o2manyfish

Hi SL owners,

This is going to be kind of whiny, hopefully those of you with more experience can let me know if I am expecting too much out of my car.

Two weeks ago I bought a certified 2017 SL450 with 8800 miles. Electric Blue, White Interior, Designo. The car is beautiful. The car performs great.

On Friday night my wife and I went to go to dinner and the car was 100% Dead in the driveway. I had driven the car 2.5 hrs earlier with no error messages, no warning lights and no issues.

I have a Benz Dealership 2000 ft from my house. Saturday afternoon they called that the car was ready. When I asked what was wrong I was told - We Fixed it and the car is ready. I asked again what was wrong - and I was told "some kind of a short" so they changed the battery. They wouldn't get more specific. When I went and got the car there was nobody there that knew what had been done. The service paperwork says "Battery Shorted" "Low Voltage Warning" "Change Battery" -- Pretty weak explanation.

I have spent some time browsing this forum over the last few weeks- So I already knew the seat ventilators are a waste and that the stereo has no working rear speakers. When I asked the MB Service writer about the Seat Ventilators he told me it was definitely working because the light on the switch turned on. When you turn on the passenger seat you can hear the fan. When you turn on the driver seat - you can't hear anything- And you can't feel anything on either seat.

I made 3 appointments for a Product Concierge to get training on the car - Nobody responded.

So today I drove to the dealership and asked for a Concierge. Here are the things I asked about and the response(s) I got:

1) Can't hear parking sensor beeps - I want them louder -- Conceirge agreed that you can't hear the beeps unless the radio is turned all the way down - says that's normal

2) Rear parking sensors don't beep unless something is less than 12" from rear bumper - So when backing up if someone pushing a stroller walks behind the car - it doesn't beep unless the stroller is less than 12" from the bumper while you are rolling backward ---- Is this really considered a safety feature? Conceirge says that my car rear sensors are working correctly.

3) Front parking sensors don't beep for curbs or parking curbs directly in front of the car - Concierge said maybe there is a sensor issue - I should make a service call

4) When I walk away from the car the car doesn't automatically lock - We confirmed the car is set to auto lock - Concierge says it won't lock for 15 mins - a) That's the stupidest thing I have heard - walk away from your car and it locks in 15 minutes.... b) Tested at home - 30 mins later doors don't lock

5) The car is set for easy entry/ exit - I'm a big guy --- Seat and steering wheel don't move at all - Concierge says it doesn't always do it... Like how does the car decide when I need the extra room to get in / out

6) Voice Command - Does this work for anyone? The Conceirge couldn't get it to call the correct person. When we asked the car to enter a new destination it picks the wrong state 7 out of 10 times. When asking to navigate to what is saved as "My Home" - It goes to contacts to dial a number. The car won't read a complete text message. And 2 Concierge's couldn't reply to a text message without using the knob to type every character -- Like that's safer than texting on my phone?

7) Android Auto locks the system up - Concierge said that this was a problem with first gen -- Concierge said I shouldn't use it, it was a problem- Concierge doesn't know if there was/is an update

8) Can't use voice command to control stereo / media (On the Voice Command I did the voice training exercises)

9) When driving in "C" Comfort mode when slowing down "normally" (not hard or aggressive) the car when downshifting slams into 3rd gear as if it was still in sport+ mode


I could deal with the stereo or the seat ventilators being bogus - But all the tech gadgets in the car being crap? Seriously? My wife's Camaro has all these same features and they work and the car was 1/4 the price. Am I asking too much ?

For anyone that has any info that might help me be less frustrated -- Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge.

Dave B

fun33

I can totally appreciate your frustration. My previous ride was a Lexus LS460L and my first couple of days sound identical to yours. With the exception of your battery issue, you sound exactly like my first week. The good news is, 90% of your problems will easily be remedied with familiarity over time. The best news is, your car is a CPO and everything that is fixable will eventually be corrected at no cost to you. There are a few items, like the seat not moving when you enter the car, that are just the way it is and you will get used to it. The rear seat speakers can easily be activated at your local Best Buy for @ $250 and it's worth every penny.

o2manyfish

Thank you for your response.

My previous car was an XK8 convertible - A pretty simple car - not a whole lots of gadgets on it.

I read up on the Best Buy upgrade after the 450 mile drive home on day 1. I'm a stereo nut. I ran an audiophile store during college, I built a few cars that won IASCA competitions, and I have built many 6 figure home audio systems. It wasn't 20 miles in the car (top up) that I went to slide the fader to the rear to discover there is no fader, but a whole bunch of speakers in the back.

I am in Los Angeles - And within 15 miles of my house there are more than 10 Best Buys. And every other week I travel 50 miles south to Orange County - And I would guess that drive increases the # of Best Buys to 20 within my easy driving distance. I have been to 3 in person. Talked to 2 others - And according to the Car Audio Managers/Installer Best Buy does not have a 'Master Installer' in South California who is 'certified' to work on an SL. Seems pretty ironic since there are probably more SL in So Cal than any other area other than South Florida.

From the items I listed as being frustrated with - Which ones are 'fixable' and which ones are just the 'character' of the car.

Thank you,

Dave B

Streamliner

Everything is supposed to work, as per the instruction book. That said, we know the audio system doesn’t and the seat ventilators are a joke. The parking sensors are almost inaudible and the distance at which they come alive are both design flaws, IMO. The 9-speed transmission should perform flawlessly, as should the entry/exit feature. The other electronic things you mention, I have on my car, but never use, so I cannot speak to them.

Most all cars have issues we don’t like. If they can get the transmission & entry/exit working properly, then you need to decide if that is enough, as I don’t think you will get much more. If it isn’t enough, I’d ask them to take the car back, depending on how long you have had it. The infotainment features in these cars are not great and I believe the instruction book promises more than the car can actually deliver.

I’ve had batteries short out after working fine for a year or two and they have always been replaced under warranty. If you experience a dead battery again, I would insist on a new battery.

Good luck, and please let us know how it works out.

John Dietrich

@o2manyfish So I've been obsessively looking for my first SL for about three months now, as a result of which I've read more than my share of CPO reconditioning reports from dealers all across the US. I'm not sure how helpful this will be regarding your battery issue, but I'll share it just in case.

Last week I came across this 2017 CPO SL 450 for sale outside Chicago:

https://www.motorwerks.com/used-Barr...JK6GA6HF047712

I always read the CPO docs in the packet if there's one available, and this one contained a note I'd never seen before:

I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but a little research shows that there's a "K40 relay" that controls the fuel pump, throttle system, etc. There are other more common problems with this relay that can affect engine performance, but apparently another problem is that sometimes the relay continues to draw a very small amount of current from the battery, which over time can deplete your charge or even age the battery prematurely. I'm not sure if the fix the dealer used in this case (changing the relay to a different circuit that isn't powered when the ignition is off) is the "accepted" remedy versus just replacing the relay -- but either way it's probably worth flagging this for your dealer and having them measure any abnormal battery draw when the ignition is off.

Good luck!

fun33

No need for a "Master Installer". All your going to need is an Alpine amplifier that can be installed completely from your trunk. The Best Buy installer needs to tap into the RR and LR speaker and send the same signal that is currently going to your RF and LF speakers. The installer can adjust the Alpine amp fade to your liking and it remains at that setting. Not ideal, but the sound will be 100% better. Go to this link https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...-solved-8.html post #182 for a photo of the wires your installer needs to use for the install. No need to remove any panels or fish any wires. The Alpine KTP-445U amp was $134.99 and $129.99 for the Best Buy install.

John Dietrich

If I remember correctly that example was a B&O -- do we think the color coding is the same for the HK system? I would *think* it would be because I'd hope they use the same wiring loom, but I guess it could be different since the B&O does have more speakers.

KennyK

For what it is worth, I purchased a 2016 SL550 and everything is perfect.

While my 2005 SL500 is a beautiful (and dependable) car, there is no comparison between the vehicles

fun33

Yes, I do have a B&O audio system. Should be very easy to check if the same wires are being used for the Burmeister system. OEM amp and wiring are located in the right rear trunk under the trunk mat. If the same 4 wires are in that location there is a 90% + chance they are going to the same speakers. Any decent audio tech can easily check the wires with a test signal to confirm what speakers they are connected to.

Jeff411

is it possible this is an after market K40 radar detector that was wired hot?

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

all this is just a matter of a little bit coding

John Dietrich

Hi Dave -- At the time of your original post I was still a prospective SL owner. But since I picked up my new (to me) SL 450 on Wednesday and have spent time with the owner's manual and in the car, I think I can respond to at least a couple of your points.

Mine don't seem to be quiet at all. I have a 2018 so it's possible that they rectified this, but since you have a dealer so close you could always wait until they have another 2017 on the lot and go check it out to see how loud the parking sensors are. Mine are at least as loud as the ones in my Volvo, if not louder, an easily heard over the radio at medium to medium-loud volume. (I will say that in my Volvo, you can set not only the volume level of the parking alert beeps, but also the level by which the radio volume DECREASES to make the alert tones more audible without them having to blast over the radio. Advantage Volvo.)

There's a very helpful diagram in the owner's manual (which you can access online as well as in the paper manual) that shows the horizontal AND vertical coverage of the front and rear sensors. Because they're located a fair amount above ground, they basically point downwards at about a 30-degree angle. An obstacle directly on the centerline of the car would be detected at about 40 inches in the front and 48 inches in the rear, and something closer to the corners would register at 24 inches away in the front and 32 inches in the rear. That said, there is a "dead spot" from directly below the sensors on the bumper line to a point on the ground about half the distance to the range of the sensor. That means you'll actually pick up a parking curb when it's about 40 inches in front of you, but that obstacle will cease to register once you're closer than 20 inches to it. If something is behind your car at bumper height and not registering a yellow bar from 3.5 to 4 feet away, you probably need some kind of service.

I think you need a new concierge. This isn't how Automatic Locking works at all. If you refer to the manual, you'll see that its purpose is to lock the doors when you pull out and reach 9 mph; then the doors lock automatically. There is no function to lock the doors automatically when you walk away from the vehicle. But that sure would be nice and I'd buy it. If you've set up mBrace services and the Mercedes Me app, you can of course lock the doors remotely from your phone.

First I'd make sure this setting is actually turned on. From the steering wheel controls on the left, arrow left or right to the SETT. menu, then up or down to CONVENIENCE and press OK. Then arrow up or down to EASY ENTRY/EXIT and make sure it's ON (the steering wheel icon will be orange when it's on). Once you've done that, the steering wheel should move up to its maximum height when you open the door to exit the car. HOWEVER, it can't move up any higher than the highest setting that you can set with the adjustment lever on the wheel. Since you say you're a "big guy," it's possible you ALREADY have the steering wheel at its uppermost setting, in which case there is just nowhere for it to go. If you want to verify that your Easy Entry/Exit is working, first adjust the steering wheel to a lower point, maybe in the middle, and try turning off the engine and opening the door. Also note that *only* the steering wheel moves as part of this feature; the seat does not move back. I actually use the 3rd memory button on the driver side to hold a preset that moves the seat all the way back and raises it a bit. Then when I'm getting out of the car I just hold that button for a bit and move the seat back "manually" while the wheel is going up automatically.

This has been a mixed bag for me so far. I did the training, and I'd say it works 60 percent of the time. For what it's worth, I had an Acura once that couldn't get anything right on the voice recognition. Had to fight with the dealer every time I took it in for service and they finally replaced the microphone. Problem solved.

I don't have this problem; my up and down shift points have been smooth and almost unnoticeable. This is something I'd definitely have looked into. They might need to re-flash something on the TCM or ECU.

Hope some of this was helpful, and I hope you are enjoying the car otherwise -- you have a great color combo there!

rfb3

So what was the outcome? I'm a new owner of a 2018 SL550.... Just curious.