Was at my dealership yesterday and was told about a new software update campaign.

Apparantly, the fan runs excessively long after turning off the engine, thus draining the battery.

This new update is supposed to significantly reduce the fan run time.

Not sure if I am buying that, what do you think?

 

My car has been back at the dealership this week for the 3rd attempt to fix the battery issue. My worry with shortening the fan time is that the engine in the SL generates a lot of heat. It is a turbocharged engine, so the cool down period is important for the longevity of the turbos.

 

My 2022 S580 had what I felt was a ridiculously long running time for the fan, once the ignition was shut off. I was told it was due to the “Hot V” design of the engine and that the additional cooling was necessary.

 

I believe that could easily be PART of the problem and wondered about that from day 1 . There’s no reason for my fan to run up to 18 minutes (I timed it after just normal and not spirited driving). I have never had a car fan run that long and I have a supercharged dedicated track car that obviously runs hot. I realize the ambient led lighting draws very little amps, but no reason for those to stay on for 20 minutes with no option to change duration. Maybe this is by design but why is there sometimes hot air lightly blowing through interior vents before I even hit the ignition? Makes me wonder if it’s constantly blowing given battery issue.

 

I have now owned my 2022 55SL for one year and have MB doing a buy back because of the unresolved starter battery failure. I did place a trickle charger which keeps the battery charged but concerned about long term issues. I am looking at purchasing a 2023 or 2024 SL but have concerns that this issue may still be present. Has anyone seen this issue beyond the 22 model?

 

WHY

 

I spoke to a rep from MBUSA today. He is FULLY aware of the myriad problems with the R232. He told me the VPC people are doing their best but are overwhelmed, as are the dealerships. I asked if he could hazard a wild *** guess when the R232 cars would start to be reasonably reliable......."I just can't even guess". I explained I considered getting a SL63E S but that idea is on hold. He did say "not to give up........yet".

The idea that the resale prices are in a crash is NOT because of the forums.........the car design and execution is the problem. Meantime the buyers are doing free beta testing. Sad

 

While I tend to disagree with many of your contentions about the SL, I completely agree with this statement. This sparsely read forum doesn't have enough followers to move a needle.

I may just be fortunate but I've really had no issues with my car (one check engine light in the first year). It's held my attention longer than any 911 I've owned in the past (except, perhaps, my '98 993 Carrera 4 Cab) and I am anxiously awaiting the weather breaking in Chicago so I can enjoy it more. Supposed to be sunny and 80 this weekend.

 

Don’t fall out of your seats, but the critical battery issue might be fixed. I got the car back two weeks ago after the third trip back to the dealer. In addition to the endless software downloads from MBUSA, they also moved the negative connector for the trickle charger from the neg battery post to a ground on the body. Today, I plugged in the trickle charger and for the first time ever after using the trickle charger, no critical battery warnings on the dash or app. The car goes back to the dealer on Thursday to fix the finger print reader (second time it stopped working).

 

Please elaborate on the "fix". A direct connection to the battery does not work but an indirect connection to a body ground is the "fix"?? It appears MB will try anything, perhaps carrying 4 leaf clovers is next???

 

Until this most recent use of the trickle charger, I would get a slew of critical battery messages after driving the car and plugging it back onto the trickle charger. The most recent visit to the dealership was their third attempt to fix the issue and the car had been out of service for over 30 days. I was heavily leaning towards starting the lemon law process. All three of the attempts to fix the problem involved MBUSA instructing the dealer to install a slew of software updates to various modules in the car. Some of the new updates included the shortening the distance when the fob activated the door handles to extend themselves. The latest direction from MBUSA also instructed the dealer to move the ground point of the trickle charger to the body. I don't know what worked, but I haven't received any battery messages, and the trickle charger is recharging the battery faster than before.

To be quite honest, if they wanted to stick a hamster wheel in the trunk to keep the battery charged that would be fine with me. After getting the car back, and getting back behind the wheel, the SL still puts a big smile on my face. I had some work colleagues in town from Europe. I took them for a spin during their visit. During the first ride along it was raining outside so I thought I held back from my normal driving style. My friend who has had a number of cars including the 911, said he was shocked that there was no wheel spin on the slippery roads and that the car was so planted around the turns. During the other ride along my other friend thoroughly enjoyed the rumble and power of the V8.

The R232 SL may have its problems, but it is one of the rare cars that I have owned that I enjoy driving, my wife thinks is great, and both my 31 year old and my 7 year old think look cool. For those who think MB missed the mark with the new SL, I beg to differ. None of my cars are long term keepers, but at least for now, the SL doesn't have a set end date.

 

Take a look at this thread for bypassing the finger print reader: https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...-profiles.html

Not sure what I did during set up, but I never have to use the fingerprint reader
I remember needing to for a day or so, I must have changed some setting where it is no longer necessary; which BTW . . . should never be necessary (overly complicated feature in my mind). For multiple drivers, wasn't this solved years ago with 2 different keys?

Glad to hear your electrical issue may be resolved! KH

 

My German SL63 (built March 30th 2023) received various software updates (control units, incl. ECU) over 11 days ago. Car is sitting in the garage now for 11 days, no battery issues/warning.
The car key is stored in a faraday box though, got this recommendation from a fellow SL63 owners. Maybe this plays a role as well.

 

This is disappointing same issue here. I’ve got a 2022 with 1500 miles. Drove it 150 miles yesterday, stopped at home to change clothes for gym and ran back out to car, started for 3 seconds then stalled/died, with a bunch of warning signs. Almost every malfunction light. Battery reading 4-5 volts, wouldn’t even click over. Put on 40amp charger for 3 hours, car would turn starter fine but would not fire up. Took 12 hours of sitting overnight until it would turn over and start and did run with engine light on. Took to dealer and said when I got there battery was low. Shouldn’t be the case I just drove it there - a 30 minute drive. They charged it and said it was just fine battery is good no issue. They wanted to keep car over weekend to observe, I questioned why when they said “tech said ifs good”.. They obviously know this is an issue. I’ve owned many 2016-2022 AMG’s and never have I ever had to keep a key at a certain distance. Had a started relay replaced at 500 miles… dealer still says it’s nothing. Yeah ok. Clearly there is an issue here. I’ll make sure to keep taking it back to my dealer. Right now today it’s been ok. I’ve been leaving it on a trickle charger but that shouldn’t need to happen since it’s summer and I drive car almost daily. Definitely a disappointment, my G63 always gives me low battery alerts in the app but I’ve never ever had an issue and that car sits for weeks sometimes.

 

Update:

MB offered a Buyback for our full purchase price. We have accepted and will likely order a 2025 SL 63 AMG. My research has us confident that later production cars have had way fewer serious issues.

fyi…we never had a starting problem with our SL.

 

MB did a complete purchase buyback of my '22 55 AMG. 1900 miles with a critical battery light issue. I was in the shop 5 times for a battery warning. The dealer provided trickle charges and said, "Problem solved". I said nope and I would have purchased an EV if I wanted to plug in a car to use. Simple process and painless buyback through Sedgewick. I'm looking for a '24 55 or 63 and will wait for a '25 as a backup plan.

 

If this problem persists, I’ll have to go that route this winter. Delivery of my car was 4/20/23 so I’ve got a little time for 2-year buyback in MN. Dang it. Hopefully they can come up with a fix. Has to be software or alternator defect.

 

Yes, but isn’t it ASTONISHING that the engineering JUGGERNAUT known as Mercedes-Benz has allowed this problem to continue from one model year to the next in various models? I mean just how much slack are we willing to cut these guys? This is absolutely ridiculous and totally unacceptable. The more cars they are forced to buyback, the clearer they will get the message.

 

Double click to lock the door and keep your key in a $13 Faraday box (any distance from car) per my post below.
I no longer need to use my trickle charger even if I don't drive the car for over a week.
Please report back to this thread whether or not it solves the problem as it did for me.

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...ery-drain.html

 

Make sure the dealer installs all the software updates. This has done it for many of us.

 

Hello, there was a new recall campaign that has not been released yet my dealer took car for entire day for updates. I also ordered two new front seats bottoms because the leather had a crease. Over $10k for those, it’s covered under warranty. Besides that I’ll post the service list if the updates worked they just got. This issue is definitely within the computer and something not turning off as it should. I also had an odd issue with HUD display not adjusting. Few days ago it worked fine then yesterday th HUD went missing below dash. Thinking it was an adjustment error in settings it was not. They adjusted something internally. Was very strange. Comparing my HUD for 2022 to a 2023 floor model they had was very different.

 

I had the exact same thing with my HUD the past two weeks. It disappeared from view. I used the settings but no luck. Then about four days ago I could see part of it at the bottom of the windshield. The next day more was visible. I left the settings at the highest for the height. Two days ago it rose some more to the middle of the range. Yesterday it was at the top so I had to use the settings to lower the height. It was strange, but I’m glad to have the hud again.

As far as the battery, the last set of software updates (3rd set over 3 visits) seem to be working. No messages on or off the trickle charger, or with the car locked or unlocked.

 

Below is the actual service bulletin released in May 2024, my car is undergoing this right now, I will update if this has any positive impact. In addition, the fan timer service bulletin is on the list too..

 

FWIW, I've come to the conclusion that the only thing you really need to do to protect the battery is keep the keys far enough away (or in a Faraday box). I recently moved and after putting the keys in a new location closer to the car than they were in my old home, I got the warning via the app that the starter battery was critically low. I hadn't seen that warning in over a year. I now keep the keys in my nightstand drawer and no more warnings. YMMV.

The car seems so controversial in so many ways, but for me it continues to be an excellent choice.

 

Tsair, any update on service bulletin regarding battery drain due to key fobs?