Annual Battery Certification No Charge- Mercedes Nanuet, NY

[wtzouris]

I took my B-Class in 12/21/15 for the Recall software and Battery Certification. Happy to report that Jose Mena, my service advisor at Mercedes of Nanuet, NY, called me back to confirm that the entire service visit will be free of charge, except for the NYS Yearly Inspection ($10). Software Recall and Battery Certification only, no other optional services. Although I lost my composure a bit on the phone with Mercedes Customer Assistance Center, I will say that Jose Mena was polite and did not challenge my position that it should be no charge to the customer. He was very professional and for that I am grateful.. I do not appreciate the manufacturer making it so hard on us! They have to order the desiccant cartridges even though I told them to order them in advance last week. Whew! Maybe next year's certification will go a little more smoothly......

Earlier notes:

On the phone 45 minutes so far -- with Mercedes CAC (Customer Assistance Center) in Headquarters NEW JERSEY -- Jonathan M. is very helpful, and apparently they are able to see notes from other owners and the other agent Debbie A. (Debra A.) has notes regarding this dispute in the past. What a hassle. My Nanuet, NY dealership was going to charge me between $250-$550 (estimated) but they had a lot of other services in there -- like Check Horn, Check Turn signals, etc. I explained I only wanted the recall service (new software) and the battery certification. I was going to do my Service A elsewhere (myself) ... Windshield washer blades, fluid checks, washer fluid, tire rotation, etc. Only other item is MYS (safety ) inspection which is $10 for the new sticker on the windshield.

 

[Stretch2727]

Thanks. Mine is coming in April and plan to do the same thing.

Recall and battery certification only. Your post will help as I am sure I will get the run around.

 

[blaferty]

Had Recall software update performed today. Asked SA if there was a charge for Annual Battery Certification.
He did not know, but will check with headquarters & lmk.
I'm in GA so they don't see many B Class.
I did see one on the way to the dealer today!
Anyone here?

 

[WantOne]

Hi,

Do you mind sharing the invoice number or something I can ask my service advisor to track it down? They quoted me for $500 for replacing desiccant filter and isn't helpful at all.

I took my B-Class in 12/21/15 for the Recall software and Battery Certification. Happy to report that Jose Mena, my service advisor at Mercedes of Nanuet, NY, called me back to confirm that the entire service visit will be free of charge, except for the NYS Yearly Inspection ($10). Software Recall and Battery Certification only, no other optional services. Although I lost my composure a bit on the phone with Mercedes Customer Assistance Center, I will say that Jose Mena was polite and did not challenge my position that it should be no charge to the customer. He was very professional and for that I am grateful.. I do not appreciate the manufacturer making it so hard on us! They have to order the desiccant cartridges even though I told them to order them in advance last week. Whew! Maybe next year's certification will go a little more smoothly......

Earlier notes:

On the phone 45 minutes so far -- with Mercedes CAC (Customer Assistance Center) in Headquarters NEW JERSEY -- Jonathan M. is very helpful, and apparently they are able to see notes from other owners and the other agent Debbie A. (Debra A.) has notes regarding this dispute in the past. What a hassle. My Nanuet, NY dealership was going to charge me between $250-$550 (estimated) but they had a lot of other services in there -- like Check Horn, Check Turn signals, etc. I explained I only wanted the recall service (new software) and the battery certification. I was going to do my Service A elsewhere (myself) ... Windshield washer blades, fluid checks, washer fluid, tire rotation, etc. Only other item is MYS (safety ) inspection which is $10 for the new sticker on the windshield.

 

[wtzouris]

Send me an email and I will send you some PDFs. my email is my username at me.com

 

[Stretch2727]

Send me an email and I will send you some PDFs. my email is my username at me.com

wtzouris - I sent him your invoice.

My service ended up being $60 so better he used yours. They wore me down claiming the desiccant was no charge but the battery certification was chargeable.

Does anyone have a copy of the warranty card saying the annual certification is no charge. I checked in all my booklets and can find nothing.

 

[wtzouris]

Hi on the 2014 model it is an addendum. (On a separate sheet of paper) on the 2015 model year and after it is in the manual/warranty booklet itself. I have the PDF for the 2014 Model Year. Not sure I can post it here it is a PDF. You can email me at my username at me dot com and I will send it to you

 

[oilerlord]

It's also possible for any Mercedes dealership to do the battery certification - not just EV-authorized dealers. The dealership I bought my car from isn't electric-authorized but seemed to have no problem doing this for me, and at no charge. Keep in mind that dealerships that don't sell the B-Class Electric will default to the standard "sorry, we don't service those cars" answer. The non-authorized dealer in Reno checked with MBUSA, and it wasn't a problem.

This is encouraging because my local (Canadian) MB dealer says they also aren't authorized to work on my car, but there's a chance that if I get MBUSA / MBCANADA involved, they may order the dealer to do the annual check for me. I can accept not having a warranty in Canada because the dealer doesn't have the equipment or training to work on them, but the prospect of having to drive 800 miles just for a 15-minute battery inspection is pretty stupid.

 

[wtzouris]

They actually do more than check the Traction battery, they change two Desiccant cartridges which are like sweat-sock sized bags that go in the battery enclosure. It is done from the bottom of the car. It is about $100-150 in parts. I have the instructions on how to change them if anybody wants them. (3-Page PDF) it's VERY straightforward if you have a lift. Any mechanic could do it as long as you give them the replacement parts (I think they are Tesla-made) . It is a 2-pack.

 

[oilerlord]

Might come in handy...I sent you a PM, thanks for sending those instructions to me. Though I'm sure it's an easy replacement, doesn't a MB dealership need to do it as part of the warranty agreement? I'd hate to be at 99,000 miles where a problem with the battery isn't under warranty because I didn't read the fine print.

 

[WantOne]

It was hard to convince my dealer this is a free service but it worked out.

Bellevue, WA Mercedes dealer now knows how!! Thanks to the friends in this forum.

 

[jphollywood]

Can someone explain this Annual Battery Certification issue? I just went to the dealer for our first annual maintenance activity (10K miles) and they said there wasn't any Annual Battery Certification. Are they wrong? Is it maybe state mandated (I'm Calif.) instead of federal or manufacturer?

I'm just concerned if I need to go back and raise the issue with them.

Thanks,

JP

 

[wtzouris]

They are wrong, You have to do it once a year or the battery warranty is void. It should be no charge parts AND labor. It is in your manual/warranty booklet. Email me if you need support docs. wtzouris at me dot com.

 

[jphollywood]

Thanks for the tip, I found the information on page 23 of the Service and Warranty booklet. My next step will be to contact the Service Manager for the dealership and have a conversation with him so I don't get jerked around again when I it bring it in.

Thanks again,

JP

 

[wtzouris]

Did you email me so I can send you a copy of my service receipt?

 

[jphollywood]

No I didn't as I got distracted dealing with the dealer's service dept and forgot to return to this forum (had other issues going on). I was also out of town for a week.

I did go to the dealer and showed them the appropriate pages out their own Warranty and Service Manual. This caused the service adviser to disappear and find a BCE "expert" in the back. The adviser came back out and told me that they always test the batteries as part of the annual service. He said that it was all electronic and that there is nothing (on paper) to give back to the customer. At the end of the test, the results are transmitted to MB Corp (both USA and Germany) and can be retrieved at any time.

The service adviser offered to have our car tested again (took about 10 minutes) and have the technician print out the test results to give me which they did. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with this response.

I will send you that email as soon as I finish this.

Thanks,

JP

 

[Dracula]

Just got my 2015 B-Class back from the MB dealer in Evansville, IN, who performed the 10,000 mile service. They don't usually sell or service these vehicles (I bought mine in OR), but were very kind and agreed to perform the Schedule A service and the annual battery certification as per MB specs.
Upon leaving, however, I noticed the paperwork makes no mention of an annual battery certification. It does say that they changed the desiccant cartridge, but there is no battery capacity test report and again, no mention of annual certification. The service manager assures me that data was uploaded in the MB server and I am all set, but given the lack of experience I am not so sure.
Can you please share your experience - what is your proof that annual battery certification was actually performed?

 

[wtzouris]

If you don't see battery desiccant parts changed, they didn't do the service. Call MB USA CAC (Customer Assistance Center) and ask them to call your dealer to explain the service, feel free to mention my name William Tzouris they can look up the service I had done, no charge for parts or labor.

Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
Customer Assistance Center
3 Mercedes Dr.
Montvale, NJ 07645
Tel: 800-367-6372
Fax: 201-476-6213

Customer Care: Prompt #4

The B-Class Battery Warranty Doc (Separate card)  is for the 2014 Model, in the 2015 model it is in the bound warranty booklet.

1-800-FOR-MERCEDES (1-800-367-6372)

 

[Dracula]

The paperwork states that the desiccant cartridge has been replaced, yet no mention of the annual battery certification, or battery performance report.

For those of you that have completed the annual battery certification, what kind of proof of completion did you get from the MB service?

 

[sdcal19]

Thanks to wtzouris I was able to enlighten my dealer that the whole service should be covered under warranty! I did have to pay for them to diagnose a problem I have with the brakes shuttering when stopping on a down hill but that is another topic.