Mercedes Benz and AMG Owners

dlockers · 11 Dec 2020 at 19:15

Picked up the E43. Pulled over 20 minutes later by an unmarked BMW, lol. (flagged on tax and insurance database, honest).

Can anyone help with getting Android Auto setup? I am getting zero feedback despite being plugged into the correct port and having Bluetooth connected. I am going to try another (new) Anker USB A to C cable. Anyone had experience trouble shooting this?

Muska · 11 Dec 2020 at 22:09

Excellent write up @Gaygle glad to hear you're pleased with it!

Bear · 12 Dec 2020 at 08:22

dLockers said:
Picked up the E43. Pulled over 20 minutes later by an unmarked BMW, lol. (flagged on tax and insurance database, honest).

Can anyone help with getting Android Auto setup? I am getting zero feedback despite being plugged into the correct port and having Bluetooth connected. I am going to try another (new) Anker USB A to C cable. Anyone had experience trouble shooting this?

Mine just worked. I plugged it in to the USB port under the armrest with the phone icon on, started Android Auto. The car asks if you want to start Android Auto everytime you plug your phone in and job done. I think on cars with wireless charging the port was moved in front of the cup holder area where the cigarette lighter would be. I used the original Samsung usb lead that came with my s10, maybe that is your issue like you suggested. Only used it about 4 times in 2 years.

dlockers · 12 Dec 2020 at 13:23

Bear said:
Mine just worked. I plugged it in to the USB port under the armrest with the phone icon on, started Android Auto. The car asks if you want to start Android Auto everytime you plug your phone in and job done. I think on cars with wireless charging the port was moved in front of the cup holder area where the cigarette lighter would be. I used the original Samsung usb lead that came with my s10, maybe that is your issue like you suggested. Only used it about 4 times in 2 years.

The lead it was - I have the house wired up with USB Micro with adaptors to take it to USB C - seems the Mercedes is a lot more sensitive to it than the VW/SEAT system. A good quality A to C has solved it - works like a charm. Who would have thought with a box full of billions of USB cables, I'm here in 2020 buying more USB cables.

Android 11 was pushed over night so who knows if that helped contribute to solving the problem, too.

My use case is simply to "fail over" to if the inbuilt Nav is pants. It seems a lot more reasonable than earlier incarnates and the live map updates could make it a lot more useful than all of my previous cars attempts. It seems Castbox and Spotify are fairy well integrated into Android Auto too so who knows.

Unlike my friends C43 car play, you can still use the phone whilst connected which is a lot more useful than locking the phone off whilst it is plugged in!

Ahleckz · 16 Dec 2020 at 15:12

Eugh, I'm going round in circles here.

I think I'm set on a CLA AMG 35 Premium Shooting Brake. Now just need to pick the colour. The yellow looks amazing in the brochure, but I used to work at Renault and whilst the Renaultsport yellow was amazing their standard yellow was awful. Should I just be sensible and get it in grey? Anyone got a yellow Mercedes?

Obviously the dealer hasn't got a yellow one to see in the flesh.

Steedie · 16 Dec 2020 at 16:01

The yellow on the new A/CLA is fantastic, and it's definitely the colour I'd be going for if I was in the market for one.

leon4112 · 16 Dec 2020 at 16:25

Ahleckz said:
Eugh, I'm going round in circles here.

I think I'm set on a CLA AMG 35 Premium Shooting Brake. Now just need to pick the colour. The yellow looks amazing in the brochure, but I used to work at Renault and whilst the Renaultsport yellow was amazing their standard yellow was awful. Should I just be sensible and get it in grey? Anyone got a yellow Mercedes?

Obviously the dealer hasn't got a yellow one to see in the flesh.

I would defently go for yellow i test drove a cla 35 in yellow and with the aero pack is stunning! in the end i got a CLA 250E as hybrids with BIK is so much less and they don't let you have yellow so got boring black

Robbo · 16 Dec 2020 at 16:54

Steedie said:
The yellow on the new A/CLA is fantastic, and it's definitely the colour I'd be going for if I was in the market for one.

Same.

Gaygle · 16 Dec 2020 at 18:02

Ahleckz said:
Eugh, I'm going round in circles here.

I think I'm set on a CLA AMG 35 Premium Shooting Brake. Now just need to pick the colour. The yellow looks amazing in the brochure, but I used to work at Renault and whilst the Renaultsport yellow was amazing their standard yellow was awful. Should I just be sensible and get it in grey? Anyone got a yellow Mercedes?

Obviously the dealer hasn't got a yellow one to see in the flesh.

Just looked at the colours available and they are the typical old school boring Merc colours - grey, black and white. The sun yellow is the only interesting colour they do. The Patagonia red looks alright in th pictures.

Shame they don't do that lovely metallic blue/red they do on the C Class Coupes.

Gaygle · 16 Dec 2020 at 19:25

First proper clean! Stayed this way for about 32 seconds - damn winter.

Muska · 16 Dec 2020 at 19:57

Top work there. Like you say, a shame it's filthy again after the first journey.

I'd be interested to know how you get on with the 19" wheels as I'm tempted to purchase a set next year.

bazzabear · 16 Dec 2020 at 20:09

General wisdom with the C63 is that if you want 19s you're better going aftermarket. The Merc ones are very fragile.

Martynt74 · 17 Dec 2020 at 13:33

Has anyone suffered any issue with Apple Carplay?

As mentioned, my mother in laws just bought a 2019 GLA, we tried carplay before buying and it worked fine on my phone. She picked the car up yesterday and has brought it round as the screen is really scrambled. It also does it now on my phone.

From a search online it seems this is a bug and the fix is a bit hit and miss and temporary, with some people saying it fixes it by restarting the phone and others saying it doesn't. The issue is she's almost 70 and doesn't want to always be messing around reseting things. You just want it to work. The car also doesn't have Satnav built in, but this wasn't an issue on the assumption she could use google maps on her phone.

https://mbworld.org/forums/glc-class-x253/739555-anyone-having-recent-carplay-problems.html

Anyone else had this and had it fixed by Mercedes and if not, what are the chances of rejecting the car on this basis as she'd rather look elsewhere for one with built in Nav.

Homer-Simpson · 17 Dec 2020 at 15:49

Marvt74 said:
Has anyone suffered any issue with Apple Carplay?

As mentioned, my mother in laws just bought a 2019 GLA, we tried carplay before buying and it worked fine on my phone. She picked the car up yesterday and has brought it round as the screen is really scrambled. It also does it now on my phone.

From a search online it seems this is a bug and the fix is a bit hit and miss and temporary, with some people saying it fixes it by restarting the phone and others saying it doesn't. The issue is she's almost 70 and doesn't want to always be messing around reseting things. You just want it to work. The car also doesn't have Satnav built in, but this wasn't an issue on the assumption she could use google maps on her phone.

https://mbworld.org/forums/glc-class-x253/739555-anyone-having-recent-carplay-problems.html

Anyone else had this and had it fixed by Mercedes and if not, what are the chances of rejecting the car on this basis as she'd rather look elsewhere for one with built in Nav.

No issues like that for me (2019 C63s), I've got multiple iPhones that I connect to it and none are showing this issue. I'd be asking the dealer to check for firmware updates to the headunit (make sure it's clear you want firmware updates and not a map update).

Martynt74 · 17 Dec 2020 at 15:57

Homer-Simpson said:
No issues like that for me (2019 C63s), I've got multiple iPhones that I connect to it and none are showing this issue. I'd be asking the dealer to check for firmware updates to the headunit (make sure it's clear you want firmware updates and not a map update).

Cheers, i've done a hard reset of her phone as per that thread and it seems to be working at the minute. Will get her to keep an eye on it as some people suggest that fixes it for them.

Mercedes said they'd book it in with a technician but couldn't see anything on the system re: updates

Uncle_Gravy · 20 Dec 2020 at 17:26

What's the story with the Balance shaft for the R171 SLK350? My uncle is looking to sell his 54 plate SLK350 which i'm kinda interested in, but after a quick google and seeing some engine breaking stuff and with the car on 90K+ miles its now putting me off, is there a way for me to check if his car has ever been rectified of that issue?

Ahleckz · 22 Dec 2020 at 12:10

Couldn't bring myself to order a yellow car, so just put in an order for a grey CLA 35 Premium Shooting Brake. Hopefully delivery date coincides with border openings so I can go for a nice road trip in it.

Cutler · 22 Dec 2020 at 13:11

Uncle_Gravy said:
What's the story with the Balance shaft for the R171 SLK350? My uncle is looking to sell his 54 plate SLK350 which i'm kinda interested in, but after a quick google and seeing some engine breaking stuff and with the car on 90K+ miles its now putting me off, is there a way for me to check if his car has ever been rectified of that issue?

Have a look on SLK World in the R171 General Discussion where you find at the top of the page a sticky thread which will tell you what the problem is and the serial numbers of the engines affected. Not all engines in the range will have the problem and at 90k it is probably ok but if you are in any doubt or cannot confirm the problem has been rectified then don’t buy.

Another thing to look at is the condition of the rear sub-frame. These are prone to corrosion and can suddenly let go - especially if the car has been driven all year round. As there are under trays fitted, the problem may not be picked up in a MOT test.

Uncle_Gravy · 22 Dec 2020 at 13:50

Cheers for that.

Cavallino · 31 Dec 2020 at 20:26

Folks... I have a C300 and amateur question about the cigarette lighter socket in the front of the car.
It says "12v/0.15A" Does this mean if I plug a Cigaratte adaptor for USB charging that exceeds 0.15A, its going to go pop?

Also I noticed that the fuse for the cigarette lighter has infact "gone" already.
It is a 15a fuse it seems but its labelled "15s".

Reading up on some forums, it seems this is something to do with silver plating?

Question is where to get these without having to go to the dealership...
Or am I ok using bog standard 15a fuses that I could get from halfords and the like....

The manual does say that fuses in the engine compartment and the boot (where the cigarette lighter fuse is located) should be replaced with the "s" variant.

Would appreciate the insights of OCUKs seasoned and experiences Mercedes drivers. Thank you!