Software Update - 'Just like a laptop'

[marfthew]

Hi Mat,

I know this post was from last year but I’ve just experienced the identical problem with the tailgate and sliding door not working either.

Once you had the ABS sensors replaced did the problem ever come back again or did that sort it for good?

thanks,

matt

 

[Nilanjan]

Hi Mat,

I exactly had similar problems while on my holidays in Norway, now in June 2022, above arctic circle, from Belgium(my home country). Few days before my trip started my MP recovered from a crushed front due to a frontal crash with a deer. A week after recovery we started our 8000km round trip vacation.
I am a new member here and just noticed your post. I went to nearest available MB garage in Norway and they repaired/changed my ABS sensor( now I realize the initial repairing MB garage in Belgium forgot to update /upgrade software) then I paid around 600 euro immediately to the MB dealer in Norway as total cost; actually I paid now extra after the 2nd repair. I have also strange skreeking noise and still unpredictable ABS warnings, as Nowegian MB dealer above arctic circle only keep us mobile during our vacation.
I am attaching all the similar photos and the video.
Regards
Nilanjan

 

[Nilanjan]

Furthermore here is the video / audio of skreeking sound . Not a brake issue… does any one have experience with this issue?
Nilanjan

 

[Explorer]

Having similar problems with the ABS and PRE-SAFE messages. This happened same time as the map function stopped working properly.
The Mercedes workshop wants to exchange the brake discs before even searching for other problems with the sensors. (After 16000 km)
Not hearing any sound anomalies though.

 

[Mat-One-T]

Hi Mat,

I know this post was from last year but I’ve just experienced the identical problem with the tailgate and sliding door not working either.

Once you had the ABS sensors replaced did the problem ever come back again or did that sort it for good?

thanks,

matt

Hi Matt,

Fingers crossed, but it's been fine ever since.

Thanks,

Mat

 

[PeteS]

It is worth taking out the Mercedes Warranty. There are so many bits that could go wrong all of them expensive. I have had 3 exhaust sensors ( there are only 2 on a V class) fitted within 7 months all covered.
Worth the piece of mind I think it was £700 for 2 years.

 

[Steve B]

It is worth taking out the Mercedes Warranty. There are so many bits that could go wrong all of them expensive. I have had 3 exhaust sensors ( there are only 2 on a V class) fitted within 7 months all covered.
Worth the piece of mind I think it was £700 for 2 years.

I've put it in a recent post, but agree, there seems so much to go wrong on the 'car' parts of the MP, and everything costs so much more now. I've got the extended warranty, first time in 30+ years to take one out on anything.

 

[JulieG]

I have had the Pre-safe and ABS warnings twice in the past year. On both occasions replacing the sensor resolved the issue.

 

[JulieG]

The van does about 5K miles each year

 

[Jarmany]

We too are experiencing ABS and pre safe warning signals. We are experiencing slight power steering loss and cruise control inoperable. Can’t work out if it is software or sensors or both. Any comments please.

 

[Explorer]

We too are experiencing ABS and pre safe warning signals. We are experiencing slight power steering loss and cruise control inoperable. Can’t work out if it is software or sensors or both. Any comments please.

In my case it was a rotation sensor fault on one of the wheels. Pity that the manual and display feedback cannot give more precise information.

 

[PeteS]

The tailgate on my V Class lowered itself and then just powered back up. It was if the tailgate was sensing it was trapping something.
Mercedes took the car in and replaced the Lock, Motor and then the Door ECU. Apparent the Door ECU controls the doors and the Tailgate. They did say that if it was the wiring then that would not be covered. It took a week to sort out but the Mercedes Assistance sorted out a car for me.
I asked what it would cost without the warranty and was told about £1500.
What surprised me was that three items all failed at the same time.

 

[PeteS]

I agree that it is not what you would expect from Mercedes. The warranty claim in France is normal. You have to settle the bill and keep all the paperwork and receipts, then claim the money back in the UK. I think VW use a similar process.
The reason why the Mercedes Dealer did not change both sensors is that unless they can prove it is faulty at the time then they won’t be paid for it under the warranty.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday.

 

[Mat-One-T]

I agree that it is not what you would expect from Mercedes. The warranty claim in France is normal. You have to settle the bill and keep all the paperwork and receipts, then claim the money back in the UK. I think VW use a similar process.
The reason why the Mercedes Dealer did not change both sensors is that unless they can prove it is faulty at the time then they won’t be paid for it under the warranty.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday.

When I had the issue whilst on holiday in Ireland they recommended replacing both sensors, even though one was faulty, and the extended warranty covered it. This was in August 2021, so there may have been a policy change since then, but would be worth checking if this crops up for anyone else.

Thanks, Mat.

 

[Jarmany]

Our story for our 2019 Marco Polo 250D. I feel we have got off lightly! We had the same error messages of ABS and brake lights up on the dashboard. inoperative cruise control, slight power steering loss and occasional unwarranted acceleration blips. After all, everything ends up at the ECU!
We put up with this intermittent behavior for trips to Yorkshire and France (we live down south), careful all the while for the inherent implied braking issues.
We do not have extended warranty so booked it in to our local tier1 Bosch garage who we trust and who replaced the rear ABS sensor at normal cost and so far, touch wood, all seems to be working as it should. I guess until the next sensor goes I suppose.
Under 3yr warranty we have had a new roof, replacement leisure battery and various small issues.All the usual complaints.....

 

[Rolandaa]

Hi Epigram,

I'll start another thread for the tailgate release, as this may have a wider audience. It was only the tailgate that would not open at all, which was particularly inconvenient as we have two large storage containers beneath the bed extension. The sliding door could be opened (with effort as there was no motor assist), the upper tailgate door would open (access to top of bed extension), and both front doors operated normally. The doors unlocked, so this system does not seem to get a speed signal from the ABS computer. Picture of dash warning message below:

Thanks, Mat.

Really interesting....

 

[GTL]

I've had the same experience of having the dash warning of loss of ABS, ESP, weird steering feel and bonkers SatNav. I hadn't noticed anything wrong with the doors opening but may have missed this. It happens on a long motorway journey after about 300 miles. Then after a day or so it all returns to normal. The first time it happened I contacted my nearest dealer, MB Truro, and the guy in the service department said "wait for it to happen again and then call MB breakdown"!!!! So it did happen again and MB sent out the RAC. The chap did a diagnostics check and told me the front offside speed sensor was the problem and he could replace it but would have to order the part. I don't know if that is the same as an ABS sensor? Unfortunately we had to leave to go home the next day and couldn't use him. However a few weeks later, yesterday, I took the Marco Polo in for a service and MOT (at a non MB place – Marc Autocare) and asked the garage to fit a replacement speed sensor which they did for about £160 parts and labour. I shall discover in due course if that has done the trick and the problem has gone away.

Don't get me onto the subject of MB Truro trying to solve my problems with the roof alarms going off all the time – the high-pitched one from the centre control panel, and the loud one from under the fridge (I can "cure" the latter one by turning off the auto engine stop so that the alarm doesn't start up every time after the vehicle comes to a halt with the engine running). The vehicle's been in about 5 times and the problem returns each time after they "fix" it. They have, allegedly replaced the leisure battery, the centre console control, the hydraulic struts on the roof, the closing sensors, water pump and each time the problem returns after a couple of weeks. They have now said that as the van is out of warranty they will charge for any additional work. We're moving to Lancashire in a couple of months and I shall ask around up there to see if anyone can fix it.. In the meantime if anyone has a definitive solution to this please let me know – it's driving me and my wife crazy.

 

[Ukulady]

Very grateful for this threat Mat. We are just going through the exact same problem as yourself! I think we will just get all sensors changed once we get home again from holiday. Many many thanks

 

[Rob & Sandra]

Just jumping in Steve, please keep in mind that the extended warranty only covers the vehicle components, not the habitation side of the MP (although they do not mention this anywhere in my documentation)
I have found it to be good value as my powered door motor has just burnt out and is being replaced under extended warranty for example.

So you buy extended warranty for a Mercedes built “MarcoPolo” which is obviously Mercedes supplied ‘Habitation’ (Bear in mind also Mercedes now own Westfalia) Crazy..

If the warranty you bought is just V220/300 could understand then trying to not pay up… ??

My dealing with Mercedes Main Dealer historically used to great, now it’s is a complete rip off.
“Computa says no…”. £250 to plug a code reader to tell me same fault that I’d told them about via My Carly ! - £420 for new key including an hour labour to code the key (which I moaned about and they took off) I’m Done with it.

I’ve used The MBCentre Nottingham for the last 5 years or more for our other Mercs…. Great bunch ex BKThomas MB staff.

 

[Crispin]

Hi All,

During a recent trip I was travelling on cruise control on the motorway when the speed started varying slightly, then the ABS and traction control lights came on, cruise control disengaged, and a message warned me that some of the safety functions wouldn't work. The satnav also seemed to get very confused, and couldn't tell which direction we were going in. There was no way of clearing the message off the dash information screen. We weren't far from our overnight, so just carried on.

Once we stopped for the night we discovered the side door would open, but was not powered, and the tailgate would not open at all (although the upper door would open). I checked some forums, pulled some fuses, and managed to get something to reset, and unlatched the tailgate (still not powered). The next day we carried on (bank holiday Monday, so no nearby MB dealerships open!), and after about 15 minutes the ABS fault cleared and we could cruise once more. 45 minutes later the ABS light came on as before. When we got home the doors still didn't work, and ABS light was on.

I booked it into the local dealership, and told them I had extended warranty. The said I'd need to pre-authorise an hour of labour in case it wasn't covered, which is fair enough. The phoned me later that day to say they'd fixed the fault with a 'software update', and it was covered by the warranty.

When I picked my MP up I asked if they could give me a bit more information, as it was 3.5 years old, and the extended warranty was due to run out in a few months, and I didn't want a recurring fault. They told me that cars these days are 'just like a laptop' and need software updates. The difference to me is that I don't need to pay when I update Windows, and at £150 per hour labour I'd be pretty unimpressed at needing to do regular updates to fix what are essentially software bugs. My other concern is that there's a control module or sensor about to fail, and they've just increased the fault tolerance on it.

So I guess my question to the forum is: Has anyone had a 'software fault' out of warranty and either had to pay for it, or got it for free?

Thanks, Mat.

Dear Matt

had exactly the same on 2018 AMG 250d MP in France. First time French dealer replaced NSR wheel sensor fixed the loss of gear changing/ABS lights/ plus various then got back to UK then the driver side OSR went.... causing exactly as you have explained above ( Crazy) anyway its the wheel ABS sensors I guess you have to use OME parts... but fixes this issue good luck!
The only other thing which sometimes fails is the Command Nav screen - mine was a faulty corrupt map file but fixed by a good firm south london if you ever need.