10,000 Mile Service

[tcoombes]

I have 12,000 miles on my B Class Electric now and thought I would share my experience regarding the 10,000 mile service. It took three visits to complete. The first visit included a software upgrade and various inspections. The dealer did not have the battery air dryer cartridges in stock so I had to schedule a second visit. Since I refused new wipers and cabin air filter the visit was only $70. On the second visit when the battery air dryer cartridges arrived, the mechanic realized the special tool required was not included with the parts as it was supposed to be. The dealer ordered the special tool and they completed the service yesterday. Everything is good now. Anyone about to have a 10,000 mile service should make sure the dealer has the special tool and battery air dryer cartridges in stock.

 

[JeffRay]

TC, typical but disappointing for MB service. I went in to check out tire and they suggested replacement but did not have it in stock. Next day, the one they got was warped. Third day, I went to pick up. The Service Advisor was so embarrassed he sent me on the way without running the $50 deductible charge. He said he would do it later. Not sure he knew how to do that either. Nice guy but they are working these guys hard and the MB Be is definitely new for them.

 

[Comanchepilot]

The amazing thing? The dealership wanted $1200 for four inspections [we have the 15,000 mile per year lease] -

Yet - you go READ what the inspections require? The 'finance manager' [who of course is also a salesman] almost said that it covered the oil and filter changes and transmission oil changes etc etc. . . . but caught himself. Its a standard 'lets make more profit' patter you get closing every deal.

[When I dropped off a check for the last car I bought new in 2005- I told the finance guy that if he tried to sell me one thing - I was getting up and walking out. He did not believe me = and it took the dealership manager bringing the car to my house, already registered and titled, in exchange for the check, to get me to do the deal] But I digress.

Go pull your warranty / maintenance booklet - of the 4 captialized cost warranty covered maintenance evolutions - the ONLY parts covered were the dryer cartridges - and those are not a required maintenance item. $1200 for checking the brake pads? YGBSM. A cabin filter every year? Is anyone that stupid?

moving on to lease maintenance / condition waiver. . . . $875? Really? Wow. You can buy the exact coverage for $175. When he asked about deductibles - I said there are several the most common being $500 he said - how about $675 - gosh -

After that we got past the BS and finished it up.

why can't they just sell an f'in' car? If I wanted VIN etching I'd go buy a Chevy . . . . geesh.

 

[Stretch2727]

I just got the car. I plan to do the maintenance myself, but likely about a year away for the 1st. I will do everything and check off in the book as required. Keep the receipts for anything purchased. I have read through the maintenance schedule and the only thing I am not sure about is the battery desicant cartridges. Anyway I will figure it out myself.

I am sure MB dealer will charge a fortune to check your brake pads on a car that has regenerative braking and hardly uses the brakes!

 

[stu1021]

Fortunately, I had the exact opposite experience with the finance manager at my dealership. He actually called in the service manager and they looked at the maintenance schedule and concluded "there is no way you want to buy a maintenance plan for this vehicle". He told me i was required to sign the form listing the optional services but advised me not to buy any of them. Since I had special organizational tags that I was transferring onto the vehicle he also went the extra mile to do the additional paperwork for the MVA and sent one of their lot guys to wait in line since they were not able to complete the transfer remotely. I was very happy with the level of service.

 

[OftheSeven]

The amazing thing? The dealership wanted $1200 for four inspections [we have the 15,000 mile per year lease] -

Yet - you go READ what the inspections require? The 'finance manager' [who of course is also a salesman] almost said that it covered the oil and filter changes and transmission oil changes etc etc. . . . but caught himself. Its a standard 'lets make more profit' patter you get closing every deal.

[When I dropped off a check for the last car I bought new in 2005- I told the finance guy that if he tried to sell me one thing - I was getting up and walking out. He did not believe me = and it took the dealership manager bringing the car to my house, already registered and titled, in exchange for the check, to get me to do the deal] But I digress.

Go pull your warranty / maintenance booklet - of the 4 captialized cost warranty covered maintenance evolutions - the ONLY parts covered were the dryer cartridges - and those are not a required maintenance item. $1200 for checking the brake pads? YGBSM. A cabin filter every year? Is anyone that stupid?

moving on to lease maintenance / condition waiver. . . . $875? Really? Wow. You can buy the exact coverage for $175. When he asked about deductibles - I said there are several the most common being $500 he said - how about $675 - gosh -

After that we got past the BS and finished it up.

why can't they just sell an f'in' car? If I wanted VIN etching I'd go buy a Chevy . . . . geesh.

Comanche - I'm thinking of leasing as well and currently lease a Ford Energi PHEV. Maintenance costs will definitely keep me away if it's hundreds of dollars every time I bring it in on a 3-year lease.

With this car, what are the required/necessary maintenance items per 10,000? And it can be covered with aftermarket lease maintenance plans? ie. the $175 coverage you stated.

 

[mddg]

I've contacted two dealerships about the 10k service, and I've gotten quotes for $600 and $300 with the major cost of labor to replace the battery dryer/dessicant cartridge. After the service scheduler gave me a quote closer to $200 for an oil and filter change, I spoke with a service manager at the second dealer who said the cartridge part was covered by Mercedes, but not the labor to replace it. What prices have others seen, and what does it include? What does this cartridge do, and is it really required?
What else is required at the first 10k service?

 

[sweetwagon]

What kind of service did you have on your Nissan Leaf? Should be similar no?

 

[mddg]

Not much service required on the Leaf. It was pretty much free - cabin filter every 15k, tire rotations every 7.5k.

 

[Stretch2727]

I just order the MB service manual CD. I will see how involved the service is for the battery desiccant. The battery desiccant is a tesla thing. This is one of their little secrets to extend battery life. If it is not too difficult to change I will post how to do it.

Everything else is basically simple checks anyone could do on the car. I am too cheap when it comes to servicing cars as I know how to do most things myself and I have had many issues over the years with so called "professional" mechanics servicing my car.

One other comment. MB can not force you to have service through them to keep the warranty valid. This is illegal. Don't let the dealers tell you otherwise.

I have posted the a description of the law as it applies to autos from the FTC website:

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance

 

[Lukeetal]

Where did you order the service Manual from?

 

[GlennD]

I have the 2015 factory disks. It covers our cars but I think you must be factory trained to use it. It was $35 on Ebay. IT IS NOT USER FRIENDLY! I earlier wasted my money on a 2014 set. The car was only added in 2015.

 

[mddg]

I have found out some more about the 10K service. First, the major item included in that service is the battery desiccant cartridge. I called four dealerships, and all four were initially confused about the service for the B-class citing oil filter, oil, air filter requirements or not even knowing there was a B-class. Eventually I got pricing that ranged from $269-$350 for the first service. The second service would cost more at around $450-550 that adds the cabin filter change and a brake fluid change. I also learned the service is *required* if you lease. Mercedes will charge list price for each service, so you are obligated to do the service. That's a surprising cost compared to the little to no service required for the Nissan Leaf. That makes a maintenance plan at $800 for the 30k plan (my dealer gave me a small discount off that at $750) a better deal than the individual maintenance visit costs.

The service took about 3 hours including a new software campaign. I didn't notice any change afterwards except that the "miles/kwh since reset" had changed from about 2.9 before service up to an unbelievable 12.4 miles/kwh. I assume resetting that will make it alright.

 

[Lukeetal]

Thank you for the info! Looking into the prepaid service plans.

 

[wtzouris]

This sounds like a bad dealer the battery service is included with the car. I am inquiring but basically they are not allowed to charge you for the desiccant filter change. And the rest of the service A is BS. Wiper Blades, Washer Fluid, check other fluids, and Cabin Air filter.

 

[Stretch2727]

This sounds like a bad dealer the battery service is included with the car. I am inquiring but basically they are not allowed to charge you for the desiccant filter change. And the rest of the service A is BS. Wiper Blades, Washer Fluid, check other fluids, and Cabin Air filter.

I saw this same comment that the desiccant filter was free in a magazine review but cannot find it in the MB documentation. Where is this documented so I can show the dealer?

I agree the rest of the service is really nothing but inspections. Does not make sense to pay $200-$300 for this.

 

[wtzouris]

I just did a reset of the "service A" reminder myself . I saw this video on YouTube for C300

"Mercedes Service Indicator Reset"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bLjAhIamyc

It works for the B-Class ED too. Shame on the Mercedes dealerships for not including free battery service for an electric car. They wanted to charge me $509-750 for 10,000 mile "Service A" Ridiculous.

Now I have to figure out if the dealer will do the battery desiccant change for free (or I am not doing it) , and How do I change the cabin air filter myself?

 

[mddg]

I hope someone finds out this maintenance is not required, but I don't think that's going to happen. I checked with four dealers. For other Mercedes ICE vehicles, they have the same policy, and other Mercedes buyers have complained for years about it. Maintenance contracts are discounted to be about 30% less than the regular cost at the dealership.

https://www.mbfs.com/mbfsr/en/faqs/faqLeaseCare.do
https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/seasonal_service/fall/services/prepaid_maintenance

I think Tesla has even more expensive maintenance with similar desiccant cartridges. On the other hand, the most direct competitors, BMW i3's, come with maintenance included.

 

[wtzouris]

I read it in the article by Motor Trend:

"Battery maintenance is included, and primarily includes replacing a desiccant filter annually."

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/alternative/1405_2014_mercedes_benz_b_class_electric_drive_first_drive/

 

[Mpolatin]

Any updates on this? I'm due for my service next month and I see prices all over the place. The car is a lease if that matters...I just want to know what i need to tell the dealer so I dont get stuck with a huge bill? I dont care about the wiper blades and all that...

thanks!