[spockmckoy]

I don't know if this will be a popular topic, but this is my first MB and I'm going to list a few things I don't like about the Metris.

1-- The passenger mirror on my cargo is really dangerous for lack of vision, I know others hate them too.
2 -- The 12 volt cigarette lighter receptacle. In the very bottom and rear of the console, close to the floor. You can't see it, you have to feel for it.
3-- I got the factory trailer hitch and wiring. There is NO included adapter for the the round factory receptacle to flat 4 pin wiring on some trailers. My Dodge Ram & Durango came with those adapters included.
4 -- when driving with the drivers window down, the air causes the right rear sidewall sheet metal to vibrate at times. Put up the window and all is quiet.
I only have 200 miles on it so far...... it is going back to the dealer because the rear muffler bracket hits the frame and vibrates, I sent a vid to the dealer and they are going to fix it.
5 -- The cargo factory floor with the D rings -- toooo slippery. I had other vans with no slip floors from the factory. This floor is like a skating rink. Nothing stays in place and slides all around as you turn the vehicle. I will be installing a commercial grade carpet squares with a low nap.

I know the Germans are very Spartan at times with their interiors. For years, they didn't understand the concept of a cup holder in a car.........

I may be picky, but for a MB, I expected better than this. I shouldn't have to alter the vehicle basics -- mirrors, floors to make it right.

 

[Reese]

Agree with you on the cargo floor, very slippery. I got some 4 ft wide ribbed rubber floor matting from Overstocked.com and it gives great traction for the cargo floor.

 

[Greenmanedlion]

The part I really hate is the 101mph speed limiter. The Vito can do 124, and I'm not sure why they felt the need to limit it-its more stable at the century than even my mighty 124. The paint quality stinks. The drivers seat is wearing too fast.

And yeah, the mirrors are a joke- but it's solved with the Blind Spot Assist.

 

[Greenmanedlion]

Edit: and the horn stinks. I've been thinking of getting a roof mounted K5LA and rigging it to play Flight of the Valkries.

 

[Yankee]

1.) The mirrors - for obvious reasons.

2.) The backup camera - I wish it was aimed up a little to show more of surrounding vehicles so you could see if someone was backing out, etc.

3.) The noise - even with sound deadening material, it's obnoxious.

4.) The wheels get dirty from brake dust REALLY fast. Not sure if the Metris comes with cheap pads or what.

 

[Vadim]

1.)

4.) The wheels get dirty from brake dust REALLY fast. Not sure if the Metris comes with cheap pads or what.

Actually, Mercedes has the best braking system in the world. There is no other car, suv or van stops so quickly. Brake dust, yes it is painful, just use water and soap to clean it. Do not use chemicals like wheel cleaner, this will eventually ruin your rims.
I clean my Metris wheels one a week.

 

[Styles]

Eco start/stop doesn't care when I am in Park and starts the engine as soon as my foot leaves the brake.

 

[Greenmanedlion]

4.) The wheels get dirty from brake dust REALLY fast. Not sure if the Metris comes with cheap pads or what.

I can assure you they aren't cheap. I can assure you that you are going to cringe in 4-50k miles (or possibly less) at just how not cheap they are. Mercedes designs their vehicles for autobahn use. The brakes are part of that. Most companies select brakes for a compromise mindset- as with all parts of the car- combining reasonable cost, reasonable life, useful stopping distances for the relatively laid back American driving style, relative lack of annoying brake dust, and above all else minimal noise during operation.

Mercedes? They don't do that. Stopping power over the widest possible application trumps everything. Some day you are going to make a mistake, the brake pre fill and brake assist are going to deploy, and you will find out just how incredibly fast your Metris can haul its 5000lbs of bulk to a halt.

The downside is relatively short brake life (I find myself changing pads in my other car every 35k miles or so), a considerable amount of brake noise, eye watering pad cost- that almost always requires rotors too- and black front wheels.

You can change to something else- it will save you a lot of money and wheel cleaning aggravation- that will be perfectly adequate. But if you value good brakes, don't- you have the best stoppers in the business.

Or to quote a Daimler executive: "Germans don't care if their brakes make noise (or dust) so long as they work. Americans don't care if their brakes work, so long as they don't make noise!"

 

[parsi]

5 -- The cargo factory floor with the D rings -- toooo slippery. I had other vans with no slip floors from the factory. This floor is like a skating rink. Nothing stays in place and slides all around as you turn the vehicle. I will be installing a commercial grade carpet squares with a low nap.

Another option for the rear floor is this stuff. Heavy and extremely durable, it helps with sound deadening quite a bit as well. Downside is nothing slides on it, it's like friction glue, so unloading cases is a real pain. I've since topped it off with cheap indoor/outdoor carpet which combined creates a really nice surface.

 

[spockmckoy]

The dealer repaired the exhaust rattle today. The final hanging bracket was rubbing against the factory trailer hitch. It sounded like a woodpecker hammering steel when I drove. No noise on way back from dealer. FUEL situation: my first tank ran out today, 264 miles. The little yellow fuel light pump lit on the dash; fine. BUT do they have to remove all data from the other display and put up another little fuel pump with the words : RESERVE FUEL? I shut off the van and restarted it to see what my mileage was on the first tank as it got to 1 final bar on fuel gauge. 264, the fuel light kicked on around 250.

Other rattle, which I thought was passenger wall rattling with windows down; it was the roof and all arch supports moving up and down like a cheap beer can metal. I was doing 35-30 mph. Very disappointed in this MB. My 1984 chevy van and 1994 chevy van roof was sturdy and didn't make noise like this. I haven't even added the ladder roof yet. IF I put up the windows, all ok and no more noise.

Does anyone else experience this noise/movement in their cargo version? I need to find a way to reinforce this cheap roof. Sound is awful.

 

[spockmckoy]

Parsi, thanks, interesting stuff!

 

[parsi]

Other rattle, which I thought was passenger wall rattling with windows down; it was the roof and all arch supports moving up and down like a cheap beer can metal. I was doing 35-30 mph. Very disappointed in this MB. My 1984 chevy van and 1994 chevy van roof was sturdy and didn't make noise like this. I haven't even added the ladder roof yet. IF I put up the windows, all ok and no more noise.

Does anyone else experience this noise/movement in their cargo version? I need to find a way to reinforce this cheap roof. Sound is awful.

Unfortunately I think what you're experiencing is common in modern vehicles. My father-in-law drove his 2014 Explorer straight back to the dealer first time he heard it. My wife's last two Camry's have done it, and my 2004 Yukon would react that way occasionally.

My guess is it's the improved aerodynamics in combination with eliminating the long lamented wing-window, maybe someone here knows better. Each vehicle seems to have it's own thump frequency excited by having both front windows open. The Metris it's both windows wide open. Camry's it's one window open, the other about half way. Explorer it's both windows open equal, you can tune it as you drive, it's actually a kinda scary throbbing whoooomp.

All you can really do is raise the passenger window about a third and it goes away. Guess we're just supposed to use AC whenever it gets warm.

cheers,
parsi

 

[spockmckoy]

I've experienced the throbbing whoooomp, in several of my vehicles; but never had the sheet metal visually moved up and down so fast and noisy. I don't know if liners will help or not. After I add my additional lighting and power outlets, I'll try to work on the roof for both sound/thermal insulation improvements. Those little 9" stick on squares from the factory don't do a dang thing. I saw a company which sells a complete set of liners for the Metris cargo area. All walls covered flush. I may consider them in the near future.

 

[parsi]

My guess is in most vehicles it's soft stuff breathing and in the Metris it's sheet metal, all that air gotta go somewhere. You've kinda had a rough start with the Metris and I'd guess once you get past that you'll start to appreciate the vehicle. I've got my complaints about MB, but this vehicle ain't one of the them.

Do you remember who the liner company is?

cheers,
parsi

 

[spockmckoy]

https://www.inlad.com/van-equipment You can find a variety of items here. I was looking for a particular ladder rack for the roof and they had it. I went to my local truck upfitter in town and they said all ladder racks are generic and they'd drill holes in my roof. I said they are not and left. Not to mention they wanted $400+ more than what I got and they are selling generic and not custom like I got.

 

[hank]

I second the way the rear view camera points at the ground - I'm used to it now but higher is better.

I'm annoyed by the shallow half moon shaped cubby holes in the dash - they take up a good amount of room but seem totally useless!

I wish the Metris had some sort of dead flat shelf area in the dash or on the door - I put my contacts in in the car to surf and there's absolutely nowhere convenient to put the open contact case without balancing precariously.

Center drink holders too big! Dash drink holders too small!

Navigation system is an exquisite turd compared to others I've used. It feels like 12 years ago.

Seat sits up really high in the driver's window - I like to be set deeper behind the door.

Long reach to the radio etc from my driving position.

Would be nice if you could control both sliding doors from the key fob, not just one.

It really really needs a sill protector on the rear bumper.

And seats that folded (in any way at all) in the back would be totally awesome, because those mothers are HEAVY! Megabonus points if they folded into a bed.

All that said I absolutely love this car. I've had my share of nice cars, thought I was just not the type that loves cars. This van is my darling - love love love it!

 

[ELJEFE]

My Metris Passenger:

Nit-pics:

The black carpet front to rear shows every spec of dirt - Fix: New mats in charcoal

Lousy speakers - Fix: replace speakers, easy

Navigation a joke - Fix: use my iPhone

Lack of a Sirius Radio connect - Fix: use iPhone Pandora

Mirrors / viz for me are fine with addition of wide angle add on mini mirrors and Blind Spot Assist

A/C could be colder

That said, this Mini-Sprinter, is a fabulous vehicle with a lot to love, drives great, looks great, & the deeply discounted price these things are selling for is an added bonus

I happy!

 

[Reese]

I don't need two different low fuel warnings on my Instrument Cluster. The little red light that looks like a gas pump is enough, I don't also need the digital low fuel warning in the middle of the cluster that replaces my Odometer/Trip Meter display. And the low fuel warning does not need to go on when I reach 1/4 of a tank, it should not display until you are at least at 1/8 tank.

 

[parsi]

1. Mirrors and mirrors and mirrors and mirrors, did I mention the mirrors? Inexcusably dumm.
2. Dealer cluelessness. Feel like I'm dancing with Inspector Clouseau sometimes.
3. Auto start/stop. I like the idea, but it doesn't follow it's own rules. It's active immediately after starting the engine then disappears for ?????? then reappears just as the next light turns green...
4. Phone to audio system integration feels like a kludgy school project from the PacMan era.
4a. Navigation module makes phone integration seem like the 2001 monolith.
5. Rear window washer sprays about 2" up onto the window, kinda humorous actually, if you're nearing 60.
6. No cutoff switch for the back up alarm (on my to-do list) and an undocumented double secret Baryshnikov maneuver to enter night mode.
7. The bumpers are like scrawny little pre-evolutionary appendages attached to this hulking grey giant.
8. The sad little "blurp" when you lock the doors. It's a cargo van not Eeyore's tea cart. And why no unlock "blurp?"

Most of this stuff is cost benefit result, so for the cost I really don't have a big problem with most of it. 1 & 2 are pretty mind boggling though.

Okay, stuff that's weird cool cause no one else has it.
The parking light switch where one side of the parking light glows just a little, I activate it in large parking lots to make finding the van easier.
Rear fog light, "sure just tail gate me a bit closer blind boy!"
I actually like the quarter moon storage cutouts. One side holds my phone cord, the other my Leatherman.
No one else has it. Which is kinda cool and worrisome at the same time.

 

[Greenmanedlion]

The blurp tells you that all doors are closed and locked. If you leave a door or the tailgate open, it won't blurp. I like that because when I check the car on my night time closing rounds, I don't have to visually look. And it's not a quiet blurp, it's a brief sound of the horn... Which is highly directional.