By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Purchased it from the parts department at my dealer. It was a stock item.
Funny thing just purchased an addional accessory for my MB and sent out 3 e-mails and one price came in 25% less from an out of town dealer. I took the savings of over $70. Love this internet shopping.
Does anyone know the answer to the yellow light beaming from the bottom of the interior RV mirror?
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
BAS/ESP light coming on. The computer will not
display a malfunction warning to indicate the prob,but my MB dealership indicates it shows in the main computer area. This is the third time
something like this has occurred. Any words of
wisdom or does it appear I have a lemon in this
area.
About 1/4 inch below the pivot point of the gas gauge needle, there appears to be an orange lens/light? less than a pencil eraser in diameter. What is this????? I can not find any ref. to it in the owners manual.
(beginning of tirade)
You can get this annoying instrument illumination color if you really want it in a BMW, an Audi, or a Pontiac. These guys sell this as “aircraft” illumination (Macho!). Seems they haven't been to the airport and figured out that aircraft lighting stopped being totally red about 60 years ago. Maybe they’re trying to emulate an OLD airplane! Maybe a leather jacket, silk scarf, and goggles are called for here.
I own an airplane - - its lighting is actually sort of a hodge-podge. Instruments (the ones you really have to be able to see) are white incandescent post lights with blue(!) filters. The Gas/Oil/Temp gauge assembly happens to be red - mostly, I suppose, because it’s made by Stewart Warner - a car supplier. Radios are Neon segmented displays or incandescent (yellow) segmented displays, green led’s, blue/green vacuum flourescents, white incandescent back lighting - almost any color you could want. Color screens like COMAND are now showing up even in GA airplanes (your basic 747-400 has 5 CRT's - - in full color), and are priced to make the COMAND look positively cheap.
For me and most others who get more farsighted as they age, red is the first color to go out of focus (longer wavelength). And, your eye distinguishes contrast in red light far more poorly than longer wavelength, meaning anything with a scale on it has to be fairly bright for you to make out the scale markings. And face it, preservation of night vision can’t be that much of an issue since oncoming headlights are far brighter than any dashboard in any car. And besides, they all can be dimmed by the driver if they’re annoyingly bright (the dashboard, not the oncoming headlights).
(end of tirade)
I’m sure this’ll stimulate other opinions on this board (which is kinda fun). But, for me at least, red dashboard illumination is right at the top of my list of why I did not shop for a BMW or Audi before buying my E430. I'm very grateful that this is one feature MB decided not to copy from their competitors.
BTW, Go check out the VW’s some time. They have at least one model with blue LED dashboard illumination. Cool!
This area lights up when you turn to key position 2 (as do all warning lights) to show they are operational.
Again, about 1/4 inch directly below the PIVOT POINT OF THE GAS GAUGE NEEDLE, there appears to be an orange
lens/light? less than a pencil eraser in diameter. Shine a flashlight on this area and you'll see what I am talking about.
What is this????? I can not find any ref. to it
in the owners manual.
Hope this helps.
heat; heat rises, so heat from lower vents are more effecient, creates "ambient" temperture, otherwise it blows dry heat and is hard to breath(ie:uncomfortable). On my old s class, rear vent when on blows fresh air, which in winter is cold, the heat comes from under the front seat vent.
System is weird, but when you figure it out, is logic driven.
I spoke to my MB svc rep. and he informed me the $2000 phone in my car is not upgradeable to the newer Motorola phone options. How can this be? Verizon Wireless has frozen my contract to the rate I am currently on. Want to upgrade to the tri-mode phone. Has anyone heard of an upgrade kit coming? Does this not bother anyone else who has the phone option? Have I been mis-informed?
Oh great guru Drew: Any comments or suggestions?
our local library where I read the article, and swear that I did not see this article
prior to responding to Drew's(aling) thoughts expressing surprise over M-B's failure
to make the inside of our cars look like Pontiacs. I have ALWAYS found red instrument
lighting annoying. Now, we can understand the science behind this!
The R&T article seems well-researched, and expresses my thoughts far more eloquently.
And, BTW, I agree about the desirablity of the Xenons, having opted for them in my E430.
I know you are an M class lover, but what's your opinion of the Infiniti QX4.
I'm thinking of one for my wife, and can pick up a fully loaded 2001 for $36,400.
I can't afford another MB in the family because I just bought a 00 E320 last summer.
Should you guys avoid Dawn with moisturisers because that's suppose to leave moisturisers on the skin after washing?
parfive1, as Henry (ctic) said, you may be able to get a leftover new MY2K ML320 for that price. There is a $2K dealer incentive on it, so minus perhaps $1500 from the invoice price of the vehicle. But hurry (really hurry) because there may not be many of these MY2Ks left.
I can't recommend the QX4 because of its marginal IIHS offset crash test scores, its rather cramped rear seat, its softish rear suspension (easy to bottom out), and its miniscule maximum payload of only 795lbs. Payload means the maximum amount of weight (passengers + cargo) that the vehicle can carry - 795lbs is basically 5 people and a briefcase. In contrast, the M-class has a max. payload of 1340lbs, only 10lbs less than the much larger Lincoln Navigator.
Hope this helps and keep us updated!
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
To make the move from a car to an SUV is a bit of a shock. Looks, handling, riding higher etc. are all very different when you've been driving cars all your life.
My wife and I test drove the Acura MDX, the Infiniti QX4, and the Lexus RX300. Here's our opinions..
The MDX feels nice and zippy, but looks and feels large, didn't like that. We don't have any kids, so don't need or like the extra room.
The QX4 was the right size and very luxurious, but felt sluggish, even with the new more powerful engine.
The Lexus rode and felt great, but neither one of us liked the interior layout. Especially for that price.
Decisions, decisions.
So anyway, yesterday I'm driving home and decide to call my MB dealer. I asked the sales manager if their are any Y2K ML's left and he said
"I have two ML430's".
To make a long (and kinda humorous) story short, after an hour with the sales mgr, I drove off with a black w/java ML430 and surprised my wife with an early Christmas present.
Now she has the size of Suv that she wanted, the luxury she wanted, the smooth ride, and the power that she wanted. Not to mention that star on the grill.
So...here we are. Broke, but happy.
Two black MB's side by side in the garage.
My 00 E320 and her 00 ML430.
aling:
How do you get $1500 from the invoice price???
Are you sure the payload of the QX4 is only 795lbs? That's only 5 supermodels and their luggage. Surely you can't be serious. I'm glad to find out that the payload of the ML is 1340lbs. That's 7 of us fat pigs after a full meal of yum cha!
just had a conversation with a sales manager with regards to the clear coat finish. I should be getting my e430 sport any day now. I made an innocent comment about trying to keep my car clean and shiny. He recommended that if I was truly interested, I should let their shop add another couple coat of clear coat. (All for the low, low price of $1800...) He seemed to think that that was the only way to keep them 'slick'. I thought he had a screw loose. My understanding was that once clear coat was applied in the factory, it is doubtful that you will ever be able to match the quality, grade and clarity of MB original factory stuff. Their 'clean' rooms are much better controlled (dust, humidity, other nasty particles) than any non-factory environment. I was just trying to find out what wax that their detail guy uses in the shop. Is this guy trying to make a bogus sale, or is there any validity to his arguement? Input would be appreciated. Thanks.
Yes the fan will slow down when the inside temp. of the car comes down to the selected level. What I will do sometimes if the car is very warm inside and don't want to listen to the high speed fan, I will turn on the A/C for a short time and then go back to the EC mode. Also while the A/C is on you can manually slow the fan down to a more tolerable sound level. Of course one can also open the windows for a short period to more rapidly cool down the car.
I hope this helps.
Wally
A tip - check the tire pressure on your new ML430. Often, they are overinflated and this creates a firmer than normal ride. Proper tire pressure for a normal load is 29 psi for all 4 tires.
Henry, well there's a $2K incentive for the MY2K MLs, so even if they sell at invoice, they'll make that amount of money. Since they need to make some money off that vehicle, knock off a portion of the incentive. Isn't that correct?
Even though my ML was bought at MSRP, I have no regrets whatsoever. After all, I have been enjoying it for the past 13 months.
Good luck!
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
His E-Mail is glen@beverlyhillsltd.com
Are you looking for ride comfort? Passenger room? Cargo capacity? Visibility? FWIW, I own both a '98 E320 4-matic and a '00 ML320. As for reliability, both of my vehicles have been almost equally reliable so far.
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
I seriously doubt that your shamless self promotion will elevate your sales.
If you had an ounce of sincerity, you would contribute more to the content of this forum, and an oh-by-the-way come see me may be in order. Learn from curt rich down in the desert, he gives first then succeeds later.
If you really want your car to look nice and have a great shine, invest some time and money into a few coats of a high quality polish or wax.
Check out:
http://www.meguiars.com/
http://www.zainobros.com/
And posting #171 from automophile.
Second, does anyone have the problem I have been experiencing fairly regularly with the slim metal key slipping out of the electronic portion? Is there a way to solve it? It has become a real annoyance. Last week it took me several frustrating days of searching and retracing my itinerary to find the electronic piece which had somehow fallen between the seats of my husband's car.
Thanks to anyone for help.
Jean
I went through half of last winter with original equipment on my 2000 E320. The abs, eps, and traction control can do only so much. I ordered the Blizzak MZ-01 mounted on alloy wheel.
Tire rack has a nice web site for research and ordering. Service and pricing is very competitive. Inventory may be challenged in the next few weeks by the lake-effect snows.
I'll write an update once I take delivery.
Wally