reflex92

Hello W221 community,

I just picked up a 12 S550 and right away have some questions. I've browsed the forum but with minimal luck

Couple quick and probably stupid questions:

1. I've read about distronic but I don't see any plastic cover on my front grill so I'm assuming I don't have distronic? If this is true (which would be a good thing) than I can replace front grill with an aftermarket one, anyone have any good suggestions?
2. I find the Nav unit to be outdated all around. Not just the road maps but the actual software. I know I can buy a disk or something that will update the maps but is there anyway to update the software so that it doesn't feel like I'm using something so old. Might as well just continue to use my iphone.
3. How can I get audio through blue tooth!!?? WTF! I'm starting to think I should have bought a 14 E-class or something. This seems like it would be something even in 2012 they would have incorporated.
4. I have the light up door sills but the driver side one does not work, any quick fix suggestions? Would anyone recommend replacing them with aftermarket nicer ones that I've seen on ebay or something?
5. Lastly any advice on what it takes to own one of these cars? It has 60K miles on it with one owner and all maintenance was done by mercedes. Actually on that note any thoughts on having my local mechanic due maintenance or should I have Mercedes just because it tracks in carfax etc.?

Thanks guys/gals for your help with these questions and sorry if they are redundant.

whoover

Yep, seven years is like 70 in terms of the improvement of auto electronics. I would think you'd know if you had Distronic. If your cruise control is not adaptive (tracks the car in front), you don't have it. The nav software is what it is. If it's any consolation, even on my '19 I mostly use Google Maps via Android Auto. And yes, the BlueTooth integration in that era sucked. Maybe consider an aftermarket replacement for COMAND. Others will have to weigh in about their experience.

If you have an independent mechanic that knows Mercedes and that you trust, use him. But I wouldn't bother with a shop that doesn't do mostly Mercedes, or at least a lot of them. The equipment needed to diagnose and code these cars is expensive, and a shop without the ability to amortize the cost over lots of customers will be flying blind. The dealer charges more, but they rarely replace parts that are not bad because they're forced to guess about a problem,

domr

If you have aux or iPod connection in the glove box, you can connect a Bluetooth dongle to that.
Alternatively, this is my favorite mod to date: https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...uchscreen.html

DaleB

If you want to know exactly what your car was built with (like Distronic), plug in the VIN at vindecoderz.com.

As for maintenance... I guess a lot depends on where you live. Around here, there is exactly one Mercedes dealership. I'm not convinced that they are really all that good with older S-class cars... they've missed a couple of things by a mile. That, and they're obscenely expensive; their parts markup is the highest I have seen anywhere. I've talked to a few of the local independent shops, and while they all say they'll be happy to work on it, they seem to almost all be very BMW oriented and I have my suspicions that they would be learning as they go on my car. I can do that myself for less money. But to be fair, there are a LOT more BMWs in this town than there are Mercedes, and most of the Benzes are C-class or SUVs. So your mileage may vary depending on where you live.