Daytona-flyer

OK, the post has been up here long enough. I was mad and wanted to tell my story of woe to those who would listen. I always got a kick reading posts from those who don't care for the system and would like it defeated.

It's a stupid thing to get upset about. There are others out there who can only dream about having a problem such as this and call it grief.


Now they auto-generate one of these for me...

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We value your opinion and your time. To help us understand your experience, please take a few moments to complete this brief survey. Your feedback will be used to improve the quality of service we provide

FA-GET-A-BOUT IT

Centexhokie

Mine seems to work well. What is the problem with your Start Stop?

Daytona-flyer

It never works! Re-read my post. It's all there.

Centexhokie

So you are saying it doesn't turn off when you stop? Mine does if the conditions are right and I have the green box around the ECO button. Do you ever get a green box around the ECO button?

I found this on another forum here for the conditions.

1. The combustion engine must have attained the necessary operating
parameters (e.g. the minimum coolant temperature).
2. The relevant conditions relating to the vehicle must be met (e.g. sufficient voltage in the on-board electrical system, the interior climate has been regulated following the key start, the accumulator for the air suspension or brake system is sufficiently full). And the vehicle must be stationary, of course.
3. The relevant conditions relating to the driver must be met: the transmission selector lever must be set to D or N; no movement of the accelerator or the steering wheel; the driver's foot must be on the brake or the HOLD function must be active; the doors must be closed, the driver's seat belt must be fastened and the bonnet must be closed.
4. The ECO start/stop must not have been switched off via the ECO button.
5. Relevant speeds must have been exceeded after starting with the ignition key or during manoeuvring, for example

mikey94025

You could just swap cars with one of the SL owners who've complained that there's no switch to permanently turn off the auto stop-start...

Daytona-flyer

I drive the same route every day, with the top down and A/C off. The system will work on day out of ten (if I'm lucky).

If I shut off the engine at a red light, with all the parameters made, The Icon might change to green as I accelerate past ten MPH. It will usually stay on for a while. Sometimes it goes yellow after only a minute.

Daytona-flyer

Mercedes Customer Service called and disputed what the service advisor said regarding the system operating correctly (see first post). She reiterated that the dealership said, "The system functions normally".

She said this has to be taken care of at the dealer level.

They just don't care.

Centexhokie

Thanks for the information. I have only had my car for a couple of months, but here is what I have noticed. Depending on the weather the icon will come on consistently and the car will stop/start consistently. In the heat of late August it never worked and today with it being rainy and 55 degrees it doesn't work.

I wasn't trying to be argumentative to you, but I was trying to figure out whether it was a condition problem, a sensor problem or a software problem. I'm an engineer, we look at things that way. If it works some of the time then I would say that it is unlikely to be a software/system problem, but instead a sensor problem that isn't telling the software that the conditions are not appropriate to stop/start. My guess (and that is what it is) is that it is a themostat issue. On my car it will rarely go green shortly at a light, but will go green after a longer drive. If it was a voltage issue then I would think it would be the opposite of what you have described.

Sorry you are having trouble with the dealership. I am 3 weeks into waiting for my replacement window trim so I can empathize with your dealer frustration. I haven't called MB, but it sounds like they won't step up either.

Wolfman

I definitely feel for for you because you want it to work. And it should.

I for one hate ECO and turn it off the moment I get in the car. That said, MB's ECO system in known to be the best working one around (in terms of smooth start/stop activation).

I suggest you contact the dealer or MB to get you a tech that can drive with you to see the system in action or lack thereof. Too many times, techs simply do a readout of the system and if the computer & errors codes look good, it's good. No actual tests.

I had this one time with our SL55; forced a dealer to let a tech take an extended drive with. They said it was good but the car lacked power; turned out the supercharger never engaged. Of course, few techs have the comparison to tell how fast the car would normally be... Typical trust in the computer only, not the people...

Good luck!

Daytona-flyer

Last week, it was again placed on the shop's analyzer. No bad sensors were found.

If I'm sitting at a red light, I can force the system to go green by stopping and restarting the engine just before driving away (if system conditions are met). This works about 30% of the time. If the engine is off for any longer it wont work. Sometimes it will stay green, most of the time, it goes yellow shortly.

Thermostat issue? It could be.

Daytona-flyer

I hate the yellow light on the MFD. Out of frustration,I even asked the dealer to disconnect the system so I don't have to look at the yellow icon without manually shutting the system off with the switch. The switch only sends a pulse to the computer.

At this point, I only forwarded this thread to cust. svce. Did I go overboard with my post? Perhaps I shouldn't type in the morning. At least until I settle down for the day.

Centexhokie

That is why you will have to get the car in the condition where it should engage the Stop/Start and have the technician read the sensors to see what they are saying and which one of them is preventing the conditions from being met. I own a business that designs and manufactures machinery. If we had such a complaint, it is relatively easy to hook up to the computer and read the rung of the logic that tells the item to run or not run and see what is preventing it. One of the sensors is probably ok but out of tolerance so that when the analyzer hooks up to it there is continuity, but it is probably off spec. All of that to say, if you get someone who really wants to resolve the issue, it should take just a few hours to resolve the issue and get a happy customer. Unfortunately, too many technicians engage the analyzers without engaging their brains to actually troubleshoot the problem.

Good luck.

Jim A

Hi,

OK, I am weird, but I actually like the ECO feature and would like it even more if it worked as advertised....

I will take this discussion one stop further....

I have on many occasions pulled up to a light with the ECO light green. The engine stops when I engage the break then a few seconds later the engine starts again, on it's own - without me moving my foot off the break, and the ECO light goes to yellow.

Again, like the concept, even like the system when it works, but hate that it works when it feels like it and the dealer says it works normally!

jpeardm

I'm probably even more weird because since the day I picked up the car til now I have never had it on, lol. I don't even know if it works. After pushing the start button I automatically turn it off every time. I just can't stand the idea of the engine being off waiting at an intersection, just too old I guess.

BigHat

Why do you think this is automatically a sign of a problem? Couldn't the engine start be based on the status to the battery and what the electrical demand happens to be at the time? I often have my foot on the BRAKE !! with the engine stopped and when I raise the top the engine starts. Is this viewed as a problem to some? I just assumed the load on the car's electrical system warranted the motor running.


Daytona,
I appreciate your presence here and feel your pain on this issue. Seems like the car no longer gives you joy as a result. You must get frustrated when people ask you blinding flash of the obvious questions. Those of us that have followed it already know you've devoted A LOT of intellectual rigor to the analysis of this issue. It's even worse in one respect because I just don't have a problem with my system, unless the above scenario is a problem. I hope you just disable the system and grow to re-love your car -- for one less mpg or so.

Daytona-flyer

Mercedes customer service now says to have the shop bring in a Mercedes Technical Specialist. Perhaps he can figure it out. Perhaps the car need a new computer.

Don't get me wrong. I love the car and would buy it again, even with the ECO problem.

Florida Joe

We bought a CLS in the family this week in addition to the year old SL550.


Really strange but the ECO function in the CLS works perfectly at almost every intersection. The SL eco function has no rhyme or reason as to when it works and when it doesn't.


Like 2 very different systems in the 2 models.

California John

Mercedes customer service now says to have the shop bring in a Mercedes Technical Specialist. Perhaps he can figure it out. Perhaps the car need a new computer.

Have you taken it in yet?

Daytona-flyer

No, not yet. I've been tied up with things around the house. I'll get to when my wife gets home from her weekend in Vegas.

EuroDeliveryGuy

I like the concept of Eco Stop/Start. Why not give the 8 cylinders a rest and save some gas at a red light, some of which are over a minute long? I always keep the Green Eco light on.

However, I also can report less than ideal performance. I'd call it erratic. I have 5,600 miles on my 2013 SL550. I agree with previous posters that a variety of factors (like engine temperature, outside weather, etc.) all need to be in place for Eco Stop to kick in. However, about half of the times I expect it to work, it does not. After not working for 3 previous lights, Eco Start suddenly works perfectly at the 4th and 5th stop lights.

Until I read this string of posts, I thought my car's Eco Stop simply needed an adjustment. Since an erratic Eco Stop/Start is virtually the only thing wrong with my car after half a year of driving it, I have not bothered to bring it back to the dealer. But now I will certainly keep closer track of ECO Start performance.

Jim A

I took my car in today because of the ECO system still failing to work properly. Told the SA of all the problems I was having and left them the car for them to fix.

The SA called at 5 this evening. The conversation with the Service Writer basically went as follows after they had the car for about 5 hours:

SA We checked your ECO system and the computer says it works properly
ME Did you drive it? Did the ECO system light turn green and did the system work properly?
SA We drove it. The system light did not turn green and the system did not work, but the computer says the system is working properly. You just are not meeting the right conditions/parameters for the ECO system to enguage.
ME How far did you drive it? I test drove a new S class while I was waiting and it's system worked on the test drive.
SA We drove it for a little way. The S class is a different car.
ME Can you tell me which of the parameters are not being met to cause the system to not enguage.
SA No, we are not the factory, we just sell the cars! The computer says the system is working so we have to assume it is. Sorry!

{sigh} I just want what I pay for to work properly!!! I LOVE my car, but, feel the car should work as advertised.

Daytona-flyer

Misery loves company!

California John

So, it's working as it "should" just not the way it's advertised or anyone expects. Unfortunately, I suspect that the fellow is right when he said, "The computer says the system is working so we have to assume it is. Sorry!" It's a sorry implementation of a great idea. I think that it's in many cases it's a difference in the interior and exterior temperatures that goes beyond a certain parameter - in my case I mostly always have the top down and the greater the variation in outdoor temp and indoor temp the more likely it is to be on. In any case it's dodgy. To those of us with a strong engineering gene, it's difficult to accept the vagaries of the system.

Jim A

I would not say it is working as it should.

Mine works about 10% of the time I am driving. Even my salesman says it should work more.... But, alas, he has no clout in service.

I live in Southern California, so I also drive with the top down most of the time. But, have to confess, I have been driving around with the top up lately just to see if it makes a difference..... Nope

All in all, I have no choice but to accept it. It does not mean I like it, nor does it mean that it is right.

Very sad!

Jim A

hehe Yes, it does.

One nice ray of sunshine on a rainy day in Southern California..... Today, JD Powers was kind enough to send me a survey regarding any service issues on my 2013 SL550.

I did have a very small amount of satisfaction giving Fletcher Jones Motorcars Mercedes Benz Newport Beach horrible marks when it comes to customer service and abitlity to repair the products they sell!!!