KellyP

Had my S580 for exactly 5 days, left back passenger handle will not pop out, and childlock is engaged so no way to open. Ambient warning light malfunction, distronic and parktronic errors showing inoperative, kick to open trunk not operable, brakes are mushy to the point I don't think it will stop.

Just got a message from the dealership that they are still getting a brake error and waiting for a part from Germany. By the time it's ready, they will have had it longer than me. This on top of waiting nearly a year from when I ordered it.

Extremely disappointed to have paid 141,000.00 for a car this jacked up. And who else finds closing these doors difficult? I don't have 6 foot arms. And the vents won't blow any lower than right in your face due to the position too high on the dash. And the reflection from those center vents!!!

Will be my last mercedes. Quality is very low on this car.

TwinCam

I can understand your disappointment, what you are experiencing is not the norm for this car. Apparently the car is back with the dealer to fix the doors, Distronic, Parktronic, “kick” trunk opening and brakes. Some of the problems sound like software issues, but the problem with the brakes sounds like a serious safety issue. Let us know when the dealer returns your car and if the problems have been resolved.

SilverArrow44

This will bring you no consolation, but the first model year of ANY car is the worst. Despite their best efforts, once cars are produced and handed over to customers, the manufacturer inevitably identifies many issues that are corrected in subsequent model years. I hope your dealer is able to get your car sorted and back to you relatively soon.

Diesel Benz

Hopefully you are right for the other issues but the concern about vents would not go away with the following model years. I already find windshield reflections a bit of an issue with the W222, hopefully not much worse with the 223.

KellyP

Yes, this is not my first S class, I guess thats why my expectations were high. I did know there would be bugs due to the sheer amount of tech, coupled with first model year.

Software bugs I can handle, mechanical bugs, the door handles and brakes worry me. But as someone else mentioned, the unfixable design issues kill my enthusiasm.

I have to get halfway out of the car to shut the doors and the vent issue is uncomfortable and irritating. Taken all together I find this unacceptable for a car at this price point.

places

Unfortunately cars are becoming more like appliances with all this tech. Especially first year models. Being an S I expect MB will correct and get it right for future year releases but I would never buy a year one model.

SmokinJoe

Karen or?

chassis

I "liked" your post out of support and empathy. It's a pain to deal with this, especially at the price point and "best or nothing" self-promotion of MB.

It's correct to say that MB is a low quality manufacturer. Quality is defined as consistently meeting or exceeding customer expectations. The hit-or-miss quality experience is kindergarten level manufacturing failure.

I hope you receive a swift and effective resolution.

Sonic Boom

Totally agree and even more noticeable you can see the center vent reflection on the windshield in the STOP LIGHT IN THE CAMERA VIEW feature in central display,

190Efan

I'm certainly sorry for the OP's difficulty and hope the concerns are resolved quickly but I think it's pretty harsh for you to condemn all MB's based on a couple of online posts where people with issues with their vehicles are more likely to post to begin with. Having said that, by and large, the initial comments about the W223 overall have been positive. I'm very fortunate that my engineer father taught me to never buy the first year of a new model because the first year is so notorious for vehicles to experience all types of issues as the OP is experiencing.

chassis

@190Efan Thanks for the comment. It seems like you make your way around this site to several other sections/models. That's good. You will see the hit-or-miss experience many owners have with new MBs. And the poor medium term reliability of MBs.

As many have said in support of the brand, "but all manufacturers have problems." This statement suggests MB is no different than other brands.

Why, then, are people paying MB prices, when the kindergarten-level fails from MB can be had with other brands at a fraction of the investment?

places

It's the new world of luxury. The only thing that matters is the brand. Not anything else. Luxury is the most diluted and overused word in the marketplace now defined by social media likes and posts.

E55Greasemonkey

I really think MB did a rush job to get the 223 finished and out of the way to concentrate on their new electrified vision for the future.

The wide opening doors are a neat feature but you can almost certainly see they were designed with some type of pushbutton or proximity sensor to close them...likely cut from the time or money budget of the 223. The EQS has this closing feature so what does that tell you? In the mean time, just don't open the door all the way..no need
..or get used to pulling it closer with you as you sit down.

Read the owners manual about the door handles. They can be manually pulled out from flush by pressing on the forward corner until you get it fixed.

Make sure you or your pants are not touching the bumper for the kick trunk. One smooth, straight kick with your foot straight forward, one second, then back one second should work. Failure of this system is often due to user error.

Other than that, buying a brand new model on it's initial release was your decision, and somewhat your fault. The price doesn't matter, unless you consider the more it costs the more there is to go wrong.

Mercedes long ago gave up quality for quantity, and lately more gadgetry to attract those with "tech gotta-have-it-itis."

Sonic Boom

Agree, but they could of lossend the tolerance level; it’s not rocket science.

Streamliner

The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of “sheep” out there just don’t pay attention to their vehicles or just don’t care. Something doesn’t work just right, oh well, no big deal. We, here, are enthusiasts. We notice things that are not right and bring them to light. Our’s may be a tiny sample of the overall MB experience, but I believe our comments on the products are important and offer a potential buyer some good insight as to what they may expect.

As for “first year” issues, I agree, but it isn’t always true that MB corrects them. The audio systems in the R231 SL models were horribly designed from the start, whether you got the base Harman Kardon or the $6K Bang & Olufsen system. MB knew of this issue. The average price of these models was over $100K. Customers complained, but MB left these truly HORRIBLE systems virtually untouched throughout the entire 2013 through 2020 model run. This, to me, really proves that in many respects, the folks at MB really don’t care about their customers, it’s all about the bottom line.

Streamliner

I truly believe this. The W223 is looking more and more like an unfinished design to me. Those off center air vents look like they totally forgot to include them in the interior design and were slapped in there at the last minute. The wide opening doors surely were supposed to come with a “push button” closing assist, but it was probably cut at the last minute, leaving the wide opening doors for only the NBA players out there. And who here can say that the gauge cluster design looks finished? It looks completely UNFINISHED to me and good for nothing more than a place for dust to collect in all those nooks and crannies. As for the absolutely idiotic exterior door handles, did they really have such a pathetic need to copy Tesla? The W222 door handles were perfect. Did they need yet another gizmo to potentially break down?

Frankly, I don’t believe MB wanted to build the W223, they wanted to put all their eggs in the EQS basket. But, they felt that older, more traditional customers might flock to BMW & other brands, so they brought forth this car as sort of a stopgap vehicle. They never gave it the finishing touches. What a way for the vaunted S Class to bow.

places

100%. Years ago MB would never have designed this, or allowed these "misses" to go to market. They would have fixed and got them right. Literally the best or nothing. Not anymore, seems like 223 is a must in the lineup that they are forced to develop and produce. Frankly the entire interior is a mess, sure people will get used to it the more they see it but poor design is still poor. Mercedes has become a marketing company, period. Sell cars (or as other state appliances) based on hype and social media promos, while diluting the term luxury.

hyperion667

I have a first year W218 and it's still going strong! Also had a first run W222 that was great all 4 years There are SOME exceptions

RJC

The squeaky wheel gets the oil...those who let problems/design flaws go unaddressed are doing a disservice to themselves and to other consumers.
I've owned several first year production German vehicles over the years and most (but not all) have been 99%, this includes my 19 M850
For MB to let well known issues like the trans continue without properly addressing them will cause some of their long-term customers and discerning customers look elsewhere like I did. I will also be very skeptical of their new vehicles like the new SL which I have an interest in, and insist on an overnight or weekend test drive before I commit; my dealer has been very good about this w/me.

Jmcintire217

I agree with KellyP. These types of quality issues are completely unacceptable in a car of this price range. The old wife's tales of a "first year build" are nonsense in the technologically advanced age in which we live.

I've had several significant issues with the electronics on my 2021 S Class, including the active advanced ambient lighting feature, pre-safe side impulse, not to mention the fact the car alarm went off with a family member just sitting inside the car at the local shopping center, a yellow check engine light, a wireless charging pad that doesn't work, the intermittent door handles that occasionally present when you go near the car with the key, and the constant messages that the 12 volt battery is critical and the car should be run immediately or it may not start. This car is not ready for prime time.

In addition to the above, my car sat outside in the elements for 5 months and when I went to pick it up, it was extremely damaged due to bird droppings etching the clear coat in the paint. I spent 13 hours correcting the paint before I took the car to be Xpel wrapped.

To be fair the dealership told me to bring the car back and they would work on it to correct the paint, but after waiting a year for the car, I just did it on my own.

I'm taking the car to the dealership this Wednesday to be looked at and I'm hoping they can correct these many issues.

This is my third and probably last S Class. The way the car was rolled out, lack of communication from MBUSA, as well as the corporate parent, and the quality issues, even with the new factory 56 is a major fail. Can you say dumpster fire!

Daimler AG should focus on customer satisfaction ahead of corporate profit and shareholder value, but that is another discussion for another day.

Streamliner

Mercedes-Benz has been trying to be everything to everyone. Whenever a company goes down that road, quality, service and customer satisfaction go out the window. We have seen this approaching over the past few years. HOW many different models of consumer, passenger vehicles are currently in the line??? Way too many. And, several dealers now have the Sprinter and Metris vans as part of their offerings, which further dilutes the MB experience.

I’ve said this before, but here it goes again: There should be Mercedes-Benz dealerships that handle E Class & above models and “Daimler-Benz” dealerships that handle everything else. And this separation should start at the factory level. MB needs to go back to school and relearn how to build true luxury vehicles and how to present them and service them once they leave the factory.

$130K+ S Class, “Flagship” models should arrive at dealerships 100% sorted out, with zero quality & reliability issues. What is going on right now with these cars is a joke. Heads need to roll in Stuttgart and changes need to be made—SOON!

RJC

I'll add something that really grinds my gears, how many times I've seen what looked like an S class driving down the road only to discover it was an E, or even a C if far enough away. If memory serves correctly, up until the mid or late 90's an S was an S and looked like one both inside and out, an E was an E and also looked it inside, and out. The bean counters won again and are lauded as heroes as they boast about saving the company money, albeit while significantly cheapening the product by sharing far too many things with lesser models. For me, I would gladly pay 20% more if the flagship S classes were set apart with truly distinct styling inside and out. Some might then say, then what about a Maybach? Perhaps they should be the S class, and the Maybach really be set apart not a warmed over gloried S class, as they are simply not worth the near 70% premium for what you get.

I also touch, upon touchscreens, why are they so prevalent these days? Its not just because we have technology and they "look cool", or appeal more to the younger generation, but they are far less expensive to produce vs all the nice tactile buttons, switches; plus the gauges and well made and form fitting binnacles that used to be European car hallmarks.

I also never bought anything high-end including boats, cars, motorcycles, watches, pens, cameras, firearms, etc. etc. for vanity purposes, but because I truly appreciated what went into them engineering wise, and how well/flawlessly they function/perform during use.

Germancar1

So you think breaking up the brand and confusing everyone and the cost of doing separate dealerships are the answer lol? Terrible idea. Two classes of Mercedes would kill the brand for sure and if they focused on quality there would be no need to do a smoke screen like separate dealerships for the same brand of car. No car is perfect, and Mercedes is no different. That said, this car like the W222 when it arrived is going to have issues. They were pretty good in sorting it out last time around after the first (2014) model year. There is no such thing as a car with zero quality or reliability issues.

M

docsout

My wife and I went to dealership to consider colors. First thing she said was, why are the doors so difficult to open? Sitting inside, upon seeing the touch screen she said, what is that? After explaining it, she said that'll be dangerous taking your eyes off the road. We have been buying S Classes and SLs for past forty years. MB better get back to basics.

Streamliner

OK, fine. You got me. How about I rephrase: $130K+ S Class, “Flagship” models should arrive at dealerships 100% sorted out, with AS CLOSE TO zero quality & reliability issues AS POSSIBLE.

Of course, “no car is perfect,” but WAY too many new vehicles coming from our beloved brand are being delivered with WAY too many issues, in my honest opinion.