You guys are going to love this!

Today, I drive my 2022 S580 5 miles to my office this morning. It’s parked for three hours and then I drove it about 5 miles to have lunch. It sat for about an hour. I start it up and start driving back to my office when this red message lights up on the dash that says “Stop vehicle To charge the 12 V battery do not switch off vehicle.” WHAT does that mean? Stop the vehicle and hook it up to a battery charger? Stop the vehicle, but keep the motor running to charge the battery? Whichever, BEFORE I could comply, the car decided for itself to NOT follow its own instructions and just shut off all by itself, leaving me sitting in the middle of heavy traffic. I go to put on my emergency flashers, but they don’t work. When the traffic light up ahead stops traffic, I get out of the car and close the door—which I can no longer open, as the car is 99.9% DEAD and the door handles are in the retracted position. Don’t you just LOVE IT?

Pacific Coast Highway, through Corona Del Mar village is a bottleneck. It is also known as California Highway 1 and is an MAJOR thoroughfare, full of huge semi trucks and people in an hurry. Only two lanes in either direction, separated by an island with left turn pockets. Luckily, I stopped next to a left turn pocket and traffic was able to pass my car on the left, by using that area. My problem caused a gigantic backup of traffic. Everyone was honking, tires screeching as people tried to change lanes, etc. To say the least, it was a less than pleasant experience.

I called Fletcher Jones MB and told them the situation and that I needed an MB Roadside Assistance tow ASAP. They said they would connect me and the next thing I know I hear “Welcome to Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, please enter your ten digit account number.” I hung up, phoned AAA and requested a tow truck which took about 20 minutes to arrive. I also called the Newport Beach police, as I needed HELP! The car was towed to Fletcher, I got a GLE loaner and now I wait to see what the problem is. I am hoping it is something truly catastrophic and that I never see that car again.

In my decades of driving the 32 used cars I have owned and the 60 brand new cars I have owned or leased, I have NEVER been stranded by my vehicle simply shutting down in the middle of the road. Well, there’s a first time for everything and if any car was going to do it, it might as well be this car that I hate, right? $153,700.00 and it leaves me stranded. What if this happened out in the boondocks, far away from an MB dealer, in the summer, with the temperature in the low 100’s? My wife and I take road trips like that. Guess I should be thankful the my MB sedan didn’t give up the ghost in a situation like that. To be continued………..

 

Unbelievable and inexcusable. IMHO Mercedes has truly lost their way.

It will be interesting to hear what the issue is. I doubt that it is a catastrophic issue. More likely a battery failure or a charging issue, though I'm not sure why a charging issue wouldn't be flagged by the OBD.

 

I have to believe that this is an one-in-an-thousand exceptional car rather than a norm or common occurrence of every or many S-Class (not to mention the entire MB brand).

However, I have reservation about how the local MB dealer responded to this incident. If it were my dealer, they would dispatch a tow truck and tow the car directly to the dealership. Surely not every MB dealer provides the same and consistent level of quality service, but this Fletcher Jones' reaction is just not acceptable. I wonder, if your SL was also bought from them and still receives maintenance from them?

Anyway, when the AAA tow truck arrived on scene, how did they manage to tow the car which has zero power (and no one can get inside as the doors are locked)? Was it a flatbed? Did they just somehow pull your car up by brute force?

 

My car was leased sight unseen from a dealer in El Cajon, during the CCP Virus fiasco. This was a truly massive mistake on my part. Fletcher Jones in Newport Beach—the largest MB dealer in the USA, if not the world, has pretty much given me “lip service” with my complaints. No flatbed, I was in a panic to get the car out of traffic. Here is a photo.

My SL came from Foothill MB. If my SL was involved in a similar event, Heaven forbid, I would have made sure a flat bed was used. I love my 2019 SL450. I love my 2019 E450 Wagon. I am beginning to believe the CCP Virus had a truly horrible impact on MB.

 

Audi is having issues with the A6/A7 and the RS6/RS8 48v alternator failures leaving some people stranded too like you. Its ridiculous I agree and I am sorry you had to go through this. Hopefully it gets sorted out soon. These kind of issues for German brands are truly unacceptable! I was told by Audi they have a replacement alternators for the RS7 but only providing them to those who have been left stranded on the road...Thats ridiculous and I am not prepared for that. The Germans have been having issues with supplies like other automakers since covid and not just Mercedes.

 

@Streamliner sorry to hear about the experience. Your patience with the brand is certainly tested at this point.

Yet another example that MB builds and sells garbage.

 

Besides possible inherent issue with your particular car, another possible cause of this warning message is, perhaps, your style of driving.

If your car has lots of short trips of 5-mile driving, the alternator just does not have enough time to charge the battery, which is normally constantly discharging.

So, it is good habit to drive such a car for an hour or so at highway speed on a weekly basis.

Anyway, if the warning message ever does come up, try to find a safe spot (eg in a shopping centre parking lot or gas station or even in an emergency lane (if safely)), put the car in Park. Do not turn off engine. Turn off power consuming things like headlight, A/C, heated seats, music, charging phone...etc. Let the car engine running for 10 or 20 minutes. The message should reset itself.

 

Stream, that’s f*****g ridiculous. There is no excuse for that. I haven’t experienced what you have but I’ve had no my fair share of frustration with this 12 volt nonsense.

Im glad you’re safe brother. Keep us updated with how MB deals with this latest fiasco in your long line of ownership challenges.

I bet you’ve lost all confidence in this car. That is truly a shame. Maybe the only good thing that will come out of this latest experience is you will for once and in for all end this torture you’re going through by getting rid of this car.

 

Of course, what I really want is a buyback by MBUSA. As the episodes rack up days out of service, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Stream, I just looked at your pictures again. I know that area well as I spend a lot of time in Newport Beach getting away from our harsh Canadian winters. It is a very busy thoroughfare and you are lucky that you got out of this safe and sound. Even though it doesn’t feel like it now…thank your lucky stars.

 

This sign is getting bigger and bigger day by day !

 

This has to be one of the most ridiculous things I have read, blaming OPs driving habits. A car sold for 150k as a daily driver should be able to drive ANY amount of miles Any amount of times the driver wishes. A three thousand dollar piece of junk twenty year old used car can do it so you would think the flagship vehicle of one of the formerly best brands could also keep up with the tech of the last century. Do not blame the driver for this, blame horrible operations management at mercedes and the politicians that have forced regulations necessitating new untested tech that has short lifespan, zero support and poor quality. This is unacceptable at every level. learn to blame the correct people for the correct issues. SMH

 

I saw this battery error in my Mercedes Me app, after I got my car a week ago. Luckily it allowed me to drive it the next day and was fully charged after a 30 min drive.

 

Where is the data that supports this claim? And if it is the case why didn't the car give more warning?

 

I 100% agree that the blame should not be focused on the OP's driving habits. I suspect this involves the start stop system which isn't exact new technology.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by bishop64

Besides possible inherent issue with your particular car, another possible cause of this warning message is, perhaps, your style of driving.

It’s actually funny. We moved about 18 months ago. We used to live LESS THAN A MILE from my office and I drove my 2013, 2015, 2018 & 2020 S Class sedans there & back five days a week. Before those, it was my various Lexus LS sedans. Never an issue with any of those cars.

You may be right about my 2022 S580 needing more driving to keep the battery up, BUT, if that’s the case and W223 drivers need to change their driving habits to accommodate the vehicle, there should have been one of those big WARNING NOTICES, as part of the window sticker, INFORMING potential buyers that these cars require special driving conditions and extended use, to keep the batteries charged. In addition, SHOULDN’T WE THINK that a “LOW BATTERY” message would give us some sort of reasonable ADVANCE warning that a problem is on the horizon??? NO! Red message comes on and SECONDS later, the car shuts down, in the middle of the road!

Mercedes-Benz: Das Beste Oder Nichts!

 

AND, I always turn the stop/start system OFF as soon as I start the car.

 

Agree that this is absolutely ridiculous. Sorry to hear about this and hope it becomes a springboard for a buyback. Not fun having a car you don't enjoy...

 

I'm sorry to hear this. I truly hope a buyback is near. Whether it's this car alone, or not, I would never trust it again. So many issues reported with all mild hybrid Mercedes (and apparently Audi) cars lately gives me a lot of pause to move away from my 2018 C238 (same gen car as the S213). In five years of ownership the car has been mechanically flawless.

 

@Streamliner have you finally decided to get the car your really want, a Flying Spur?

 

It's nice to dream about a Bentley, but the last time I drove one, which was a "New" Flying Spur, around 2019 when the dealer had a demo car before the cars were actually in dealer inventories, it did not drive or ride as nicely as my 2018 S560 I had at the time. That said, I
will test drive another one day. At this point in time, I really don't know just what I will get next.

 

Sorry to hear about your car. I know the feeling and can empathize. I hope it gets resolved to your satisfaction.

 

FWIW, this tow truck was the right one for you. Can’t get a dead car onto a flatbed…

 

Horrible! Once a car has left me stranded I can never trust it again. Inexcusable that would happen on a nearly new Mercedes.

If your style of driving is the cause, then MB needs to go back to the drawing board and design a car that can be driven the way a buyer needs to drive it.

They do it all the time, they just drag it up there if they can't get it into neutral.

 

Whoever does that should be fired. Bad for the car, worse for the tires…