Some Disappointments with Mercedes
We are excited to own a Mercedes Sprinter Van and so far we are very happy with our purchase. However, there are some things we are disappointed in that we will share here. Many of these are minor, but in my humble opinion, these are design issues Mercedes should have done better with.
- Apple Car Play: In order to use Apple CarPlay, your phone must be connected via USB-C cable to a port in the center console located on top of the dashboard. First of all, it is disappointing this functionality is not available through a Bluetooth connection. Making it worse, the cover on the center console does not allow for the USB-C cable to feed through it. You have to slam the console over your cable.
- Parasitic Drain: Need to watch this closely as it won’t take long (maybe 4-6 weeks) for parasitic drain to deplete the battery when the van is in storage. I have not found a good way to shut off the power consumption. My assumption is it comes from the MBUX system and Mercedes Me app. I keep a BatteryMINDer attached to the battery under the hood when the van is in longterm storage.
- Button Covers on Assist Handles: Wow, a silly issue, but the button covers on the bolt hold for the Assist Handles keep falling out. We’ve unfortunately lost a couple already. C’mon Mercedes?
Time 2 Xplore 