Here’s Why People Hate Mercedes

The Complexity of Modern Cars: A Recipe for Disaster?

I recently had the misfortune of dealing with a Mercedes-Benz vehicle that was plagued by an array of technical issues. The car, which I'll refer to as "the beast," seemed to have a mind of its own, frequently malfunctioning and requiring extensive repairs.

At first, it started with a faulty signal from the head unit. But things quickly escalated when the radar signals began to malfunction, followed by a series of communication faults that affected the telematics services. The audio system also suffered from problems, while the instrument cluster seemed to be experiencing electrical issues. To make matters worse, there was a general electrical fault that rendered the car's systems unreliable.

As I delved deeper into the issue, it became clear that "the beast" had a history of technical problems. It turned out that the Active Body Control system was in need of repair, and more specifically, it was a known recall issue. I took the car to the dealer, who assured me that they had addressed the problem. However, when I returned for a follow-up inspection, I found that the code still persisted.

The dealership's inability to resolve the issue led me to wonder if the software used in the car was faulty. It transpired that the software was supplied by Continental, a company that seemed to be struggling with its own technical issues. The fact that Continental's software was being used on this particular vehicle suggested that there were deeper problems at play.

One of my colleagues once said that Germans have lost their minds when it comes to technology. He claimed that in Deutschland, cars are designed and built for a mere four years before they're simply discarded and replaced with a new model. This philosophy seems to be applied to many modern vehicles, including the Mercedes-Benz "beast."

As I continued to explore the issues with the car, I came across a German mechanic who shared his thoughts on the matter. He claimed that in Germany, people have become accustomed to throwing away cars after just four years of ownership, simply because they're no longer reliable. This phenomenon seems to be more prevalent than ever, particularly when it comes to modern vehicles with advanced technology.

I also spoke with a colleague who had previously worked for a dealership and had experience with Mercedes-Benz models. He told me that he was no longer confident in his ability to diagnose and repair complex technical issues, citing the sheer complexity of modern cars as a major contributor to this problem. His sentiments were echoed by another mechanic who had worked on Toyotas and claimed that even simple repairs could be daunting due to the intricate nature of modern vehicles.

The issue with "the beast" ultimately boiled down to a faulty tire, which cost $3,500 to replace. While this may seem like a minor problem in comparison to the car's other issues, it highlighted the fragility of modern vehicles and their reliance on advanced technology.

I recall a conversation I had with a colleague who had purchased a Toyota and was left stunned when he discovered that his vehicle had been damaged by a mere 2x5 ladder that had fallen off a truck. The repair costs were staggering, amounting to twice the purchase price of the car itself. This anecdote serves as a stark reminder of the risks associated with driving modern vehicles.

In conclusion, the experience I had with "the beast" left me with mixed feelings about modern cars and their reliability. While some may argue that these vehicles offer unparalleled convenience and technological advancements, others may find themselves frustrated by the sheer complexity and cost associated with repairs. As I reflected on this experience, I couldn't help but wonder if it's time for manufacturers to revisit their approach to quality control and design.

As I finish writing this article, I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a friend who shared his own experiences working on complex technical issues in the automotive industry. He claimed that even after 50 years of experience, he still struggled to understand some of the more advanced systems used in modern vehicles. His sentiments are echoed by many others in the industry, and it's clear that there is still much to be learned about these complex machines.

In light of this, I would like to offer a word of caution to potential car buyers: while modern vehicles may seem appealing due to their advanced technology and capabilities, they come with significant risks and uncertainties. As we move forward into an era where cars are increasingly reliant on sophisticated computer systems, it's essential that manufacturers prioritize quality control and design.

As I look back on my experience with "the beast," I'm reminded of the importance of having a warranty in place. In this case, the owner had opted for an extended warranty that would cover repairs for seven years and 100,000 miles. While this may seem like overkill to some, it's clear that in modern cars, where technical issues can arise at any moment, such coverage is essential.

In light of these findings, I urge car buyers to approach the purchase of a new vehicle with caution. Research the make and model thoroughly, and don't be afraid to ask questions about its reliability and maintenance costs. By taking a more informed approach to car ownership, we can minimize our risk exposure and ensure that our vehicles continue to serve us well for years to come.

Ultimately, the experience I had with "the beast" taught me a valuable lesson: in the world of modern cars, complexity is often just beneath the surface. It's up to manufacturers to acknowledge this reality and take steps to address it, rather than simply relying on advanced technology as a panacea for all problems.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines all right here we have over 150 000 mercedes brand new and it's had all kinds of problems now this is a v8 bi-turbo all-wheel drive mercedes and it says amg on it but things are not what they seem kind of fudging things here just like my triumph motorcycle british flags but if you do a little research i go through the vin number of my british motorcycle right it was made in thailand they do a better job than the brits do but nobody does a good job at making mercedes more than the germans themselves in deutschland let's look at the door and what does it say all right it says manufactured in alabama tuscaloosa county under contract for mercedes-benz stuttgart germany so it was made in alabama now he paid over 150 grand for this car looked at it in california had it shipped to the east coast here's what it started out with you notice the noise when we closed the passenger door it turns out there was weld spatter here sloppy job welding and not buffing it that it wore the paint off here and he had to argue with them and fight back and forth just to get it fixed correctly now it's got a great sound system there's no arguing that but so far three of the speakers were blown and rattling and he had to get him replaced the quality lost there listen all these electronics it's certainly got electronics out the wazoo but the most annoying things for him is this interference detection active the mirror talks to him it whistles it was not made correctly and they said they have no idea when a mirror is going to come in and be able to get one to get rid of the whistling noise is 150 000 car now that would annoy the heck out of me as you can see this car is loaded with technology it's absolutely insane the technology in his cars the led colors the speakers but then again three of the speakers are broken already paddle shifters you can do it electronically you can fiddle around with all kinds of sensors the transmission to make it new manual mode you can turn the traction control off now as we open the hood the owner pointed something out this windshield sporting fluid is always leaking out because this doesn't fit right and you may or may not believe this but he told me they said well we can put another one in but it'll do the same thing because they all do that this is not a 150 000 car mind you this isn't a hugo this is some cheap little fiat this is a hundred and fifty thousand dollar car these are times so tight the plastic was cracked so they had to replace the whole front grill let's just say those boys in alabama who are building them they don't build them like they do in deutschland now the engine itself is a marvel of technology and as you can see handcrafted this is extremely complex it has a mild hybrid system which now puts out a lot of power but i'm kind of wondering hey this is a new car and it's had all these problems already what's gonna happen when this thing is five six years old if that hybrid system starts breaking down did you ever take a car to the mercedes dealer and then just about scream when you see what it's gonna cost well with a hybrid you're gonna scream twice as loud no there's no arguing it's a beast it's got tremendous brakes good pirelli tires on it aerodynamic and now he could probably sell it for 20 grand more than what he paid for it maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to do that you know now he had some idling problems that they worked on but he's still not totally satisfied let's get my computer and take a look at this thing but before we do you can see i've got my jacket on it's getting colder here in new england came with summer tires he told me there's no option for all season tires so he had to go get winter tires for it now don't hook up the scan tool at least the germans are logical here look having a nice easy place to get to fight computers with computers do intelligent diagnosis and here we go we know what it is loading the data this is a fast machine on a fast car it still takes quite some time to even go through the beginning of the system because there was so much stuff on this car all that previous stuff was just to load the information now it's doing a simple scan the machine itself knows i've got this connected because it knows there's an analytical machine aboard but the two computers talk to each other they did the preliminary one now it's doing another one there's a lot of stuff that has to be go through luckily they're all green so far now realize this vehicle only has 21 000 miles on it but here we go look at the codes transmission control module communication with the electronic ignition lock as a malfunction communication with the steering column module has a malfunction communications one or more color generation and coupling modes on line bus six as a malfunction the message is missing that's all these colors that system itself is implausible data were received from control unit radar sensors the instruction counter is not updated now the multi-function camera communication electronic ignition lack is a malfunction implausible data was received it from the head unit an incorrect signal the radar signals the eco start stop this as one of those start stop system this thing's broken down already more communication faults the communications for the telematics services has a problem the audio has a problem the instrument cluster has a problem there is a general electrical fault well good luck with all this electronics figuring out where the general electrical fault exists perhaps the most amusing part this active body control is a known recall he took it back to dealer and they said they fixed it well let's see it's got two codes they certainly did not fix it but the problem here you can see the software was supplied by continental they're not even doing their own software on this thing i've never even heard of their software so obviously it's got problems there was a recall he took it in they said they fixed it but obviously not because it's still there it's still a code there now the problem with your mercedes is they're so complex look at this we're just going to some simple things and we'll go into something like air conditioning look at all the information you have to go through the line bus just go into things that you think are simple it's kind of like following alice in wonderland down the rabbit hole things are a lot more complex than you think they are but the dealer said they fixed the problem they didn't even fix it and this is a known problem imagine when it's an unknown problem no one's ever gonna figure out how to fix these things i met a german mechanic years ago and he said scotland he says you know in deutschland they just want to make cars four years you throw them away and buy a new and he said that to me 10 years ago today it's even doubly so i believe this butt they have a thing for a perfume atomizer generator you can check so basically the germans have lost their minds with technology and if you buy one of these and it breaks you may lose your mind trying to get the stupid thing fixed i mean come on they got these alabama guys putting them together and they're not doing such a hot job from his all the problems they had just from the get-go imagine when this thing gets to be five or six years old and it starts having serious electronic problems now i could go on and on and on but my old friend in houston here schmidt he's long gone he told me over a decade ago he said scotty even i have been working on these cars for 50 years and that's all he worked on was mercedes he said i don't know ten percent of how this stuff even works anymore and he hadn't even fancy one of my machine he had the actual mercedes star tester and he said i'm not gonna go back to class for this he sold this business to another guy moved back to germany he came up with it now the owner told me he likes the car but he doesn't like all the problem it has and he said he's only going to keep it under warranty so he's probably going to go out and buy an extended warranty that goes seven years and a hundred thousand miles and then get rid of it before then now if you watch any of my videos about warranties i said they're a bunch of bunk in this case no because his tires were 3 500 bucks you can imagine when this thing goes wonkers they will have to fix it with a warranty like that and in a car with all this technology all this craziness you got to have a warranty on it let me tell you this thing is just too it's a mild hybrid on top of it so i mean you're really talking about technology up the wazoo now they used to say they build them great in deutschland solid well i kind of disagree in this case because the guy was in traffic two by five ladder fell off a truck and he hit it right it was 23 000 dollars of damage to this car this is not built like a tank 23 grand for having a little bitty 2x5 ladder you know i had a guy the other day he came with a toyota and he had something and it was i didn't even know it was wrecked and it was fixed it wasn't that big of a deal that was twice what he paid for the entire toyota car just to fix the damage of a two by five ladder that he hit because he couldn't swerve out of the way because there were people on each side so if you want insane speed and suv and you got 150 000 burning a hole in your pocket and you don't mind those alabama boys that are a little bit slack on their quality control i think i'll buy a house instead so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that bell foreign\n"