gmdebruyn

Guys,

I just wanted to thank everyone for helping me research and learn about my car before I picked it up from the dealer, and after I've had it now for just over 3 months.

This post is a collection of all the little things the dealer doesn't tell you, along with some easy straightforward upgrades. Maybe it will save some people some time. The content of this post was copied/summarized from various posts by various authors. They should get all the credit for their valuable information.

Please feel free to add to the list. If there are any corrections to what I posted (I'm pretty certain everything is correct), please PM me and I'll correct it in this post so any new user sees the correct version.

Cheers,
Gareth

1. TUNNEL MODE
   Depress the recirculate air button on the command and hold it down. All windows/sunroof will close all at the same time. When you hold it down again, they will all open to the same point as they were open to before.
   -
2. AMG STARTUP SCREEN (3-5-7 trick)
   AMG startup screen setup instructions
   (see below for picture)
   A. Turn on the COMAND and select CD
   B. Press and hold the "5" first then press and hold "3" and "7" -- all at the same time for about three seconds
   C. This opens a menu with keyboard choices. Scroll down to the AMG and select
   D. Press "Back" to the main menu
   E. Turn off the COMAND
   F. Turn off your car for at least five minutes, so that the change takes effect
   (You may have to do these steps several times. It took me two times.)
   -
3. BRITISH ACCENT NAVIGATION VOICE
   Through this modification, you can change temporarily (no one has posted how to make it stick) the accent of your command voice. I've set it to Italian (changes language) and to the British English setting for a British accent.
   How to change the accent/language of your Navigation
   -
4. UPGRADED PEDALS
   The E55 comes with boring regular rubber pedals. A very economical upgrade is to replace the pedals from the SL and SLK series. See below for pics. The part numbers you will need to order from the dealership are:
   A. # 1-170-300-01-04 PEDAL
   B. # 1-170-290-01-82 PAD
   C. # 1-230-430-00-84 PAD
   Picture of Pedals
   -
5. DVD PLAYER IN COMMAND (data, not video, for mp3's)
   Apparently (I have not had success yet), some of the 05 US spec commands have a DVD ROM drive in the single slot. It does not have a video processor so it cannot play movies. But, since the single slot command plays mp3's, you can burn DVD MP3 disks here and play thousands of songs. See below for a link. This topic has quite a few threads on it and I'm hoping to find some time where I can figure out exactly what the recipe is for burning the DVD in the right format.
   DVD MP3 Information (how to burn)
   -
6. RADAR DETECTOR(s)
   I had a Valentine One installed (hardwired) in my car. The unit is on the driver's side, attached to the windshield via suction cups and is very unobtrusive. I've detected radar up to 2 miles away (line of sight, no obstructions (highway 5 driving)). Others will have to chime in about their favourite radar detector (some have the Escort ZR3 and others the K40). I have the concealed display in my ashtray so when I hear the beeping, I flip up the ashtray cover to see where it's coming from and how strong the signal is. Others have gone as far as having the concealed display installed inside their rear view mirror ($$$$).
   Valentine's Website
   Picture of rear view mirror concealed Display
   -
7. LASER JAMMER(s)
   There are 3 brands that people seem to be using. Blinder, Escort, and Lidatek. I personally have the Blinder M-40. I'll post pictures later of the install (2 transponders in front, 2 in the back). The Blinder and Lidatek websites are listed below. Information from others about what works and what does not is also included.
   Blinder USA
   Lidatek Laser Jammer
   Location of Laser Jammer
   Laser Jammer Opinions
   -
8. FLAT EMBLEMS / HOOD PINS(AMG and MB) (see picture below)
   You can change out your hood pin really easily. See this link
   AMG / MB Hood Pin
   Picture of AMG emblem and car
   -
9. ILLUMINATED DOOR SILLS (OEM and 3rd party)
   Some of us have gotten the illuminated door sills. I bought and had the OEM ones installed ($$$$). Others have gone the 3rd party route. See below for a link regarding each (and pictures).
   Factory OEM Illuminated Door Sills
   Link to 3rd party Illuminated Sills
   Picture of 3rd party Illuminated Sills Installed
   -
10. THERMOTEC'ing AIR BOXES
    Some members have wrapped their airboxes in Thermotec tape. I'd ask that VRUS or MARCUS_FROST pipe in on the benefits of this. See link below on more information on how to do it.
    Thermotec your airboxes
    -
11. EXTENDED WARRANTY
    You can order your extended warranty before you get the car or after you have it. But you can get it from any dealership, since it's honoured by Mercedes USA. Here's a helpful link about negotiating price and what others have encountered.
    E55 Extended Warranty Prices and Information
    -
12. FOLDING SIDE MIRRORS
    The US S class has folding side mirrors. These can be added to the E55. See this link for pictures/videos/how to install. I had mine installed by Steve. Great addition to the car!
    Information about Folding Side Mirrors
    -
13. UPGRADED STEERING WHEEL
    See link for pictures and information
    Upgraded E55 Steering Wheel
    -
14. EUROPEAN BUMPER STRIPS
    Available through SteveNL
    www.mbenznl.com . Easy install to do yourself. (see image below)
    -
15. KEY COMMANDS (SUMMER MODE AND CLOSE WINDOWS)
    If you hold down the lock button (near driver side door) as you exit, all the windows/etc will close.
    If you hold down the unlock button when you go back to your car (near the driver side door), the A/C will turn on as well as the ventilated seats (if you have them).
    -
16. EURO COMMAND
    Again, available through SteveNL. Check his website for details (see above). Allows for playing DVD movies in your car plus other features.
    -
17. IPOD
    IPOD for Mercedes
    April release, talk to your parts guy at your dealership for more information on availability and getting on a "wait list" if they have one.
    -
18. BLUETOOTH PHONE SYSTEM
    The current phone system has a phone which is bluetooth capable. But the command is not programmed to make the car bluetooth capable. For example, you CANNOT bring your phone into the car, have the car discover your phone, and then (1) import your address list into the command, and (2) have all the calls to the phone route through your command. There are many rumours on this topic, but we're (or at least I) am crossing our fingers that this becomes available.

xraymd

Well thanks for putting everything in one place! This will be helpful for the new guys as well as the ones who have been around awhile.

X55

Awesome post - this should be sticky'd

AMG BLISS

Thank you for doing the research and posting. This will help everyone especially new or soon to be E55 owners. X55 is right... this thread should be stickied.

I have two months or so before mine comes in.

BklynMarc

I agree! Make it stick! Great post, Gareth.

AMGPARTS18

Becareful in changing any setting with your command!! There was a recent service bulletin made available to dealerships that if any of these settings are changed and causes any problems with a NAV that it will be a customer pay situation..

MBE55AMG

Thanks for the useful info, gmd! I just gave my COMAND the "AMG" logo update. Thanks!

Rock

Nice post!!!!! My kid is in my car as I type this, programing the AMG thingeeeee.

gmdebruyn

Thanks guys! If you find that I missed anything, please PM me or post and I'll add it to the top message.

DFW01E55

Well done Gareth.

zdkdeeier493

Great idea! Thanks for the post! I was thinking after I read this (although it is somewhat similar), what if we were to have a thread in which members can post certain features that the car includes that are seldomly used. For instance, when I found out how to use the REST feature, I thought it was a pretty cool gizmo or similarly, the A/C circulation/close window button. If theres anything else, feel free to add...

korveine

Great post. Thanks for taking the time to do this! I have like a gazillion bookmarks for these info, now I can clean it up and just reference this one!

adx

Informative post and should be made sticky.

EX-BEEMER

Awesome post GMD...I printed it out to start making my wish list!

Thanks man!

scorchie

Have you been able to burn a CD with MP3s on it that plays in the COMAND slot? Sometimes I burn CDs with all the right settings and they still won't play in the slot, but they do play in the CD changer. The same thing would occur had I used a DVD (except I would have wasted a lot more time).

If you have been successful with a CD and not a DVD, that would shed a little more light on your problem.

-s-

ekaz

Agree...make this a sticky! Great info and thanks for taking the time to put this all together.

gmdebruyn

Scorchie,

Yes, very successful and consistent with the MP3's on the CD. I've tried several permutations for the DVD, all with the "CD Error" message back. W/o opening up the command and looking at the unit, I've come to the conclusion that I'm one of the unlucky few who does not have a DVD drive in the command single slot. But then again, that's what the IPOD will be for next month.

I guess for those of you who have been successful with burning DVDs, it would be really helpful to know the exact successful "recipe". What type of DVD media did you use? What program did you use? Did you change any settings? What type of dvd did you burn (mp3 or data)? Just step by step in second grade english would be great. No detail should be left to be assumed.

Cheers,
Gareth

JAY55

Gareth, u are the man. I'm going to try some of these tricks when I get home. So far, I got the AMG intro to work (thanks BrklynMarc)!

laj_e55

thank you for this.
very helpful

Marcus Frost

I purchased a COMAND unit from a friend with an '05 E55 AMG. I simply made an ISO 9006 format data DVD using Nero 6. Laid out the directories, put in the mp3s, worked flawlessly the first time. No problems at all.

With a DVD mp3 disc, I haven't even needed to make any MP3 CDs. An MP3 DVD can theoretically hold around 1500 songs. That's plenty for me.

-m

gmdebruyn

Marcus,
if you wouldn't mind giving us the 2nd grade version of the instructions, it would be really helpful. what media format did you use (+R/-R/etc)? what program did you use to burn the DVD? step by step what you changed in the program settings to get the disc you created? did you use Joliet or not in addition to the ISO setting?
Thanks,
Gareth

tomk

When you hard wired your radar detector, where did you find a wire that is controlled by the key?

gmdebruyn

installers found it. overhead lighting wire. turns off a few seconds after the car turns off.

gmdebruyn

adding:

41 front tire pressure
36 back tire pressure

for better handling...

MHaynes772

Can we please make this a sticky!!