Mercedes Me adaptor

[Ductman]

I received a text from MB yesterday offering the opportunity to have a Mercedes Me adaptor fitted to my 2012 C Class S204.

No idea of prices given in the text but before I reply to it, I was wondering just what ‘benefits’ and features this adaptor might give???

My inclination, at the moment, is to not bother but I’m always a sucker for a new gadget, so could be swayed.

One feature I would love to have although, given current U.K. laws, I’m not sure if it could be available, is remote starting of the car and switching on the heated seats. We’ve just spent a few days with our son who is living in Michigan at the moment and he was demonstrating this feature on his new Ford. It’s just brilliant the car remains locked but is toasty warm and all defrosted by the time you go out to it.

 

[Flyinspanner]

Got that for the 2001 A-Class.....

 

[ajlsl600]

remote starting.... be aware of the keyless go dramas and having yr car ropened by twaxs and repeaters ,not sure i would want to start it and warm up the seats for them as well.....

 

[CJD]

The actual features from the Me adaptor are fairly limited, pretty sure you will not be able to access the features you have listed.
It does give you some useful data, car location, fuel and battery levels etc.
But most of the fancier options you see on the various adverts are tied to subscriptions.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

We have the Mercedes Me in our car but haven't used it as all the ones we like you have to pay for, we were also told the remote starting was only available on the more expensive models, which ours isn't

 

[Ductman]

remote starting.... be aware of the keyless go dramas and having yr car ropened by twaxs and repeaters ,not sure i would want to start it and warm up the seats for them as well.....

On my sons car, the key must be inserted into the ignition barrel to allow the car to be driven. I’m not sure if that is sufficiently secure to stop it being nicked or not.

 

[Ductman]

The actual features from the Me adaptor are fairly limited, pretty sure you will not be able to access the features you have listed.
It does give you some useful data, car location, fuel and battery levels etc.
But most of the fancier options you see on the various adverts are tied to subscriptions.

Doesn’t really sound as though it will be worth it for me then. My iPhone already tells me the location of my car and I tend to always know roughly how much fuel I have anyway.

As for battery level, well it is what it is and I don’t think me knowing that before coming out in the morning is a big enough incentive so maybe I’ll just pass on this. It’s probably extortionately expensive to install anyway.

Thanks for the replies chaps.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Mine cost me £45, some folks got them for nothing. My car is 2014 and as said above the features you will get are limited to fuel level (I find that useful), Battery charge level (ditto), trip details (useful if you need to record business miles),location, book services......
Won’t do the fancy stuff like checking if the car is locked, locking remotely, closing windows, starting, cooling etc etc...
For that price though it’s ok

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Mine says it has that thing where when out it will let you know where there are parking spaces in any places you have entered into your sat nav, I have followed the instructions, the app says that is enabled, I have also enabled it on the sat nav in the car, but no clue as to how it works. I don't even know how it can possibly know how many parking spaces are in a particular car park

 

[John Laidlaw]

Mine says it has that thing where when out it will let you know where there are parking spaces in any places you have entered into your sat nav, I have followed the instructions, the app says that is enabled, I have also enabled it on the sat nav in the car, but no clue as to how it works. I don't even know how it can possibly know how many parking spaces are in a particular car park

I’d be very surprised as well Lyn! We have a new (2018) model Volvo XC90 packed to the gills with tech and (AFAIK) it can’t work that out.....

 

[Andy.M]

What a feature that would be though!

 

[littlebrooklyn]

What a feature that would be though!

When I log into my Mercedes Me app this is what is says under one of the features which is ticked on my app and says is enabled

From now on: stress-free parking
Never again waste time searching for a parking space.Your Mercedes-Benz and the Mercedes me connect Parking service make this possible.Whether in a multi-storey car park or on the street – your vehicle will now find a suitable parking space for you.

Mercedes me not only shows you public multi-storey car parks, it also displays the parking spaces available there.What's more, in selected cities you will also be informed of the likelihood of finding a parking space on the street.

For planning in advance, you can use the Mercedes me app and send the desired parking space to your navigation system as a POI.In addition, during the journey all parking information can also be displayed directly in the navigation system and can be chosen as the destination.

Your benefits at a glance:

• Never again waste time and energy searching for a car parking space.
• Display parking spaces directly in the navigation system – including detailed information such as the number of parking spaces available, opening times and parking fees.
• Plan in peace and in advance from home – with the Mercedes me app.

For stress-free parking in future, simply activate the Parking service on the Mercedes me portal.To use the service in the vehicle, activate Parking as a POI symbol in your navigation system.In the Mercedes me app use the "P" symbol on the mobility map.

Availability of Mercedes me connect services
For information on the availability of the service in the various countries and model series and on required optional extras, please refer to the overview of services. You will find this overview in the Terms of Use, in the section "Mercedes me connect - Overview of services".

Maybe if you own one of the very expensive models this feature works!

 

[keefysher]

I object on principle to paying for car parks. Where I was brought up was a market town, as the town grew the free car park was converted to a pay as you display at 2p per day until the funds for the multi storey were raised. Once open it reverted to free. The closest I've found in recent years is Ely where you get 4 hours free. With loads of car parks you can move to the next one for the rest of the day. Not many empty shops in the town centre, unlike here with a mega new shopping centre with approx 30% empty shops and high car park fees.

If popping into town briefly, in one car park you can get 1 hour for free, but only once in 24 hours. Handy for popping in to get hearing aids serviced at the drop in clinic at the library. Otherwise 2 hours free at Waitrose.

I use the ringo app on the mobile mostly for where I do have to pay. It picks up the nearby locations that have spaces, gives the locator code, push of a button, done. So not sure if the MB Me can pay as well, otherwise just another charged for toy. If you pair an iPhone to your car it will tell you where the car is parked anyway, mine is currently 37 feet away, as it's on the drive.

The warning on the dash comes on when it needs fuel.

I do have the MB Guides App on the mobile, which is the instruction manual basically.

 

[John Laidlaw]

I too use Ringo which combines finding the space and also allows you to pay....
However good to see Mercedes are keeping up with technology !

 

[LostKiwi]

I object on principle to paying for car parks. Where I was brought up was a market town, as the town grew the free car park was converted to a pay as you display at 2p per day until the funds for the multi storey were raised. Once open it reverted to free. The closest I've found in recent years is Ely where you get 4 hours free. With loads of car parks you can move to the next one for the rest of the day. Not many empty shops in the town centre, unlike here with a mega new shopping centre with approx 30% empty shops and high car park fees.

If popping into town briefly, in one car park you can get 1 hour for free, but only once in 24 hours. Handy for popping in to get hearing aids serviced at the drop in clinic at the library. Otherwise 2 hours free at Waitrose.

I use the ringo app on the mobile mostly for where I do have to pay. It picks up the nearby locations that have spaces, gives the locator code, push of a button, done. So not sure if the MB Me can pay as well, otherwise just another charged for toy. If you pair an iPhone to your car it will tell you where the car is parked anyway, mine is currently 37 feet away, as it's on the drive.

The warning on the dash comes on when it needs fuel.

I do have the MB Guides App on the mobile, which is the instruction manual basically.

Daventry is free parking everywhere.

Funnily enough the town center is bustling most days.

 

[Matt - Brighton]

To know parking availability it will probably connect to local council Multi Storey cr park system and if the city has the intelligent lamp posts ) sci-fi-future-lamp-posts-street-lighting) that can monitor weather/traffic flow, pedestrian flow and parking gaps in a street. They can also be used to introduce variable tariff parking charges - theory being to spread and direct drivers to even out citywide parking Cisco Systems tried to flog them to us (I work for Brighton & Hove City Council)

 

[Frosty149]

Bluewater near me is a large retail park, 30mins away from the Frosty household and is free parking, but boy oh boy, you pay for the privilege at the tills....
It’s got all the main ‘high street’ outlets, cinema, restaurants etc, but oddly no supermarkets.... very large place, very US style.
I avoid it like the plague

 

[littlebrooklyn]

I am used to having to pay to park. Our nearest shopping mall is Intu Watford and it's so easy to get in the car, whizz up the whirligig into the carparks and go into the shops without having to think about the weather too much. I never spend a long time there, not like a lot of women, so normally only spend £1 each time on parking. If I am in a hurry I can get through the barrier without paying as you get about the first 15mins free, which is handy