Can I change the location of my car's emergency call?

[cot]

Hi Everyone
I bought the car in Portugal but am spending more time in Spain. Recently I needed kerb-side rescue in Spain and called the in-car emergency service. But they were in Portugal so couldn't help. What/how can I change this?

 

[Srdl]

Hi Everyone
I bought the car in Portugal but am spending more time in Spain. Recently I needed kerb-side rescue in Spain and called the in-car emergency service. But they were in Portugal so couldn't help. What/how can I change this?

Hi and welcome. I thought all the calls for breakdown help went to Germany anyway so it shouldn’t make a difference. You can make the call via a mobile to 00 800 17777777 which also goes to Germany I think. If I was using my UK car in France, I would expect to get assistance from French staff if I had a breakdown.
The actual red emergency button, which summons local fire/police/ambulance etc, may be different but the breakdown service should work anywhere in Europe,

 

[cot]

Very useful. Thank you Steve.

 

[MJJ]

I don't know the Mercedes system at all, but I was part of the team that engineered Jaguar Land Rover's equivalent. I would be surprised if there is much difference.

On JLR cars, the phone numbers stored on the car for Emergency Call and Breakdown Call are configuration parameters, and they can be changed over the air. The change needs to be triggered by the manufacturer, after a request from a dealer, or by the customer by calling the Customer Relationship Centre.

So, I would suggest a call to Mercedes Spain customer services, or your dealer initially. Be prepared for a bit of a slog though, as this is a real edge case scenario and so it may take some time to find someone who knows the process. The over the air change is designed for whole market updates, i.e. the manufacturer re-negotiating breakdown service with a new provider.

Easier solution is as above, forget the button in the car and use a normal mobile to call the breakdown number in the handbook. The emergency call function will work throughout the EU countries, no matter where you are when you have an incident.

Martin.