2022 S580. Can I get it to always start in Dynamic mode (instead of Comfort)?

 

I believe there is a setting somewhere that you can select to default to last mode used (Dynamic) etc instead of automatic reverting to comfort on start-up

 

IIRC, it is the 'Individual' setting (which is in addition to Eco, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes)

 

You can set the individual mode to dynamic and have it request individual on startup.

 

When I am setting the car to individual and turn off the car and come back and restart it, it defaults to comfort mode. Not sure why. I turned off the setting to ask to ask what mode to use on startup. Shouldn't it revert automatically to the last setting used? S, S+ or I?

 

I guess the car should revert to the setting used last if you ask us drivers but if you ask MB, the answer is "no". The emission figures are fulfilled with the default mode only which seems to be the reason the driver activity is needed for every trip.

 

This is often discussed. Regulations prevent car manufacturers from starting up the powertrain in anything other than the default mode that was used to homologate the car. Other less efficient modes are only allowed if the driver has to deliberately select them. It's the tradeoff we have to live with to even get S, S+ etc. modes. The closest they can do it is with the prompt they have implemented in recent models. If enabled, then it will ask you for a few seconds if you want to restore the previous mode, but you have to explicitly respond which satisfies the requirement that the driver has to deliberately select a less fuel efficient mode. There are some aftermarket modules that can automatically restore the previous mode on startup, but not sure if they work with the latest cars yet. I think Renntech has one. It can also automatically turn off ECO start/stop. It certainly depends on the car. Regular MB models are pretty much dogs in C, but I appreciate that my AMG starts in C as that's how I start driving anyway until I'm on a highway or other open road and then I put it in I* which I can conveniently do from the steering wheel by pushing the AMG drive unit drive mode selector.

 

The wheel mounted knob covers a lot of sins for sure. BMW got around this by showing data to the gov that people were almost instantly switching out of their ECO mode on startup and they were granted an exemption. The dealership can turn this off at the owners request, must be requested by the owner though; the dealerships can't do it preemptively. Don't know why more OEMs don't go for the same petition.

 

That's news to me. Every BMW I've driven including M models starts the powertrain in Efficient (I think that's what it's called if I recall correctly) mode and to get into your favorite mode you have to press the M1 or M2 button in case of the M models, but they all revert back to the default mode. To be honest, the drive modes are more gimmick than anything on the non-performance models. Most people leave it in the default mode, just like most people don't know what to do with the shift paddles. Even I who frequently changes modes in my AMG and drives 90+ percent in manual mode don't bother with the modes and the shift paddles in regular cars. Both are mostly meh in regular cars.

 

Yep they do that, they must default to starting up in the mode used on the rollers. It's been a few years now since they petitioned the EPA, you can now request that the dealer switch it to last used mode at startup after the purchase. The dealer can only change it at the request of the customer on a sold car.

 

On the W222 this can be coded to automatically select the last used mode...not sure if thats available yet for the W223

 

Do you have some reference that this BMW change was government approved? I'm guessing dealers do it if their customers request just because modifications on a BMW are easier and can be done with dealer service tools. I don't think any legislation mandates start/stop or comfort tranny mode on a car. BMW does not need to ask permission for deleting default start stop, their emission figures would just get worse at the approval tests and they would have to accept that. This just is expensive for the factory too as their whole fleet cannot exceed certain levels.

A Mercedes too can be modified to remember the latest used start/stop state, tranny mode etc. but official workshop tools are not sufficient for this. Some few exceptions are police cars or similar where the factory accepts VeDoc database change and then the workshop tools can be used to transfer the modification to the car. There are sort of illegal factory engineering applications (Vediamo, DTS Monaco) that car hackers can use to achieve the same changes on Mercedes cars.

 

This is not correct, you can wander around the Internet and find many articles about how the testing is done. The basics are the law requires a car to default at each startup to the mode that was used in the test duty cycles, those are actually done on a dyno, not on the road. If the car is equipped with auto start stop and it is used in the testing cycles the car must default at each start up to auto start stop on as well. No dealership can legally alter this behavior in the US although I agree some probably do on the sly. As to BMW they received an exemption in 2012 and following that issued a bulletin to all US dealers that went something like this...

SI B12 15 12

INFORMATION
The Automatic Start/Stop (MSA) system is a further BMW Efficient Dynamics measure aimed at meeting BMW's commitment to reducing CO2 emissions and enhancing fuel economy.

BMW, always a leader in innovative technology, will be the first automobile manufacturer to bring MSA technology to all new models.

Automatic Start/Stop systems will become prevalent in the future, as manufacturers strive to meet increasingly stringent emissions and fuel economy requirements.

By automatically switching the engine off when the car is stationary, MSA can improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.

New F-vehicles now incorporate the second generation of MSA (MSA II), which has been further developed to operate in combination with an automatic transmission and the BN2020 electrical system.

A detailed description of the MSA Automatic Start/Stop function can be found in the ICP Technician library under Technical Training course ST1112.

SITUATION
Some drivers have expressed the desire to deactivate this function in certain situations. This can be done manually via the Automatic Start/Stop function button with the LED switched on, indicating that the start/stop function is deactivated.

However, by default, the Automatic Start/Stop function is reactivated each time the engine is started.

At the request of an owner, it is possible to modify this default logic to "Last user mode."

With this logic, the current MSA's activated or deactivated setting is stored and used on the next trip.

Note: All new BMW M models have the "Last user mode" as the default setting.


End cut and paste....

In any event I was wrong, they stopped doing it in 2018 for reasons I don't know because I'm too lazy to do any more research. I've just read that now, my bad on that, haven't had one since the E92 and didn't realize it had changed.

 

Right, what was once possible in previous model years has no bearing on today's models. As far as I know these things can no longer be coded out specifically to eliminate an easy way to defeat it. The Renntech module I've mentioned restores the last used modes by sending commands over the CAN bus that simulate the driver pressing the appropriate buttons. They can't do it simply by coding. AMG a few years ago thought they had figured a way around the regulation by implementing a feature that would remember the last used modes for 4 hours after the engine was turned off, however they were forced to eliminate the feature. It was only there in like one model year of the AMG GT.

 

This CAN be coded on the W222. People have done it, BenzNinja can do it. I believe he says it can be done on other MB models as well.

 

I believe you, but this is the W223 forum. As I said, what was once possible on older models/model years is not necessarily possible anymore. There are differences between PFLs and FLs, too, and there's mild hybrid all now.

 

I understand and said the same thing, but you said that it couldn't be coded and that the Renntech unit was required because it simulated the button presses, we thought that on the W222 side at first too. I would reach out to BenzNinja and get his thoughts on it.

 

I've been hitting him and another shop every week or two about the lights and they've got nothing for us as of my last contact. Every time it's not yet but coming.

 

He'll get there...I have a sneaking suspicion eventually it will be possible to code this on the W223.

 

Ive done few codings on my Audi and BMW using the obdeleven tool and carly devices. They have apps which you can turn off auto start stop, led light sweep, increase temperature of heated seats and steering wheel, increase ventilation seats, increase turn signal numbers when tapping the stalk, etc. I will see what i can do with the carly device on the Mercedes this weekend.

 

He posted a thread today, expects to be in business on this within the next few weeks.