Speedtronic inoperable...car towed to dealer - Benzworld.org

MissMyBenz · 08-19-2008, 09:56 PM

I've done a quick search and still not clear. Is "speedtronic" mb's name for cruise control or is it another system. Don't have the manual as that is in the car which is at the dealer.

My wife driving the car today experiences it die as she was exiting the freeway. Stops the car but not able to get out of traffic lane. Restarts the car and it immediately dies again. 2nd restart attempt failed and gets the display message reading "speedtronic inoperable". She calls SOS and they are awesome. They call local police to direct traffic around the car. After calling police they call roadside and get them on the line. They say with that error message must be towed. No other questions. Ordered tow and this whole time the gal stays online with my wife till the police arrive. Police arrive and direct traffic waiting for tow. Flatbed tow to the dealer. Our service advisor writes up the car and sets her up in an 08 C300 and she's on her way. Not that I'm pleased that this happened, as I'm clearly distressed about this, but the rest of it couldn't be much better Mercedes SOS service and dealer (Autobahn in Belmont, CA) are fantastic. A plug for Gus our service advisor, too. He's tops.

So, what is this speedtronic and what should I expect? Thanks.

Kajtek1 · 08-19-2008, 11:17 PM

Nice to hear the emergency system works. Not that I am looking forward to try it.
Speedtronic is the transmission system. Have no idea how complicated it is, just hope you have warranty?

MissMyBenz · 08-19-2008, 11:38 PM

Thanks for the response. Thought that was it, but as I said, it was tough to tell from from a quick search. Speedtronic is MBs version of Tiptronic in the Porsche? Have just about 15K on the odometer at about 1 1/2 years old, so it's under warranty (original as well as MB extended). Yes, the SOS service was great and my wife, an engineer, was impressed all the way. The SOS person told her she would stay on the line with my wife until the police arrived to be sure she and the car were safe. Especially nice since she was stuck in a traffic lane with her hazards on. Kudos to MB and the dealer.

Diesel Benz · 08-19-2008, 11:45 PM

Speedtronic should refer to the MB cruise feature which isn't just cruise, but includes permanent and adjustable speed limiter functions too (unfortunately I'm afraid these are disabled from US cars).

While your user manual is at the car, you can browse the Euro on-line user manual (in English too even it it hosted by the German site):
Mercedes-Benz Deutschland - Personenwagen - Betriebsanleitung
or download one from MBUSA owners site.

I don't see why a speedtronic issue alone would mean the car has to be towed. But the car behaved like a lot more was concerned than just the speedtronic. Perhaps Tele-Aid provided MB the full info where they could conclude that the car needs to be towed?

jeffrey2 · 08-20-2008, 04:35 PM

I had the exact same problem with mine. They replaced the gas pedal assy. No probs since.

MissMyBenz · 08-21-2008, 09:34 PM

Thanks for the replies. Long story short: As I understand it the fuel sending unit in gas tank giving false reading showing 1/2 tank when in fact it was empty. Yes, the car ran out of gas. I recently had foot surgery so I am not driving and my wife has been shuttling me back and forth and switching cars so hard to keep track of when it would need gas. Ironically we both commented at the (cheap?...$4.30/gal) price of gas at a Chevron station but looked at the gauge and didn't stop thinking we had 1/2 a tank. Anyway, she picked up the car and all seems well. I haven't looked at the paperwork yet to find out exactly what they did.

Diesel Benz · 08-21-2008, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMyBenz

Thanks for the replies. Long story short: As I understand it the fuel sending unit in gas tank giving false reading showing 1/2 tank when in fact it was empty. Yes, the car ran out of gas. I recently had foot surgery so I am not driving and my wife has been shuttling me back and forth and switching cars so hard to keep track of when it would need gas. Ironically we both commented at the (cheap?...$4.30/gal) price of gas at a Chevron station but looked at the gauge and didn't stop thinking we had 1/2 a tank. Anyway, she picked up the car and all seems well. I haven't looked at the paperwork yet to find out exactly what they did.

Wasn't there a small number of cars affected by some kind of an SCN coding issue where the outcome was incorrect fuel level indication? I don't even remember if W211 models were on the list. Hopefully the workshop took care of this in any case.

Kajtek1 · 08-22-2008, 10:05 AM

What makes me wonder how-come no fuel triggered serious transmission error?
I know ML is famous for bad fuel level sensors. Sometimes it can be reset, but often needs to be replaced. But here we are talking pretty new car.
I tested my 2005 E320cdi driving across US. One time on desert fuel was pretty expensive. I knew (from the net) that 50 mies away there is cheaper truck stop and my computer did show "87 miles range". I knew those things are not that reliable, but figured out it has enough reserve to go for it. Than when I stepped on it, the fuel usage increased and the truck stop was on the other side of the city I was driving to. Arrived with "fuel range 12 miles" sweating quite a bit.

MissMyBenz · 08-31-2008, 05:35 PM

They replaced the fuel tank. Sensor was "stuck." All good now.