Mercedes E250 Bluetec

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PeteZ06

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
Algonquin, IL
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E320 CDI
What do you think the steering column is pushing in means? The driver's compartment is crushing the driver. They say that. I'll take that as a safety fail. If you need more proof do some research about the lethality of these crashes in pre-IIHS testing and fortified cars. I was convinced.
yes.. it states the steering column was pushed in 8cm... do you know what 8cm is? Thats like 3" But it also states that the air bags did their job.

I just wanted to know if thats what IIHS was saying or what you were making up.

Got my answer.
 

ssamalin

Veteran Member
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May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
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2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
Steering columns haven't moved a mm since the 70's and collapsible columns. This is an atrocious test result. An airbag won't save you when the column moves in, or it would make it worse. They state the leg is crushed. Marginal is at 40mph. I made nothing up. I did draw my own conclusions.
 
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PeteZ06

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Location
Algonquin, IL
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E320 CDI
You can call it atrocious or whatever other extreme word you want to use... if you're going based on LETTER GRADES. I like to read the fine print and see exactly what happened to the dummy during the impact.

BOTH the E Class and 5 Class allow for possible lower leg injury per IIHS 2014 model years.

Only the E Class allowed for head impact to the A-pillar because of too much play in the seatbelt.


Per IIHS on Mercedes E-Class

"The dummy’s head mostly remained in contact with the frontal airbag, but the head still hit the A-pillar because the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy's head and torso."




Per IIHS BMW 5-Class

"The dummy’s movement was well controlled. The dummy’s head loaded the frontal airbag, which stayed in front of the dummy until rebound. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects."



E-Class Head Injury Criterion score 245
5-Class Head Injury Criterion score 86
The smaller the number the lesser risk of injury.

E-Class Chest maximum compression 45mm
5-Class Chest maximum compression 32mm
The more the chest compresses the higher the risk of broken ribs, punctured lungs, damage to heart and surrounding vessels.

Hip, Upper Leg and knee injuries... the scores are basically the same on both cars.

Finally when you get to the lower leg and foot.. the E-Class definitely did better. I'm definitely not thrilled about what happened there in the lower leg area. :(







Is there a recall on that seatbelt in the E-Class?

And yes I'm giving you a hard time on this because you claim that the driver would get crushed and not survive an accident in a 5-Class... yet the information from IIHS shows quite the opposite. I rather break my foot or lower leg than have my chest compressed another 15mm or my head hit the A-pillar.
 
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ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
You can call it atrocious or whatever other extreme word you want to use... if you're going based on LETTER GRADES. I like to read the fine print and see exactly what happened to the dummy during the impact.

BOTH the E Class and 5 Class allow for possible lower leg injury per IIHS 2014 model years.

Only the E Class allowed for head impact to the A-pillar because of too much play in the seatbelt.


Per IIHS on Mercedes E-Class

"The dummy’s head mostly remained in contact with the frontal airbag, but the head still hit the A-pillar because the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy's head and torso."




Per IIHS BMW 5-Class

"The dummy’s movement was well controlled. The dummy’s head loaded the frontal airbag, which stayed in front of the dummy until rebound. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects."



E-Class Head Injury Criterion score 245
5-Class Head Injury Criterion score 86
The smaller the number the lesser risk of injury.

E-Class Chest maximum compression 45mm
5-Class Chest maximum compression 32mm
The more the chest compresses the higher the risk of broken ribs, punctured lungs, damage to heart and surrounding vessels.

Hip, Upper Leg and knee injuries... the scores are basically the same on both cars.

Finally when you get to the lower leg and foot.. the E-Class definitely did better. I'm definitely not thrilled about what happened there in the lower leg area. :(







Is there a recall on that seatbelt in the E-Class?

And yes I'm giving you a hard time on this because you claim that the driver would get crushed and not survive an accident in a 5-Class... yet the information from IIHS shows quite the opposite. I rather break my foot or lower leg than have my chest compressed another 15mm or my head hit the A-pillar.
The 2015 IIHS BMW 5 rating for small offset was M for marginal which means almost no safety protection. The 2015 MB E was G for good highest level of safety protection. You have to interpret the details by the IIHS rating. These are infrequent types of collisions at least. Your car is G for the most common types. But M is M. IIHS says you have almost no protection for that type of crash. I interpret that to mean fatal at speed. You obviously don't. I still think you have a safe car. And you clearly are more risk taking than I since you take spins at 140mph+. I'm surprised you are concerned. I don't think you are going to trade in your car for this. Maybe if you want to consider this information, slow down a little. As I said what seems so long, long ago, I hope you enjoy your new ride.
 
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PeteZ06

Veteran Member
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May 16, 2012
Location
Algonquin, IL
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E320 CDI
IIHS says you have almost no protection for that type of crash. I interpret that to mean fatal at speed.

M is because of poor lower leg protection.

You have odd interpretation... People don't die from lower leg injuries but head trauma.
 
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Tin Man

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I've tried not to take IIHS ratings too seriously and have found NTSB to be more authoritative, but after reading IIHS articles on safety of late, they seem on the ball. They use real world accident data, allowing for some of the foibles of such reporting, and give a good report.

IIHS is sponsored by the insurance companies and is not a publicly owned affair per se, and was part of the Joan Claybrook caste from my point of view.

TM
 

ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
M is because of poor lower leg protection.

You have odd interpretation... People don't die from lower leg injuries but head trauma.
Here's the bottom line: NHSTA ratings for the two cars are identical, both had 4 out of five stars for front crashes (head, chest, whatever). So whatever inference you're drawing from crash details is not significant, the scores are identical, both had 4 out of 5.

The significant difference in the car's scores came in the IIHS small offset test (hit a pole on the driver's side). The 2015 BMW 5 series had a major flaw. The score there was Mercedes Good, maximum protection, and BMW 5 Marginal or almost no protection.

Also as far as why the BMW 5 failed this test, I'd say there were three reasons. As you note, the legs are crushed by the incoming wheel. Also the report mentions the overall driver's safety space was crushed in and the steering column moved in with it. To make inference of my own, this sound's worse than a stubbed toe, including suggesting a chest injury.

After reading your analysis, I adjusted down the shoulder slider on my belt. So thanks for that. I always wondered why it had 4 out 5 stars for front crash and you taught me why so thanks. However, I don't think this flaw applies to my car since I have a safety option "Pre-Safe" that pre-tensions my belt in the event of a collision. That's why Mercedes has a + in it's safety rating, for all the computerized options like auto braking. When I start the car, the belt snugs up to me to get a read on what the tension fit is and it would tighten to that if there was a collision. Mercedes fixed the problem you highlighted about the slack belt causing head injury and IIHS never tested the car with that option IMHO. Always get Pre-Safe option with the E250BT.

Mercedes Pre Safe:

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/benz/safety

Also by 2017 the BMW 5 got a G on their small offset test. They fixed it for sure by then. So did Mercedes fix it's NHSTA, it's slack belt, problem by 2017 to 5. BMW had not fixed it's NHSTA front collision problem in 2017, it still had a 4.
 
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PeteZ06

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
Algonquin, IL
TDI
E320 CDI
Thanks for checking in... these past few days of your absence made me worried thinking you got into a front end collision and hit your head on that A-pillar.
 

ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
Pre-Tensioning Seat Belts

I have recently become aware of the importance of pre-tensioning my seat belt. This happens only if my car is running when I buckle up. This is due to the fact that the E250BT seat belt will not protect you sufficiently without pre-tensioning, wherein the belt is automatically tightened to fit snug then relaxes looser and the snug fit would be recalled in the event of a collision, a MB safety feature call Pre-Safe which I think may have come standard on most of these cars. No slouching when it pre-tensions, press your shoulder to the back of the seat and help snug the belt with a tug before it pre-tensions. It is amazing to me that I was unaware of the importance of this and was in the habit of buckling up before I started the car for the almost three years I've had it thereby losing this protection. Without pre-tensioning a serious safety flaw is introduced that the belt is too loose and leads to the driver at risk of head injury. I was this ignorant because I never bothered to learn why the NHSTA front crash rating for the 2015 was only 4 out of 5 stars. As a result of the previous postings here, another TDIClubber did this research and taught me something extremely valuable. Thank you PeteZ06. It also is not known for a fact whether pre-tensioning corrects the flaw documented here, I'm simply betting it does. It was corrected by the 2017 or 18 models and I'm thinking the testers started using the pre-tensioning feature on their dummies. None the less, given the known flaw it is without doubt mandatory to engage the automatic pre-tensioning feature of these cars to have a chance to overcome it.
I drive with my seat and my steering column also set back fully, and the shoulder belt adjuster slid down snug; my seat back is strait up only far enough to provide lumbar support. I sit with my butt in a round feeling spot in the center of the seat that avoids a pain from the seat bolster digging into my hip but which also puts me centered and not on the door side where the injury risk is. I drive with my arm on the center rest not the door rest. None of this required me to change, I've been doing all this because it's comfortable. All these may help too.
 
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ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
Visor flap and Easter Egg

Ever flap down all four visors and make a 3 sided flap around the front? There are smaller visors under the main visors. I have to drive North early on a winding hill that constantly glares the sun in. I have to drive with my amber wrap-around shades on too to cut the blue light (believed to be damaging to retinas).

There's another Easter Egg. I talked about how holding down the lock button on the fob closes the doors, windows and roof, but not that holding down the open button does the opposite.
 
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ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
Easter Egg two

Auto wiper setting. It began to rain this AM on the way to work and my wipers auto-turned on. I had left my wiper one click open by accident. I never knew what that click was and have been ignoring it. Auto-wipe works great, it auto-adjusts the wipe rate too and shuts itself off. I'm leaving it set to auto-wipe from now on.
 

ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
Easter Egg 3

Open trunk is your tailgate. The lower frame is flat and is a comfortable seat.
 

ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
50k miles and 3 Years with a great ride.

So far: So good. I have had an efficient, clean, safe, reliable and superbly handling and performing ride. There are about five other owners here and I haven't heard anything but the same from them. These cars are out there at a good price with about 40k miles on them. They are not "tuned", they are high mpg and power and clean with their factory emissions systems. I care about smog prevention and treat kids with asthma. I ride with confidence in the high speed streets and freeways of Los Angeles and the hundred of miles of freeways and mountain passes to it's nearby towns. I know the performance is there with more than I need whenever I need it. I look forward to next three years and will be reporting anything that happens on this thread. This car is the only diesel 4 cylinder bi-turbo car in North America. It is a spacious, luxury, comfortably suspended, highly well handling and performing sedan that is the most advanced clean diesel technology. It is a phenomenal car that is now becoming affordable. It was the first car to have high tech radar braking. I've said some things about it's looks, but even those have grown on me. This thread has covered some issues and all were solved: the lumbar seat adjustment and the cushion to avoid leg pain, best full size tires, radar cel, electric steering vs manual, bi-turbo performance vs 6 cylinder, pedal shifting for quick acceleration and braking, radar braking, side view with add-on mirrors, avoiding bio-diesel, ditching run-flats, mpg, head room, the pre-safe seat belt tensioning, crash test analysis of NHSTA 4 star front crash score and IIHS small offset good score, the tow hitch (the one uncompleted discussion), the emissions scandal, the safety features Driving Assist and BAS, run flats vs full size, Hold, the key fob, and more. I will be reviewing the thread to complete this list. There are some owners here who have reviewed their car (all raves): bobdfsh, drivbiwire, camarones, *zepman, 2004PassatTDI and myself ssamalin. Guys, check in, how are your cars?
 
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ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
An owner said about his E250 BT:

If I would have know the dealership was full of A$$holes, I would have never bought the thing. Since day 1 the left turn signal will blink 3 times and then stop. Yeah I know that if you tap it lightly it blinks only 3 times, but depress to the resounding click. then when I am to the point in the left turn where I straighten out the wheel it will blink a few more times. I have gone to the dealership several times and they tell me they can't repeat it. Am I a F'n liar? I told the service guy he can have the car to drive around as long as he likes.
Then there are the many "blind spot detection not working" error messages. Every once in a while the red triangle lights up and beeps. Why? What the hell for?

Run flats are gone since one of them delaminated. Replaced with MXM4 and rides much better. No spare, but now looking to see what it would take to move the DEF tank.

Was forced to spend $175 to aim the headlights, which are still too low. F the dealership and their arrogance. Of course I have NO recourse.

Then one time I went in for service, but before I filled up the DEF tank to the rim. The F'n dealership charged me 7 units ($49). Total BS.


Dude, I'm glad you like your car so much. But for me, it is a different story. It's not the money for me, I paid cash for the car. Its the F'n arrogant dealerships. I'm going to record me filling up the DEF tank immediately before bringing the car in and then we shall see how corrupt they are when they charge me for more DEF. I will post it on YouTube. I will video the blinker not working, and then post on YouTube that they could not find anything.

All my friends ask me "how do you like your Benz?" It is a big deal for some people. I'm square and honest with them. I tell them I bought it for the engine only. And I would NEVER EVER buy another Benz again.

Any advice for him?
 
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Tin Man

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Coastal Empire
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Daughter's: 2004 NB TDI PD GLS DSG (gone to pasture)
I avoid dealers when I can. Tell him to get a good private mechanic that knows Benzes. I've always had a private mechanic and have had no problems.
TM
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
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Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
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'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I'm sure you know the definition of insanity: "repeating the same behavior and expecting a different outcome." Whomever posted has had multiple bad experiences with that dealer, but keeps going back. Doesn't make sense.

My '15 Golf and '11 BMW will most likely never see a dealer service department. Possible exception would be a recall where it makes sense to have the dealer do the work at no cost to me. Otherwise, I'll stick with my independent mechanics. It's probably difficult to find one with the skills and diagnostic tools to fix some of the electrical issues the poster claims to have, but it can be done.
 

ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
That dealer isn't able to help him. Trying another dealer may help, but it seems the poster doesn't have other dealers to try. I had a radar braking system error message once, my dealer was able to run diagnostics and update my firmware. Problem gone. I don't have the blind spot assist feature, but many of the radar safety features can be disabled with the menus in the commands by the left steering wheel rocker switches. He probably could shut off blind spot assist. The triangle works his blinkers, so it seems a part of that problem. Besides dealers there are collision shops that specialize in MB and maybe a trusted mechanic on this site. Also I wonder if his headlight problem is due to a lemon type or a faulty collision repair. The fact that his wiring seems to be screwed too may be related.
 
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yatzee

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Location
Montreal, Qc
TDI
see sig
You said this three years ago. Time to check them out.
Yup, it's true that i said that. But I'm self-employed and i've been trying to stick with the old stuff that I can fix myself as opposed to taking on payments. I do now know those cars pretty well - my work brings me consistently into Mercedes dealers and there is now an 14 E350 in the family.

The biggest issues in my climate with those cars is the adblue **** and the blind spot sensors. The adblue system consistently give some sort of trouble (the less you drive it, the more trouble you have) while the blind spot sensors are known for corroding and requiring replacement.

I suspect i will own one at some point. I can get 1 up here with around 80k (kms) for about $30k (cdn). Given that 2015 TDI wagons are selling for only slightly less than that, it's possible that i'll end up with 1 by accident 1 day.
 

SnowCub

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Jun 6, 2005
Location
Bedford, MA
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2013 S350 BlueTec
An owner said about his E250 BT:

If I would have know the dealership was full of A$$holes,
...
Then there are the many "blind spot detection not working" error messages. Every once in a while the red triangle lights up and beeps. Why? What the hell for?
...
Then one time I went in for service, but before I filled up the DEF tank to the rim. The F'n dealership charged me 7 units ($49). Total BS.
...
Any advice for him?
Point 1, 99% of dealers are filled with A$$holes. Dealers make most of their money through the service department and need to fix as much as they can to keep their income stream flowing.

Point 2, what region of the country do you live in and what are the conditions when you get the not working message? Blind Spot is an assist feature but will report not working in heavy fog, rain and snow. Also, if driving on a 2 lane road (i.e. 1 lane going each way) and you put on your turn signal you will get a beep for every passing car, Road side sign and traffic barriers. My family has owned 5 cars with Blind Spot Assist from Audi, BMW, and MB so I'm quite familiar with the quirks of these systems.

Point 3, Mercedes service recommends draining and refilling the DEF tank once every 20k miles. Were you at one of those mileage points? Also $49 total isn't horrible, it seems Consumers Reports was charged ~$32 per *gallon* https://jalopnik.com/5441978/294-bill-shows-why-mercedes-diesels-will-piss-off-us-consumers Remember you have the right to refuse parts of the service. Dealers assume consumers have no knowledge of their cars and don't top off fluids. After all, a majority of Mercedes customers lease their cars and have no interest in keeping them long term.

Overall, best advice is to find a decent independent mechanic and understand their policies. I luckily found a good Mercedes/BMW guy but he insists on using only OEM replacement parts. So I know to expect pricier parts.

And if I visit a dealership I say upfront that I don't deal with BS. And then tell them what I expect to be done and not done.
 
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ezshift5

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Location
West Coast
TDI
2013 JSW TDI (Enroute BB).......2017 Jetta 1.4 turbo 5M ....................
.99 per cent covers an impressive numbers of Mercedes dealerships.
I'm (somewhat) reluctant to indicate this. (Reckon flaming causes pain)......
.....but the MB dealership(s) around here (3: same ownership) have bent over backward for me.

I didn't ask for much. There's a point.
They offered two payments and two services at no charge. Both services came with the dealership giving me a brand new MB to drive while being serviced.
In both cases they washed the car - even in drought-sensitive California. They may have some sort of water recovery/recycle system.

At any rate I would seem (duh) to have a problem with 99 per cent et al...........
Maybe I missed something (like a joke, spoof or - well, you know........

I'm certainly no Einstein, Reagan or Tibbets - my personal fav's - but then again I realize this



ez
 

Dangerous_Dan

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Fargo ND
TDI
1998 Jetta, 2017 Jaguar XE 20d
All I can say is that this is the exact opposite of how I have been treated by 4 different Jaguar dealers.

I have come to expect to have tea and biscuits. Two of the dealers have fit me in for the bundled service when I have been on extended road trips. The dealer in Spokane agreed to not fill my washer fluid since they only had the stuff good to -20F.

As for DEF, I get mine at Walmart for a little under $5 a gallon. Again, the folks in Spokane were happy to leave the DEF alone and let me fill it.

The Mercedes dealer in Fargo is also the VW dealer. My decision to take the buyback was in no small measure influenced by the quality of the sales people here in Fargo, but the service people were OK. But not great like the Jaguar dealers I have visited.
 
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