whatsup?

My 07 S550 was shipped from VA to CA. The car sat for 5 days without been driven. When I start the car, the red battery light is on, and the ESP and ABS lights are on as well. The steering is very hard to turn, I can barely steer the car. Also, center console screen keeps flickering.

I'm guessing the battery in the truck went bad. Could this be a bad battery issue?

Thanks

DaveW68

A worn out accessory battery (in the trunk behind the rear seat) would not cause your power steering to not function with the car running. 5 days without running should not cause your battery to fully discharge, unless something like an interior light was left on. You'll know that the accessory battery is discharged if you open the door and the chime doesn't start or dash lights don't turn on. If that is a problem, you can try putting a trickle charger on it overnight and then try it the next day. Most auto parts stores can test the battery. It might not be a bad idea to just replace that accessory battery any way as they are only around $150 from most auto parts stores (AGM H8). I know that Auto Zone will install them for free.

If a new accessory battery doesn't fix the COMAND flickering and warning lights, then something else is going on and will likely need a dealer diagnosis.

Hopefully the shipping company didn't do some damage to your car during the loading or unloading process.

whatsup?

Thank you. So I decided to a little visual diagnostics. Upon looking under the hood, I noticed the serpentine belt is completed shredded. Could the broken serpentine belt be reason for all those malfunctions, including the hard steering wheel?

steveb9771

The serpentine belt drives the power steering pump which would explain your hard steering. It also drives the alternator which could prevent recharging your battery.