SOS Inoperative? Why on a 2015 car?

[Bopo]

Greetings, MB hive-mind. Two days ago I got a 'SOS Inoperative' message on my dash when starting the car (E350 Diesel).

The car was serviced a few months ago by MBS (Southampton) and shows no other problems. I opened the safety cover on the SOS button and closed again to make sure it wasn't loose and causing some false trigger.

The only issue is the message coming up and I have to hit 'OK' to make it go away. It's not a major life issue but doesn't look good for selling it, which I'm thinking of.

Any ideas? I'm reluctant to take it to MB to get a software upgrade as they'll blow away my GAD map and I'll lose a dyno-certified 70bhp.

Couldn't find which forum was appropriate but mods please move if required. Cheers!

 

[Blobcat]

Wonder if there is a problem with the SIM card?

 

[brandwooddixon]

Is it only available through subscription?
I wonder how these systems will be affected by the demise of 3G over the next couple of months?

 

[Botus]

people need to realise the software in cars was once written by a coder that understood floppy discs, not cars - they retired just as the tech industry started making chips like confetti around 15 years ago - thus the world had moved, now needing far more coding, but there's no competent ones left to try...

what we have on today's cars is software written by the same people that write the jokes for Asda value range of Christmas crackers - to help them make something that to some degree mostly operates - we invented compiler tools - these act like washing machines for noughts and ones - where no one actually understands any of it anymore - when a bug is found they just put some more washing powder in and try a faster spin cycle and hope it works this time

all of which means every other day some part of the software in your car stumbles about misbehaving, as it comes across another mistake no one knows about or understands why, let alone how to resolve - with a 2015 car you likely have a list of a million rows of code in 25 modules that was written less badly many years ago - but were never applied to your car

the cost to try the updates is really peanuts - but the gear to do it is 11k a year rental for each garage - Thus with 9 million cars out there and around 1 system to do 100 cars a day, they pretend there is no benefit in updating the cars software - for a start no one tells them why the update exists - so they have all become expert proponents in selling a pitch that its pointless - one driver of that, is because the manu can't admit (legally would be a bit dim) under these conditions the airbags will never operate, the ESP goes on holiday every year sometime (but they haven't worked out its calendar yet), and the engine tends to play up on the M25 and M1 in alternate years on odd numbered dates every December... Yet we fixed most of that for 10 customers last year, but now 6 say it makes the wiper blades operate 6 times on the 4 of July, and had we updated you car correctly when it was in for its service your wife wouldn't be hospital now...

my 2019 BWM bike has had five complete rewrites to everyone of its 15 computer modules - with two modules running iterations of jokeware 4 versions on from the one's it left the cowboysRus manu site with - the trouble with virtually all cars is no one ever updates any of it for its entire life... the reason I'm letting you know, is my BM SOS joke was playing up in in May with intermittent connections and does it less after the updates...

 

[s5tuart]

what we have on today's cars is software written by the same people that write the jokes for Asda value range of Christmas crackers

That made me laugh out loud!!!!!

 

[Botus]

that was the start of my ramble... re reading I stuck the 's on the end of asda - and somehow left an extra the in the mix - we neen blobcat to remove a spare "the" before...

I was re reading to someone ..... I'm not wrong about any of it...

 

[Blobcat]

that was the start of my ramble... re reading I stuck the 's on the end of asda - and somehow left an extra the in the mix - we neen blobcat to remove a spare "the" before...

I was re reading to someone ..... I'm not wrong about any of it...

I see no issues…

 

[rf065]

Greetings, MB hive-mind. Two days ago I got a 'SOS Inoperative' message on my dash when starting the car (E350 Diesel).

There was a recall by Mercedes recently because in the event of an accident for example, the SOS system was reporting the wrong location for the vehicle. All affected cars were supposed to be recalled for a software update to fix the problem, maybe yours missed it?

 

[Botus]

wow to above !

and here's the bike - see bold and then red - note dates are back to from year first

XBMSMP1 : -
Controller Type : Engine Controller
Controller Name : XBMSMP1
Manufacturer : Bosch GmbH
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 18/12/04
Program Count : 3

XABS : -
Controller Type : ABS Brakes
Controller Name : XABS
Manufacturer : AABG
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 18/12/02
Variant : ABS-Pro + Hillstart + Dynamic Braking
Program Count : 1

XFSA : -
Controller Type : Satellite Body Controller
Controller Name : XFSA
Manufacturer : Loewe / Lear
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 18/10/27
Program Count : 2

XSAF : -
Controller Type : Semi-active Suspension
Controller Name : XSAF
Manufacturer : Temic
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 18/11/16
Program Count : 2

XDWA : -
Controller Type : Anti-Theft Alarm
Controller Name : XDWA
Manufacturer : META System S.P.A.
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 18/11/19
Program Count : 3

XTPM : -
Controller Type : Emergency (Telematics) Module
Controller Name : XTPM
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 18/09/28
Program Count : 2


had they not updated from the one it left the building with it would have a zero.... like this one

XASW : -
Controller Type : Active Headlight
Controller Name : XASW
Manufacture Date (YY/MM/DD) : 18/08/27
Program Count : 0

 

[Botus]

here's another one - likely to be a software glitch that was fixed years back - but not on this car

she who likes to fight, was in the back of my father's w211 today, as the dial said about -1C - I'm OK with the heated seat and the heater pumping up front - when she pipes up "its blowing out cold in the back". To which I regaled the story how I'd frozen my bits off sitting in the back of this very car under very similar conditions 4 years back. And how it had taken me 40 miles and an hour towards basingstoke to try to get my mother to play space invaders up front and latterly attempting to decipher the user manual to no avail. As I sought to calm the cold blast out back.

I'd given up and prepared to freeze to death, when the only thing I could think of left to try, (for no sensible reason), was to press the "auto" button on the front AC panel. Where upon the heating kicked in at the back....

So today being a caring sort, upon her moaning, I pressed the auto button - but the ejector seat never fired - but low and behold heat comes out at the back - Then on the way back she's off again, now "the fans are too noisy" - so I said but if I stop that, it'll come out of auto and you'll freeze again - up for the fight, she said "NO IT WON'T"

Keen for a quick win - I pressed the fan selector and it pops out of auto. A few miles down the road she's back... "ITS STILL WORKING WITH HEAT COMING OUT !!!" And you know what - she was right !!! So either the car had a moment to just upset me, or because there really is a software bug and the car forgets to let heat out at the back under certain conditions....

 

[rf065]

Reminds me of an office I worked in where the women complained it was always cold, and the men complained it was too hot. The heating system consisted of combined heat and air con, so on the way to the kitchen or toilets, one of the women would pass the thermostat and turn it up from the usual 22C to 25C.
An hour later when all the men were sweating, someone would pass by the thermostat and turn it down to 20C, this resulted in ice cold air being blasted into the office to get the heat back down.
This would result in the women complaining the place was like an ice box and one of them would turn it up to 25C which meant furnace temp air was blasted into the office again. And so the cycle continued throughout the day.
Not once when you spoke to any of these people, could they understand how heating/aircon actually worked!

 

[sonic]

my 2019 BWM bike has had five complete rewrites to everyone of its 15 computer modules - with two modules running iterations of jokeware 4 versions on from the one's it left the cowboysRus manu site with - the trouble with virtually all cars is no one ever updates any of it for its entire life... the reason I'm letting you know, is my BM SOS joke was playing up in in May with intermittent connections and does it less after the updates...

I am sticking with my Yamaha FJF1300, no update in 5 years.

 

[Blobcat]

Reminds me of an office I worked in where the women complained it was always cold, and the men complained it was too hot. The heating system consisted of combined heat and air con, so on the way to the kitchen or toilets, one of the women would pass the thermostat and turn it up from the usual 22C to 25C.
An hour later when all the men were sweating, someone would pass by the thermostat and turn it down to 20C, this resulted in ice cold air being blasted into the office to get the heat back down.
This would result in the women complaining the place was like an ice box and one of them would turn it up to 25C which meant furnace temp air was blasted into the office again. And so the cycle continued throughout the day.
Not once when you spoke to any of these people, could they understand how heating/aircon actually worked!

I can (and do) control the open office AC from the Daikin app on my phone…. I regularly find it on heat and set to 18 or cool and 25…