Starter Battery Location

[Oslo]

Hi

For those of you who, like me, are confused which battery is the starter and which is the leisure I can confirm that the starter battery is under the passenger seat (UK) left side of the cabin as I look out of the windscreen. I had the need to change the starter battery whilst on site at the weekend. Only 60 miles after its latest MB service but that belongs in a separate thread.

The tailgate and side door had no power and the dash was displaying all sorts of crazy messages which left me worried for the journey home.

I called AA who charged £265 for the replacement Bosch battery who arrived within 4 hours at my pitch, I am not a member so got charged an additional £35 callout too.

Access is simple enough but there is a fuse panel that needs to be moved to one side with another cable pulled around the battery and a ventilation cable that needs to be fitted. It took the AA guy 90 minutes as it’s awkward but simple enough to tackle as a DIY’er.

I have to say I don’t like to overpay but I think when caught on site this service was very good and I was happy to pay the money when everything on the MP fired up with no warning signs.

Anyway, I was confused as to which battery was leisure and which was a starter as the manual contradicts itself so I thought I would share my small amount of knowledge.

Cheers Mike

 

[Graham K]

Thanks for the post. I know I had to scratch my head reading through the manual to be sure which was which when I changed the leisure battery and would have found a post like this very reassuring!

Glad the new starter battery sorted the Christmas tree of a dash out and all is now well.

Just an aside...

You mention this was a v short period after an MB service...was this a dealer service?

If so, that should have 'renewed' your Mobilo cover (Mercedes breakdown service) until the next service is due (2 yrs) and this is normally stated on the service sheet / bill (and in my case the dealer are always very happy to tell you directly as well as it is one of the few bonuses of using a dealer!).

Too late for this call out, but might save another charge or consideration of AA membership. On the few occasions I have had cause to use the service I have always been satisfied. In the UK this is delegated to RAC these days I think, but initial contact is with the MB centre and they do follow up during the call out and a few days later too.

Works in EU too as I found out when I got my glasses trapped in the electronically closed cubby box on the centre console of a W211 E class while in the depths of rural France! Long time ago now but I'm still blind as a bat (for driving at least!) so I was mighty glad to get my glasses back!.

Hope this helps on another occasion or in case others weren't aware of this really excellent benefit if you've had a dealer service.

 

[TheDon]

Hi

For those of you who, like me, are confused which battery is the starter and which is the leisure I can confirm that the starter battery is under the passenger seat (UK) left side of the cabin as I look out of the windscreen. I had the need to change the starter battery whilst on site at the weekend. Only 60 miles after its latest MB service but that belongs in a separate thread.

The tailgate and side door had no power and the dash was displaying all sorts of crazy messages which left me worried for the journey home.

I called AA who charged £265 for the replacement Bosch battery who arrived within 4 hours at my pitch, I am not a member so got charged an additional £35 callout too.

Access is simple enough but there is a fuse panel that needs to be moved to one side with another cable pulled around the battery and a ventilation cable that needs to be fitted. It took the AA guy 90 minutes as it’s awkward but simple enough to tackle as a DIY’er.

I have to say I don’t like to overpay but I think when caught on site this service was very good and I was happy to pay the money when everything on the MP fired up with no warning signs.

Anyway, I was confused as to which battery was leisure and which was a starter as the manual contradicts itself so I thought I would share my small amount of knowledge.

Cheers Mike

Hi Mike,

now I’m confused!!
I have just replaced my leisure battery and that’s under the passenger seat in mine 2017 model.
I paid £240 for Halfords own brand. So £265 for Bosch seems okay.
Are you aware that if Mercedes do your services then they give UK and Europe breakdown cover?
Enjoy your travels.
Steve

 

[Oslo]

Hi Both

Thank you both for the replies and answers.

I did have the service at an MB dealer and have the cover. I called them but they could only get me home with no battery replacement.

I was also quoted £525 for the battery so it seemed a bad choice. I’d also lost confidence if I am honest as a week earlier I asked for the battery to be looked at and they said it was OK I guess they checked the wrong one!

I didn’t need to join the AA but payed a one off £35.

All sorted now and thanks for all the replies.

Cheers Mike

 

[SteveB]

I had our Starter Battery replaced yesterday by the AA and can confirm that it is under the driver’s seat, as described in the manual. The battery on the passenger side is the Leisure battery which sits behind a row of fuses. The two batteries are identical. Hope this helps.

 

[Oslo]

Thanks Steve. My original post is incorrect and I’m sorry to all for any confusion. Despite calling the AA and having the battery replaced, they replaced the wrong one!

Much pain later as they took and disposed a perfectly working leisure battery I finally got my money back.

Anyway, thanks to SteveB for correcting this post.

 

[RDJ321]

Thanks Steve. My original post is incorrect and I’m sorry to all for any confusion. Despite calling the AA and having the battery replaced, they replaced the wrong one!

Much pain later as they took and disposed a perfectly working leisure battery I finally got my money back.

Anyway, thanks to SteveB for correcting this post.

Hi
Just to confirm,
Fixing the leisure battery fixed the issues?