[Closed] Merc E Class - Issues + Merc Ownership Grumbles

Problems with a Merc? Paging @molgrips...

Sounds worse than my Qashqai and i really don't like my QQ.

It's bloody shiny though. Has weekend riding gone down/Turtle Wax consumption gone up recently?

Hello.

Crashy over potholes is because like most Mercs seem to be yours was specced with the AMG Sport pack which gives you ridiculous low profile tyres. I've bought some 18" wheels for mine which should help a lot. I haven't got round to forking out for tyres for them yet so they are still in the garage. The used market for wheels is pretty turgid but I have a good source, PM me if you want.

Finally ergonomics are shocking

I haven't had any of the problems you mention, but the great ergonomics is one of the things I actually like about my car. The only weirdness is the tiny buttons that have NAV TEL RADIO etc on them on the far side of the centre console. Much too small, but I think that your car has a different setup..?

Have you considered if the battery is actually faulty? There are probably two - a li-ion one likely in the boot and an AGM lead acid starter one under the bonnet.

EDIT Apparently the door thing is a well known issue and they updated the hinges on 2018 and later. You can maybe get them changed but not for free.

Do you wanna swap? They stay open on mine 🙂

Crashy over potholes is because like most Mercs seem to be yours was specced with the AMG Sport pack which gives you ridiculous low profile tyres

Nah they are less low profile than my previous BMW, it actually feels like poor engineering as opposed to shock coming through a low profile tyre, its not that kind of feeling

The only weirdness is the tiny buttons that have NAV TEL RADIO etc on them on the far side of the centre console. Much too small, but I think that your car has a different setup..?

Similar ish, but now big buttons. Its daft things that for the passenger to change the stereo volume they have to lean over to the drivers side over the central control pad thing to change the volume. The driver already has volume control on the steering wheel.

You cant turn sat nav voice guidance off permanently, you have to do it every friggin time you start a new journey.

Changing tracks or radio stations involves multiple clicks, there are no straight 'up/down' buttons.

The touch pad obscures the touch wheel, try and use the touch wheel and you end up pressing doing something else on the touch pad by accident.

Oh and the whole info system is slow to react.

Oh and then start/stop on the engine. The engine has never ever cut out at traffic lights etc, not once.

EDIT Apparently the door thing is a well known issue and they updated the hinges on 2018 and later. You can maybe get them changed but not for free.

The car is a mid 2019. The hinges appear to be a sealed circular unit, not like anything I have seen on any other car

The engine has never ever cut out at traffic lights etc, not once.

If it thinks the battery is faulty then the conditions for activating start/stop will not be met.

I have the previous model on a 15 plate and have had only 1 issue which is the boot closure, other than that it has been the best car I have ever owned. My mate had the same model as you and had it back to Merc around 11 times in one year for various electrical issues on windows, seats, door locks etc. In the end he lost patience with the car and the customer service associated with it. At a financial loss to him he changed to a new C-class which for the first 6 months seemed great, now he is seeing electrical issues such as the alarm going off as he is driving, or when it is stood on the drive at 3am. And a number of other issues with warning lights etc. He isn't a happy bunny, and his experience has probably meant that when I eventually kill mine I won't go back to a Merc.

Double post edit weirdness...

The AMG sport pack also comes with sport suspension which might be the issue. Also, old shocks can get much less supple but that's not going to be the issue on a 2019.

Its daft things that for the passenger to change the stereo volume they have to lean over to the drivers side over the central control pad thing to change the volume.

Very common, IME, because they're designed for LHD cars of course and whilst they swap the big things over the smaller ones tend to get forgotten.

Re start-stop - mine worked perfectly all summer and in the winter it has hardly stopped at all. Seems like they are quite strict about the operating conditions.

I do have track up/down buttons in the middle of the console next to the on-off button*, but I also have the numeric phone keypad and when in radio mode the number buttons select your favourite stations.

* which is useless, because it's not radio on/off, or even screen on/off, it turns off the entire system including nav and the bluetooth phone connection and everything. Pretty pointless thing to have attached to the big friendly button right in the middle of the display.

Oh yes, stop/start I had an issue with that after 3yrs and it was fixed as soon as the battery was changed. Seems to be working less often at the moment but as Molgrips states it is probably the inconsistent weather temps

I've got a S213 Merc too. The front doors - unless you push them to the full stops do swing back when you are parked up hill. My wife compplains about this a bit but I have other cars that are much harder to get into / out of than the Merc so it never bothers me. I can see if you have little kids it might be a concern.

Stop/start not working? Sounds like you need to recharge your battery fully. It should stop/start after a while but I find that (and we don't use the Merc much since if CV19 WFH) it needs an occasional battery charge if left for more than a week in the depth of winter. It's definitely the worst car I've had for this.

I just the voice activation for setting radio channels and moving radio/nav etc... I find it's the best I've had yet in a car.

If you dont want the nav voice on when you are using sat nav (although I always have it on), turn the volume right down when the voice is speaking and this will keep it permanently very low/no voice.

Yours is on 19inch. I find the ride fine on them. A bit more crashy on my summer wheels 20" and 30profile tyres.

Overall sounds like you should have stuck to BMW!

I just the voice activation for setting radio channels and moving radio/nav etc… I find it’s the best I’ve had yet in a car.

Ah yes, despite mine being old, and my newer car being all internet enabled and the like, the best thing about the Merc's voice activation is that when you press the button it shows you the list of stuff it's expecting you to say on the screen. This is incredibly useful - on the Hyundai it says nothing and I tried for ages to get it to route me to a postcode without success. I had to pull over and consult the manual. Why should I be expected to memorise all the voice prompts on every screen?

turn the volume right down when the voice is speaking and this will keep it permanently very low/no voice

Or press mute when she's speaking. But I think he's complaining that it always comes back on when he does another route.

I did read something about the battery being kept at 70% under some conditions and the start/stop requiring charge of 80%, but I can't find it again. But if you have a fault code re the battery this is almost certainly it.

Re the ride - do you have airmatic?

Stop/start will have to meet several criteria before functioning.
If your battery is a bit iffy, then it probably won't ever come on.
As well as battery charge state, it also looks at things like cabin temp, so on shorter journeys it might not operate if you are asking for 21deg c and the cabin is only at 15. It will prioritise climate control over stop/start.

Suspension. Maybe it needed a longer test drive?
I used to go over to Germany a lot and found the E-Class taxis very comfortable, but they probably have better roads, I guess.

The door thing sounds annoying. My Wife's Ibiza has two 'stops' for the doors...."too narrow to get out of" or "smack the car next to you" which is a pain as they are very long doors (3 door car).

Hit mute and the voice comes back on next time you use the Sat Nav. Turn the volume down and it remembers that next time you use it.

If there aren't pictures of it partially dismantled in the driveway by Monday then Molly will have failed

Hit mute and the voice comes back on next time you use the Sat Nav. Turn the volume down and it remembers that next time you use it.

Yes it turns it down, but not off. If you dont have the radio on etc you can still heart it... that is one of the good things about the car, its incredibly quiet at motorway speeds

Better wheels suited to UK roads and conditions will make a great difference to ride quality and potholes. There's barely any sidewall on those things, they are for a race track

Obvious but presume the suspension is in comfort mode?

Better wheels suited to UK roads and conditions will make a great difference to ride quality and potholes.

This.

Night and day when I drove back to back a V70 r-design on 19" and rubber bands and the V70 17" wheels on the car we ended up buying. 2" extra sidewall depth is really noticeable.

Re' the battery warning. Try charging using the ports under the bonnet. If the battery is charged directly (which someone might of done) the car will not know this and continue to display the message.

Better wheels suited to UK roads and conditions will make a great difference to ride quality and potholes. There’s barely any sidewall on those things, they are for a race track

Obvious but presume the suspension is in comfort mode?

Front of the car is springs, rear is air, and it is not adjustable suspension ie between Comfort, Sport etc although the rear does rise dependant on weight.

Ride quality is absolutely fine, better than my BMW was in many ways, the low profile tyres on BMW certainly let you feel every bump. The Merc is kind of very refined over 99% of stuff but then that 1% it just almost gives up and cant cope and is completely un refined. It was mentioned on a few of the reviews I watched on youtube before buying.

Its like when you drive a poorly screwed together soft top car, the engineering just isnt there. Thats what it feels like that 1% and not what you expect from a premium so called well engineered car.

Re’ the battery warning. Try charging using the ports under the bonnet. If the battery is charged directly (which someone might of done) the car will not know this and continue to display the message.

Its booked in with Mercedes for them to look at the battery and repair the faulty electric seat. Nearest date they could do though was a month from now. If it stops working I will just get the Merc road side people out. I am not buying a charger when I have recently spent shed loads of money on what should be a reliable car

I guess at the moment I am just underwhelmed by Mercedes Ownership. The car does have some very strong points, its so easy to drive long distances in, especially with it having self driving, and the refinement on the whole is spectacular. But I am likening it more to the Ford Mondeo I used to have in terms of quality and engineering, certainly as a complete package it is not there with BMW's I have owned in terms of the car or customer services

Does yours have a sunglasses holder?

Crashy over potholes is because like most Mercs seem to be yours was specced with the AMG Sport pack which gives you ridiculous low profile tyres.

GLC 220D I had was the best riding Merc I've ever had. Next car was a GLC 220D AMG and yes the ride was nowhere near as good and the handling wasn't really significantly better so I agree AMG treatment can spoil ride quality.

I've owned/leased about 7 Mercs over the years and never had any problems with them. Even the C250D we had for 110,000k, apart from one section of rusty brake pipe, only had to have the normal wear and consumable items attended to. Those Mercs were also interspersed with BMWs and tbh I always found the build quality about the same as the Mercs.

Mind you did have a test drive of an E Class estate once and hated the ride- couldn't wait to get back into our C Class. Can't remember if it was an AMG though

I think the suspension on mine is actually pretty supple despite being low, it seems to have progressive springs. The issue is the tyres being too low profile. So on lumpy terrain it's not bad if not exactly plush; it's things with edges that are the problem.

Mind you it handles brilliantly, so there's that.

GLC 220D I had was the best riding Merc I’ve ever had. Next car was a GLC 220D AMG and yes the ride was nowhere near as good and the handling wasn’t really significantly better so I agree AMG treatment can spoil ride quality.

I have the GLC 300d AMG and I am quite happy with the ride - certainly better than the A6 Avant S-Line I had and far less agricultural than my last car - an XC60. If only the dealership could stop the fricking squeaking coming from the steering wheel (ohh, and stop lying about when they looked at it - I have the app and know when you unlocked and moved the car you morons) then all would be good. I'd go as far as saying it's the nicest car I have owned.

Any other Merc owners have the side of the seat squeaking against the centre console? I'm going to have to make a bodge for this, it's really annoying,

I’m going to have to make a bodge for this

It must involve completely removing the centre console and half the interior Shirley? 😀

X2 E Class estates since 2008. Had the 2006 220D for 210k miles and was bullet proof, didn’t blink ever and looked like new inside the day we sold it despite the mileage and three children. The current 2013 220D is not as well built with a few rattles, dodgy handbrake release and more wear inside already at 110k but still pretty solid and a great, comfortable long hauler. Really massive load carrier with completely flat loading bay with seats down - just about squeezed a whole 4 seat sofa in with the boot closed recently.
Know what you are saying about the flappy doors unless fully open and they are very heavy parked up a hill but never really been a big issue. I’ve had the smaller battery replaced under warranty when it was 2 years old but the current ones been in since without problem. The engine doesn’t cut if the car is drawing lots of power eg when it’s cold or air con is working hard. Agree Mercedes customer service is terrible and I avoid at all costs - mine go off to the local independent Merc specialist instead for the likes of the infrequent service and autobox oil change.

It can take upwards of five hours of motorway driving to top off the starter battery for stop/start (it won't recharge enough during town driving) so you might want to chuck a battery charger on it overnight.

There’s barely any sidewall on those things, they are for a race track

Even race cars have a higher sidewall profile than "sporty" road cars, it's purely aesthetic past a point.

Love my 2011 E class estate. I would have another one, excellent load carrying. Very quiet at speed. A bit harsh over potholes (just drive around them) Reading the Merc forums a lot of people have issues with the main dealers, I use a Merc Indy for all servicing, much cheaper and better service.

We've a 2019 GLA, and can say the Merc ownership experience is terrible. Crashy ride, and that's on the smaller base model alloys. My S2000 is better over speedbumps than this "SUV". The doors have clobbered my daughter's head on more than one occasion, I noticed it was a bit awkward, never thought to check whether it was a common problem!

Stealers are shockingly bad, I hate dealing with them. And wait until you get to service costs... £500+ for a B service. Never again.

It can take upwards of five hours of motorway driving to top off the starter battery for stop/start (it won’t recharge enough during town driving) so you might want to chuck a battery charger on it overnight

Who made the alternator, Sturmey Archer? That's a ridiculous amount of time.

Yeah, surely an alternator can supply 100A at least? The starter battery in my car is only an 95Ah one at most.

The only time recently the start-stop symbol went green and it stopped was after about 30 mins of motorway and I braked down a sliproad. Apparently the alternator is set up to recouperate extra energy when braking, so maybe it got the boost it needed.

I had a 68 plate S213 e200 AMG line for 3 years and agree with your experiences.

The doors were a pain, and would often close on you when exiting. Even our little Fiesta doesn’t do that, it positively “latches” in certain positions so you don’t get that!

Again, I often had the battery “Critical Charge” message, especially this time of year, and would have to trickle charge it or drive for 30 mins.

This model definitely suffers from parasitic drain by being constantly “connected”, plus the combination of frequent short journeys and using stop-start doesn’t help. I would often have it parked up for several days at a time, unused, then after about day 3 the message would come though.
Never happened to me in the summer months though, odd.

Also agree about the suspension. 99% of the time it was great, considering the weight of the car and size of the wheels.
But once in a while, you’d hit a mild pothole and it would be jarring, or an odd bump in the road and it felt like the whole back end would twitch sideways.
It was reported on some of the Merc forums and the consensus was that it was down to the rubber band like run-flats on 19” rims.

Other than that, it was a lovely car to own over 3 years, but has now been replaced with a Kia e-Niro. Also lovely but does come with a few of its own quirks!

Oh and watch out for the alloys. They are so soft that simply showing them a picture of a kerb will incur damage!

It will also eat tyres. I never got more than 10k from a set of the standard Pirelli Cinturato P7’s, which is fun when they are about £240 a pop.

Never happened to me in the summer months though, odd.

Battery voltages are always going to be lower in the cold.