera and the three (white, red, yellow) composite connectors in the glove box.

w2830

I got it working after numerous tries with different DVD making softwares. I guess it has to do with the region code.

I think he's referring to the aux input like usb/hard drive or iPod in the glove box, not the composite connectors. From my understanding, it's not split view relevant. Basically for models without the rear view camera(if it even exists in NA market), they have more options for playing videos while we are stuck with disks.