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Mini review my Metris.

22K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  Hourspermile 
#1 ·
After exactly three months I have some mini review about mine.

Like:
1. Handling like a car, quiet ride.
2. Seat positions are higher than regular minivan.
3. Ground clearance is higher: my drive way is pretty steep.
4. Good performance from a little engine.
5. Cross wind assist works great: on a trip to Las Vegas from Orange County, SoCal in a windy weekend I didn't feel like other cars being pushing around in high wind.
6. Air ventilation is very good. Few times in heavy rain with four people I didn't have to use the auto climate control, just simply turn on the fan at front and the whole cabin wasn't foggy at all. Looking around at other vehicles I've seen quite a few struggling with all the moisture built inside while the windows must be closed.

Dislike:
1. The arm rest is making squeaking noise every time I move around my seat with my elbow on it. I'm not heavy at only 170 lbs.
2. Eco Start/Stop not working right.On daily commute a lot of times the engine is still running while waiting at red lights.
3, Rear fan won't stay off too many times like the Eco Start/Stop. Most of the time I'm driving alone so I turn off the rear fan but the setting won't stay off at the next start.
4. "Collision Prevention Assist" didn't switch on. I had three times with error message "Collision Prevention Assist Not Operative". One time I had to turn the engine off and back on at a traffic light to activate it.
5. Poor MPG even I'm driving like a great grandpa: accelerate while still can see the odo counting up one by one or skipping just two at a time. I have a Prius and know how to hypermile but it didn't help much.
6. The rear gate needs to slam down to close. Every time having a car wash I need to tell the worker to re-close the gate even after I've watched them close it normally.
7. Blind spots are terrible like others posted. One time I was lazy turn on the signal to change lane so the beep is not there but luckily I saw the red arrow and avoid hitting the car.

Other than those, I like my van. I might need to get back to the dealer to check that Collision Prevention Assist though.
 
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#6 ·
I have trouble looking for a button to edit my OP. If anyone know please show me where it is. I did send a question to Mods but no reply yet, may be it's the weekend, in my profile saying I can edit my post so far I have no idea how.

I haven't seen any problems with the CPA, so yeah, check that out.
Yes, I did make an appointment on Tuesday about it.

The Eco start stop won't work under a myriad of conditions including freezing weather.
I'm living in a city of the south of Los Angeles area, Orange County, so I haven't recalled any freezing temp around here. And it happens with the engine warm even after freeway driving.

I would add one more con to the list. The self parking doesn't work consistently. Once it finds a spot then its perfect, but most of the time even when a parking spot exists, it doesn't detect it for some reason. Any help on how to make it work or manually actuate the parking assist would help.
I don't trust my Parking Assist so I always park it myself to have a piece of mind.

The van was nice and comfortable on the long trip and pretty effortless to drive. Seats were good for long hauls.
Agreed with my leatherette seats, very comfortable.

A/C worked nicely in some hot weather in S. Florida, which is a relief, as I like a good A/C.
I paid $1,000 option for more powerful A/C and it's doing a good job. Sometimes I just let the front running only with no one complaining in the back.

Regarding the rear gate...that is really an issue if all other doors and windows are closed. If they are open, it closes easily
The rear door thing is a German car thing, or at least a Mercedes thing, they are more airtight than most cars, the result being that you are working to compress the air inside the vehicle. As AEbad mentions, open another door, or roll down a window.

Tony: did you get the enhanced A/C?
Thanks for the info! But I guess I still have to tell the workers at the car wash to close it tightly because they keep the other doors closed when working at one.


Here are the updates for my list:

Likes:
7. Very comfortable with my leatherette seats.
8. More powerful A/C option is working great, worth the upgrade.

Dislike:
8. Brakes are squeaking already from just around 1,500 miles.
9. The handles at front seats are better mounted on the A-pillar instead of on the ceiling. My parents having trouble getting in and out, ground clearance is pretty high, and they're just grasping the A-pillar for much easier entering/exiting the van. Same with kids and others.
10. The radio is way outdated and no changing stations buttons on the steering wheel, only the volume.
11. The clock is losing time like two minutes per month. The cheap watches in 99 cents stores tend to keep time better than this clock.

Those above applied only to my van. May be other owners got better luck.
 
#3 ·
I would add one more con to the list. The self parking doesn't work consistently. Once it finds a spot then its perfect, but most of the time even when a parking spot exists, it doesn't detect it for some reason. Any help on how to make it work or manually actuate the parking assist would help.
 
#4 ·
Good lists.

I just did about 3000 miles in a week and came up with some likes and dislikes as well.'

One big observation and dislike is the poor calibration of the trip/fuel computer. It over-estimates MPG by 1.5 to 2.5 MPG. The problem with this is that the system appears to use these figures in predicting your range. What happened on a couple of occasions is that the system said I had 100+ miles left to go, but this was way off and I almost ran out of gas. It went from 100 to 50 in about 20 miles. Also, who on earth does this range thing shut off at 50 miles? It just switches to a fule up now mesage. Perhaps they know how inaccurate it is! 18 gal at 25MPG is a lot different that 18 X 23MPG...about 35 miles to be exact...so my advice is do NOT trust that range estimate as you'll wind up 30 miles short of the station!

Since using fuelly, it turns out the MPG numbers on the built in system I was happy with are probably an overestimate. Getting about 22 on highway, although that was well above speeds EPA uses to get their estimates.

Also VERY unhappy about the squaks and rattles throughout the van. I have a 2001 Eurovan with 170K on it and it is quieter than this van with about 5K on it. Not feeling that Mercedes build quality. Right side slider, left side driver's door, and tailgate all rattle. The seat belt adjuster, right near my ear, also rattles. Rear seat mounts sound like rattling tin cans when on a rough road. There is a big clunk from dash when larger bumps are encountered. I admit I am a bit anal about rattles, but this is absurd.

The van was nice and comfortable on the long trip and pretty effortless to drive. Seats were good for long hauls.

Regarding the rear gate...that is really an issue if all other doors and windows are closed. If they are open, it closes easily.

A/C worked nicely in some hot weather in S. Florida, which is a relief, as I like a good A/C.

We'll see how the next 5000 miles go!
 
#5 ·
The rear door thing is a German car thing, or at least a Mercedes thing, they are more airtight than most cars, the result being that you are working to compress the air inside the vehicle. As AEbad mentions, open another door, or roll down a window.

Tony: did you get the enhanced A/C?
 
#7 ·
I did not get upgraded a/c. I asked around and some said that is needed for places like AZ or if you sit with air on like a shuttle van might do, but regular system was adequate for my intended uses. That seems right based on my experiences this past week.
 
#8 ·
I didn't get it, because I live in Jersey and am planning a move to Winnipeg, where a/c is largely irrelevant. But I was wondering.

The clock is crap. I can't think of a car, inclusive of my Isuzu 13-ton and my Ford E250, and my dads Nissans and Hondas, my moms Audi... Gee, you know I can think of a car that did have a good clock, but just one. My friend growing up, his dad had a 1989 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur, and the clock worked well. Only car I can think of. The clock on the Maserati Biturbo I once drove didn't work at all.

As for the stations. You CAN. On your pixel matrix display, you can pull up a screen that will allow you to move between presets on your radio. Or between playlist songs.

I personally love the radio. It's so uncomplicated.
 
#9 ·
Can someone show me how to edit my post? No reply from any mod yet. I meant edit my original post.

I dropped off my Metris today to check all four problems: Collision Prevention Assist, Eco Start/Stop, Rear Compartment Climate Control and brakes. They gave me a brand spanking new loaded loaner GLA with only 10 miles on it. With the same engine it got an impressive mileage, not like my Metris with filling up gas tank today and the next day the gas needle is already on the way down.
 
#13 ·
Hi All,

I'm surprised the "low angle of the rear view camera" did not make the dislike list.

It's like looking at peoples feet. Is there anyway to adjust this higher so at least I can see waist-high behind me?

Other problems for me just to chime in if anyone else has these issues:

1) MIL came on for low coolant (just picked mine up 2weeks ago)
2) brake grinding front right when rolling at low speed
3) Radio Tuner has a lot of interference when the ignition is on. If just on the first ACC key level, radio is clear and crisp, one more turn and it scrambles.
-Dealer visit next week, will ask them to top the oil if needed.

Usability complaints:
1) Agreed on the A-pillar door handle would be nice for passenger, pregnant wife can't find a way to pull up.
2) Agreed on the trunk closing requiring extra effort. Made me wish they offered the powered rear hatch. ( Side note - if you're having rattle, check your license plate screws. my dealer only put top two in and it rattled like crazy, added the other two and it's solid).
3) Wished the keyfob could control both doors instead of one(I found out how to program the key to open the driver door instead of the right)
4) Wished the rear seats would fold, trying to load things are a pain when you know you have all this space but can't get long things in because of the fixed seats. Might just remove them.
5) Putting things in the above dash area creates glare on the windshield. I've made some black matte vinyl cut-outs that fit in the slots and I would put that on top to cover whatever I stick in there.
6) Would like some more small compartments that close so I can hide some stuff, everything is so open.
7) Wished they offered Keyless Go.
8) Audio 15, finding it takes too many steps to jump to a different music folder for the SD card, this is tough to change when driving. Any shortcut to do this?

Learnings that might be helpful:
1) Noticed the Eco Start/Stop wasn't consist either but I realized I needed to 'Charge' the battery. If you switch your dash view to Trip and go to the Eco mileage bar graph screen, you'll see a section on the right that says 'Charge'. You'll need to drive and 'Coast' enough so the bar goes to the Charge area, you'll then see the Eco Start/Stop 'A' Icon on the dash screen pop up. Now you are eligible for a 'Stop' the next time you stop. Hope this helps.
2) I removed the headrests for the entire rear row and center for the middle row and put it under the seats. Now I have full view through the rear window, it's really a big difference.

Overall, still love the van, drives good, handles good. Great seats and seating position. I feel super safe driving it for long periods.
 
#14 ·
Hi DKTVAV,

I'm glad you like the ride and feel it is quiet. My wife complains that the third row is noisy and a lot of road noise. Could it possibly due to the fact that I do not have the comfort suspension and I do not have the carpeting in my Metris passenger van?

I got ordered dynamat from amazon and I'm planning to put in some sound insulation myself, so wife can feel that we have a "real" mercedes.
 
#15 ·
Still don't see the edit button for my OP:frown:.

I want to add a dislike: trying to recline the front seats is horrible. I got to move it forward all the way so I can turn the knob. They should swap the function of the lever and the knob.




I do have comfort suspension (I thought it's standard for passenger van) and carpeting the whole van.

BTW, I did the tires re-balance and rotation at around 1200 miles if I remember correctly and it helps riding a little more quiet or just placebo effect. Also, check the tire pressure making sure they're not over inflated: a pound or two over recommended pressure at the doors is good to me. When I first got it from the dealer they have a little more than 50 lbs each tire:surprise:.
 
#18 ·
4 Days 100 miles in . Had the mystery chain link noise as described in other forum topic . Looked at the heat shield and bent it back towards body seems to have quieted down. Pretty flimsy metal if you ask me. Also the hose cabling seems a little loose going to post some engine pics later. Other than that no biggies so far. Driving it 300 miles this weekend so time will tell. Getting 21 mpg around town on my cargo config.
 
#21 ·
Find the ride, handling and comfort good. Lots of improvements needed on the electronics. Eco drive totally inconsistent and unpredictable. Accident assist inconsistent. Self park I can't make work. Rear AC always on. Backup camera poor. Open one side door only with fob not good. Manual rear hatch a pain. Spunky van with car ride and good mileage makes it work. I don't know if I will keep it as long as I hoped.
 
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