Steinhart

My experience has been dismal, not much utility and therefore a lot to pay for nothing. However it's been a couple years since I subscribed.

Wondering if things have changed?

Wolfman

I always just get the basic Mbrace for the peace of mind in case of an accident (automatic dispatch of emergency services). Everything else, specially the apps and Internet access are worthless and costly add-ons.

Either way, this should have always been a free service, at least for higher-end models and I fault MB for charging exorbitant fees for this. I am paying over $700/yr
Starting with MY16, Mercedes has introduced free Mbrace services but of course the only thing I am interested in is still charged at a slightly lower ridiculous rate.

Steinhart

thanks Wolfman, that has been my experience too and I agree, the basic with emergency service should be included with the high cost of these cars

WSH

Have a '16 S65 Coupe

IIRC, ?2yrs of mbrace are free (and this 65 is a 2yr lease, really ~18mos given MB tends to buy out 3-5mos pmts to incent new lease)

Never bothered activating mbrace (or sat radio, etc) and wasting risk/time providing my credit card info, etc for any trial

Don't want risk of disgruntled call ctr wrkr w/remote access to my car (fairly obvious some of dumbest/lowest-paid software engineers on planet would choose to work for VZ Telematics that does mbrace: likely security or lack thereof should be obvious)

Only drive in fairly populated/civilized regions so in rare event of collision w/loss of consciousness, etc suspect mbrace is of no increm use anyway

And in even rarer event of collision in region w/weak cell reception, not clear mbrace is of any use either

RJC

I have a '16 coupe on its way and was told mbbrace level 1 is now free for 5 yrs...like to hear your thoughts on your 65.

e55phil

Just my 2 cents. I like it.

I feel better knowing that in case of a accident they will call me and help me. I like a direct link to MB Roadside w/o pressing 1 for this and 2 for that. I like being able to send a address to my car using Send to Benz. I like being able to call for a address if I am driving. I like being able to call and ask about traffic.

I agree that the MB Aps are not good and I do not pay for them.

I paid for a long time in advance (I forget how long but it was years) and they gave me a discount. They said if I trade in I can cancel.

MTrauman

I am guessing you have never been in a catastrophic accident. Am I correct?


If you had you would have a different opinion of the security features of MBrace.


I was pushed off an interstate highway in Pittsburgh in June and slammed into a tree at between 50 and 65mph. My 2014 S550 4matic was totaled.


I will never live without MBrace--the security part that is activated upon a collision. Besides MBrace, S Class cars are one of the safest cars on the planet. I walked away and lived to buy a 2016 S550 4matic.


As far as the other features of MBrace--they are awesome when they work such as internet radio and the driving journal. The key is when they work. Unfortunately, I am on a first name basis with one of the two managers in Tier 2 Tech Support at MBrace. The internet radio is an excellent feature. I used it all the time in my '14 S but they are having difficulties for the past two months to keep the internet radio working as well as the driving journal. I used the internet radio on Thursday on my drive from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. On Sunday driving back to Pittsburgh from DC my internet radio did not work. Today is Tuesday and is still not working again. So I am waiting for a call back from one of two Tech Managers in Tier 2 Tech support to help again--UGH!

Steinhart

that is quite a story, you are lucky to be alive, you were in the right car and Mbrace did it's job, thanks for sharing that

PJ550CAB

MTrauman makes a compelling case for the basic service. That said, nothing really worked for me. Apps were useless, Send to Benz never worked, valet monitoring, etc. Also, they said if you have an iPhone6 it won't work. Multiple calls to tech support yielded no results. I got fed up and cancelled. Not sure I would trust the emergency service based on my experience.
When I buy or lease my next Benz, I will make the dealer swear that MBrace will never call me, mail me, or bill me, or no deal.

Steinhart

lol, that's exactly my experience, you took the words out of my mouth, haha

MTrauman

I have an IPhone6 and use my MBrace app on my phone all the time. I used Valet Protect from Thursday to Sunday this past week while my car was Valet Parked at a Washington DC hotel. I send addresses via my Mbrace app almost every day.


The key here is that MBrace Customer Service Reps are POORLY trained. Just yesterday when I called to complained about my internet radio not working they told me that my subscription does not start until December after my trail period so the internet radio will not work until after my trial period. WHAT? They are absolutely clueless. Then I demanded to talk to the manager I have been dealing with. My problem was fixed within 2 hours. If you finally get to the correct people you can get things working. But you MUST be a bulldog which is why most people give up. I think I have found a business opportunity--that is using my management expertise to restructure MBrace Mgmt. They need big help. If you have technology problems, the first level of customer service seem like they do not have a clue. Once you get past the people who are clueless and you get to one of the two managers in Tier 2 Tech support, you can get things accomplished. Most people give up on the use of the technology because the customer service people are not very helpful due to lack of training. Of course I have talked to someone at MBrace every other day for approximately two months. But "DAM IT". I want my internet radio to work since it is an awesome experience. The music through the internet radio is one hell of an awesome experience. It is absolutely crystal clear working through the Burmester sound system. It is the best medium for those awesome speakers--bar none.

e55phil

i have a iPhone 6 and send to benz works.

PJ550 there is a trick to using send to benz, sometimes you have to try entering the address differently for it to work.

ajm0623

yes. at least the basic package for the safety aspect where it calls emergency vehicles on your behalf if you are unable to do it yourself. it's not that expensive for what it provides given $120,000 cars and well - you know - your life!

venture

I could never get the Internet radio to work because the car could never connect to the Internet. So I quit paying for apps or anything else for mbrace except the basic subscription.

platt-deutsch

I have new S550 with delux mbrace trial. The internet connection is a joke! I called tech. support and they were going to download new software to it overnight. Today I tried it and nothing changed. Internet sometimes takes 15 min to connect. and then tune in wont show up. if it does it says buffering most of the time. I started using my Samsung Note 4. I connect via media with bluetooth. I can start a stream in about 5 seconds with the tune in app. on my cell phone. I connected the celll phone to the cars WIFI and the speed was an amazing 10kbs. That is not even a poor dial up speed from the old days. I feel I paid a lot of money for what I thought would be a great thing but it is worthless. I understand it is hooked to verizon wireless. They have a 4G tower about 1/4 mile from my house and the internet is so slow it wont even stream at 65kbs.. End of rant.