When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
2018 S450 4Matic, 2021 Toyota Tundra, 2010 GL350 (sold)
My BenzNinja experience on my S450 “REVIEW” 🤩
Okay guys… I said I would report back in with my experience with @BenzNinja even though I know many here already use his services.
I will say right up front - this is one of the best services I've ever had… PERIOD. The value here is kind of crazy, and it's very nice knowing that I've got him available to help me out with my S450 because the guy knows everything I throw his way, and I've thrown a LOT. I've been very impressed. Fluency in German obviously helps him do what he does and if you watch him do his thing you'll understand what I mean real quick!
If you aren't already using his services, this is basically how it works:
1) Contact him on his website.
2) You'll be instructed to order a Star C4 plus DOIP which is what you'll hook up to your Mercedes. I ordered from AliExpress and it arrived very fast just before Christmas. Very solid unit. I think I paid around $400 or so for this.
3) You'll be instructed to order a laptop that is gonna to be dedicated to the DOIP. It's super cheap. I think I paid around $100 on eBay for this laptop and it's fine for its purpose. I keep it stored in a box with the DOIP and it has no other purpose. I think that's pretty important so everything functions the way he expects every time. No surprises is key here I think. This also arrived very fast.
4) You'll need to order a hard drive which will replace the hard drive in the laptop which has all the configuration you need ready to go. That was also very cheap ... maybe $100 or so - I can't remember. Swapping out the hard drive is trivial on the laptop.
5) You'll be contacting BenzNinja on WhatsApp. He walks you through the steps of connecting the cables (can't be easier unless you are an idiot like me... I made it more difficult than needed - you won’t … trust me and let’s pretend it never happened).
6) Boot the laptop, connect to internet, and then run a tool that allows BenzNinja to connect.
7) Sit back and watch him fly. It's crazy how fast he does some of these things. Something I would expect him to take hours he is finished in five minutes. It's very clear he's been doing this a while.
These are some of the mods he did for me... and forgive my ignorance on some of these things. You all know I'm a retard when it comes to all this... but at least I'm learning... slowly.
Lights - enabled ILS+ - this is a must have. If you don't know about this, let me know. I have some video links to show you.
NightView - He changed the camera from a mono view to a dual view.
NightView - He enabled the detection of animals instead of only people.
NightView - he enabled city mode so it works better in an urban environment.
He made it so the Eco engine Start/Stop button remembers how you left it the last time you drove. For me that means forever turned off.
He tried to setup video in motion but this one couldn't be done because of my particular car - 2018 S450v4 NTG5.5. If you have NTG5 or earlier it should work fine.
Lowering by coding - he lowered the car by I think 17mm which is what it would be in Europe before the US nanny state needed to be involved.
Seat Belt Chime Removal - not that I go without seatbelts. I just don't want my car nagging me.
Changed my blinkers so momentary signaling blinks 5 times instead of 3. Seriously who changes lanes like that?
He increased the early sounds for Parktronic so we are warned extra early when getting close to something. This was crucial for my wife learning to park this thing in our garage. 😂
He also got me new maps. I think he must be selling these at cost or something as this was very inexpensive and it was keyed to the car... the VIN maybe?
Okay.... so that's what we did up front and early on. Now for the rest... and this might not apply to you depending on what you choose to do as far as his membership goes.
He has a lifetime membership which he might change because of me. I might be that one guy that makes him realize “it’s never going to end with this guy!” I've sent him tons of questions and photos about things I didn't understand about the car.
For example, my brakes need to be replaced so I sent him photos of all of that and realized that I also needed rotors and why. He goes further to explain which ones vs others in his experience and how to buy the same thing Mercedes puts on these at the factory for less. Pretty quickly I realize that everything I spent the last several days trying to work out he immediately told me. This is a simple example of course. He's like an encyclopedia for this car... knows absolutely everything. It's kinda crazy, and I'm sure I've driven him a bit crazy with all my questions.
Since I went for the lifetime membership all of the mods above were discounted, many were thrown in for free because he gives you mods for the value of the membership itself, and then he will help me with any issues I have with the car down the road.
For example - today or this week sometime he's going to take a look at why my “Easy Entry and Exit” doesn't seem to be working. He's also going to look at a software upgrade that should get my Hermes 4G/LTE functional. That is included in my membership.
Here's why I wrote all of this out… on top of what he does and his expertise doing it, there is something special that sets this guy apart.
BenzNinja is a SUPER NICE GUY!
If you have dealt with him you know exactly what I mean. No matter how dumb my question is, he's there with an answer or ready to get connected to take a look. To say he is accommodating and patient is really understating the service I've experienced. He actually checks in with me to see how it’s all going or if I need anything and he does that pretty frequently. When is the last time you’ve seen service like that?
I don't take the time to write up reviews often, but when they are deserved I try to do so (but still RARELY get around to it). This review is absolutely deserved, and I can sometimes be hard to please to be perfectly honest.
I can EASILY recommend BenzNinja and have zero reservation doing so.
I second (third, fourth, et.) All the great reviews.
BenzNinja not only enabled a bunch of functions that NB ledt off my S450, but also helped with some custom programming ti make the car act the way we wanted.
Whether it is standard, or custom features, or maintenance items, you cover your costs when you save one trip to the dealer.
Once you get bitten by the DIY bug it's hard to shake, 35 years and counting for me wrenching my own Benzes. I joined the Benz Ninja club as I had a need to have my new rain/light sensor coded to my W222. Super easy process and done very quickly! Benz Ninja is the missing element if you want to go full DIY.
On the project list for this year are; updating telematics in my wife's E350 and several cool features on my S550, finally having ILS+ will be amazing!
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
Awesome writeup, and I concur with everything @bdunn wrote. I've had nothing but excellent service from BenzNinja. The great thing is membership is with the person, not the car. So, if you have more than one Benz or replace one of your cars, you are still covered!
Just to share what I use for a dedicated laptop, I use the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 series and it has been perfect. I have the X260 ThinkPad. It is refurbed (renewed) by Amazon and in like-new shape. These are business grade laptops that come off of lease from businesses, so they are a bit more robust than consumer grade products.
Okay guys… I said I would report back in with my experience with @BenzNinja even though I know many here already use his services.
I will say right up front - this is one of the best services I've ever had… PERIOD. The value here is kind of crazy, and it's very nice knowing that I've got him available to help me out with my S450 because the guy knows everything I throw his way, and I've thrown a LOT. I've been very impressed. Fluency in German obviously helps him do what he does and if you watch him do his thing you'll understand what I mean real quick!
If you aren't already using his services, this is basically how it works:
1) Contact him on his website.
2) You'll be instructed to order a Star C4 plus DOIP which is what you'll hook up to your Mercedes. I ordered from AliExpress and it arrived very fast just before Christmas. Very solid unit. I think I paid around $400 or so for this.
3) You'll be instructed to order a laptop that is gonna to be dedicated to the DOIP. It's super cheap. I think I paid around $100 on eBay for this laptop and it's fine for its purpose. I keep it stored in a box with the DOIP and it has no other purpose. I think that's pretty important so everything functions the way he expects every time. No surprises is key here I think. This also arrived very fast.
4) You'll need to order a hard drive which will replace the hard drive in the laptop which has all the configuration you need ready to go. That was also very cheap ... maybe $100 or so - I can't remember. Swapping out the hard drive is trivial on the laptop.
5) You'll be contacting BenzNinja on WhatsApp. He walks you through the steps of connecting the cables (can't be easier unless you are an idiot like me... I made it more difficult than needed - you won’t … trust me and let’s pretend it never happened).
6) Boot the laptop, connect to internet, and then run a tool that allows BenzNinja to connect.
7) Sit back and watch him fly. It's crazy how fast he does some of these things. Something I would expect him to take hours he is finished in five minutes. It's very clear he's been doing this a while.
These are some of the mods he did for me... and forgive my ignorance on some of these things. You all know I'm a retard when it comes to all this... but at least I'm learning... slowly.
Lights - enabled ILS+ - this is a must have. If you don't know about this, let me know. I have some video links to show you.
NightView - He changed the camera from a mono view to a dual view.
NightView - He enabled the detection of animals instead of only people.
NightView - he enabled city mode so it works better in an urban environment.
He made it so the Eco engine Start/Stop button remembers how you left it the last time you drove. For me that means forever turned off.
He tried to setup video in motion but this one couldn't be done because of my particular car - 2018 S450v4 NTG5.5. If you have NTG5 or earlier it should work fine.
Lowering by coding - he lowered the car by I think 17mm which is what it would be in Europe before the US nanny state needed to be involved.
Seat Belt Chime Removal - not that I go without seatbelts. I just don't want my car nagging me.
Changed my blinkers so momentary signaling blinks 5 times instead of 3. Seriously who changes lanes like that?
He increased the early sounds for Parktronic so we are warned extra early when getting close to something. This was crucial for my wife learning to park this thing in our garage. 😂
He also got me new maps. I think he must be selling these at cost or something as this was very inexpensive and it was keyed to the car... the VIN maybe?
Okay.... so that's what we did up front and early on. Now for the rest... and this might not apply to you depending on what you choose to do as far as his membership goes.
He has a lifetime membership which he might change because of me. I might be that one guy that makes him realize “it’s never going to end with this guy!” I've sent him tons of questions and photos about things I didn't understand about the car.
For example, my brakes need to be replaced so I sent him photos of all of that and realized that I also needed rotors and why. He goes further to explain which ones vs others in his experience and how to buy the same thing Mercedes puts on these at the factory for less. Pretty quickly I realize that everything I spent the last several days trying to work out he immediately told me. This is a simple example of course. He's like an encyclopedia for this car... knows absolutely everything. It's kinda crazy, and I'm sure I've driven him a bit crazy with all my questions.
Since I went for the lifetime membership all of the mods above were discounted, many were thrown in for free because he gives you mods for the value of the membership itself, and then he will help me with any issues I have with the car down the road.
For example - today or this week sometime he's going to take a look at why my “Easy Entry and Exit” doesn't seem to be working. He's also going to look at a software upgrade that should get my Hermes 4G/LTE functional. That is included in my membership.
Here's why I wrote all of this out… on top of what he does and his expertise doing it, there is something special that sets this guy apart.
BenzNinja is a SUPER NICE GUY!
If you have dealt with him you know exactly what I mean. No matter how dumb my question is, he's there with an answer or ready to get connected to take a look. To say he is accommodating and patient is really understating the service I've experienced. He actually checks in with me to see how it’s all going or if I need anything and he does that pretty frequently. When is the last time you’ve seen service like that?
I don't take the time to write up reviews often, but when they are deserved I try to do so (but still RARELY get around to it). This review is absolutely deserved, and I can sometimes be hard to please to be perfectly honest.
I can EASILY recommend BenzNinja and have zero reservation doing so.
You are covered only if you bring another client....to this Ponzi scheme. Users with credentials like:
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 6,359
Likes: 2,527
are usually "opinion former" and their responsibility is huge on the biggest MB forum in the world...
Even if all the software's installed is cracked with Chinese solution over an Operating System installed with deep spybots, you can always install from scratch to get rid of this forced "membership"
Here on forum you can find a website that sell real Xentry - not chinese/nigerian version with spybots - with 50USD for personal/hobby use. The same for DTS, Vediamo or MAP Pin odes..
The entire Xentry/DTS/WIS/Vediamo without time limitation and without spybots - works perfectly on WIN11 with antivirus activated - is 200-300 USD so not only 5 times cheaper, but USABLE!!!!
A lot of talented retrofitters already posted here high level retrofit solution like Distronic for example, but they was boo by this Ponzi with the help from veteran members.
I was boo when I offered free MAP Activation codes as this Ponzi guy usually bought with 50E from me to sell to "members" with 150.
"
All software here are original and EXCLUSIVELY licenced BenzNinja.
All here is ORIGINAL and with buying here you pay their ORIGINAL AUTHOR.
"
Can you imagine how this already impacted the MBWorld? Not only he sell copyrighted MB software, but also injected with spybots and with assurance that all those are licensed by him. Any young lawyer can become multimillionaire suing MBWorld together with veteran users like "opinion former".
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
@trigital do you have any evidence or proof of your unfounded and defamatory accusations? Because those are clearly my statistics you posted and are calling me the "opinion former".
Let me answer that for you since I have first-hand knowledge. No, you don't. So, I suggest you stop lying.
@trigital do you have any evidence or proof of your unfounded and defamatory accusations? Because those are clearly my statistics you posted and are calling me the "opinion former".
Let me answer that for you since I have first-hand knowledge. No, you don't. So, I suggest you stop lying.
Yes, I have. Is it on your laptop. You can post the Chinese characters from DTS or the Xentry Activation Key generator also chinese...or the Ninja Activator from Control Panel ( in fact this limit your usage ) not to mention about the blocked antivirus. Also only because you know almost everything about WIS or Xentry and you still post praising's as this is how he force you as if you stop posting your key will expire....
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
Originally Posted by trigital
Yes, I have. Is it on your laptop.
Interesting, considering you know nothing about my laptop or what’s on it. And, FWIW, there is no code generator or any app with Chinese characters on it.
Interesting, considering you know nothing about my laptop or what’s on it. And, FWIW, there is no code generator or any app with Chinese characters on it.
Sir
I have been a customer of BenzNinja since 2018. He has fixed some of the most complex problems with my E350. He has always been VERY responsive. There is a very loyal following for a reason, high integrity and great service. Anyone reading these reviews will note that there are people ready to support BenzNinja. I can only assume you are a bad actor - its seems the internet brings the worst out in SOME people.
I only came to read this appalling post after the Ninja got my E350 running again after replacing my 722.9 conductor plate.
Thank You BenzNinja
Last edited by Delboy Andco; Jan 20, 2025 at 05:10 PM.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
