DaleB

Well, considering the sensors are very well protected buried deep inside the bumper shell...

These aren't the little round sensors that are mounted through the bumpers like you see on most cars. They're rectangular block radar sensors, and from what I understand this is a known issue with early radars. There's always a newer Ford, Subaru or occasionally a Nissan close by that triggers it.

DaleB

An update...

I have just disabled the radar sensors for driving in town. I don't care about parking sensors, and I don't use the cruise control in town. When I'm on the highway and want to use cruise, I'll turn them on -- takes a few seconds. I did a couple hundred miles of highway driving this week; the cruise worked well 99% of the time -- aside from 3 or 4 instances of the car sharply braking for absolutely no reason. Straight, flat, dry road, one vehicle within range of the radars. I have to think it's the same deal as the annoying alarms at stop lights... just certain other vehicles' radar sensors interfering. Sure wish there were a software fix for this.

The transmission issue has finally logged a DTC. It's a bad conductor plate -- it's *****ing about a speed sensor in the transmission. I contacted two independent shops about replacing it. The low quote was just under $900; the other was over $1100. They were going to charge me over $500 for just the conductor plate, which I can buy from a Mercedes dealer for under $220. Parts are on the way from FCPEuro, and I found a local place where I can rent a bay with a lift and do the work myself. I'll do the conductor plate, filter, and a full fluid flush & replace next Saturday.

Everything else has been perfect.

Polar Bear

I am not aware of a way it can be done. One can enable brake HOLD, change whether or not the car “gongs” if put in Park and shows the “P”, and several other things (indicate if rear passengers have their seat belts on, etc.).

Polar Bear

There is a software update for the DTR unit for early models.

DaleB

Confirmed. For two weeks i've been using the key to start the car, and it has started instantly every single time. Apparently there is an occasional delay when using the keyless-go button. Pffft. Oh well, it only cost me $180 or so to learn that. Relatively cheap, in the overall scheme of things.

I'll have the car up on the lift Saturday morning for the conductor plate -- will give the entire undercarriage and driveline a thorough looking at while I'm under there. I've not had any indication of any trouble with suspension, flex disks, etc -- but we're planning to launch in a couple of weeks on a week-long road trip throughout the Southwest, probably close to 3K miles by the time we're done. That should be a pretty good shakedown cruise. I may end up just pulling the sale listing; the more we get this sorted out the less inclined I am to part ways with it. We'll see how we feel after the trip.

dlafever

If you're near Phoenix and need a hand or just want to say hi, you know how to find me! Hoping your maintenance is smooth and trip is amazing!

DaleB

Ha! We may be. Albuquerque, Roswell, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Four Corners are all on the list. We have friends in Scottsdale, so that may be a stop as well. I wanted to take the plane, but my wife doens't like the seats for more than a couple hours a day. So, we'll fly a little lower.

Polar Bear

This is something you need to strongly consider. You have a rare color, and it sounds like you have sorted out about any complaints you had. And you use it for what it is intended for - road trips. It is the perfect car for that.

I have had mine since around 2013 and it has just been mothballed until this year, when I started driving it again. It's easy to forget why we purchased these initially, and how much fun they are to take a road trip in.

I have the standard black/tan color, but wish I had a designo or a color that was "different" like yours, but any nice S600 is difficult to run across. The easy part is shopping around for one with the options you want!

DaleB

To be honest, I"m not in love with the color -- but I don't dislike it either. I didn't want a black one, so that's nice anyway. I saw several absolutely stunning Designo S63s and S65s when I was looking for one to buy, even with the P30 and B&O stereo systems. Unfortunately, they were all really too far away for me to consider buying, and also usually sold by the time I called about them.

I'm really looking forward to letting the old girl really stretch her legs on highways where we can do so. We'll see how things go on the trip. I know what it will cost me to keep the car as an addition to the too many we have already, it's just a question of whether it's worth it to me. This week I'll need to check the intercooler circuit again, and poke around with DAS to see if there's anything else looking ominous before the trip. When we return, either the car gets sold or I put about $1K worth of new tires on it. These summer tires are in relatively good shape, but will be utterly useless in a Nebraska winter. The tire guys are going to love me to death -- my wife's Volvo XC60 also needs new shoes, and the truck could use some as well.

Sigh... I guess I can push back my retirement another year...

DaleB

Well, the old girl is finally indoors. I've been parking it in the driveway since I brought it home back in May, I think it was... no room in the garage. Three bays, wife's car in one, project Mustang in one, and the middle one was chock full of workbench, bikes, table saw, other tools, leftover tile, all kinds of stuff. Saturday I took the workbench over to my son's place. Sunday I bought and assembled a large floor standing cabinet for some stuff, then spent most of Sunday afternoon getting the middle bay cleaned up. Finally that night I was able to pull the car in for the first time.

This means I can just hold off on tires for another year. I'll put new tires on the pickup and drive that this winter, leaving the S600 in the garage when it's icy or snowy out. I'll keep the summer tires on, I'm sure I can get at least one more summer out of them. When they're worn down I'll put all season tires on, then sell teh pickup to my son -- so I'll still be able to use it occasionally when needed, as he's used it for the past 8 years. I think this could work out nicely.

Everything's been working well, other than very rough, jerking shifts from 1-2 and 2-3 when the transmission is cold. Once it warms up, it's smooth as silk. Guessing I'm going to need to drop a rebuilt valve body in that transmission -- I sure wish I'd known that when I had it apart for the conductor plate.

BOTUS

on the v12 when the box comes out you must do the conductor plate, replace torque converter and rebuild all the clutch packs - its essential
and expect ABC each corner and a set of 12 coil packs any minute

these are very expensive to keep on the road

Polar Bear

2 Coil Packs - 24 Coils

I must say I have never heard of the torque converter replacement requirement or clutch packs. It is a standard high torque rating 722.6 5-speed.