MB no longer providing Live Traffic on 2017/18 cars

[Jeffkad]

Apparently MB has severed its relationship with the Traffic service provider, TomTom, and anyone whose subscription has run out cannot renew (like I just found out on my 2018 E350!). These cars are also not compatible with Sirius XM Traffic, so owners are sh*t out of luck. This seems to have been going on since 2019, and MB has made no effort to advise owners (radio silence) nor offer a solution when called out. Horrible customer treatment. I just bought my end of lease car, only to find this out after the fact. I’m @#$&& furious, but seems like I have no recourse. After leasing some 10+ MBs over the past 15 years, may be time to look elsewhere. Buyer beware that MB will leave you high and dry.

[Dany1122]

Google maps son

[Jeffkad]

I don’t want Google Maps, Apple Maps, or anything else. I like the MB NAV, and I want what I bought the car with, an integrated system that gives me NAV/map/traffic integrated with the audio screen,etc. When you pay $65k for a luxury car (or any car for that matter), you shouldn’t lose a basic service because the manufacturer arbitrarily decides not to support it just a few years later. Sorry, just not cool.

[Dany1122]

Must update firmware from 90’s - bill gates wants his cd-rom back

You should try google maps - don’t be scared of innovation- it won’t bite - Go woke son

[jeisensc]

@Jeffkad

Apparently MB has severed its relationship with the Traffic service provider, TomTom, and anyone whose subscription has run out cannot renew

Do you have a citation? Did someone at MB CC tell you that? I’m not finding anything (the MB Vans built in/after 2019 still have Live Traffic from TomTom according to MB website).

Others (elsewhere) mention the Sirius traffic service (which is satellite based), the Tomtom one USED to be FM-based when I used it for years, but they sell so many information products now that MB may be getting data from their API and either pushing it to cars or making it available?

In the UK, everyone reports their TomTom subscription for the data is only for the first three years, and by renewing it seems to work. No clue if that applies in the US

@Jeffkad

I don’t want Google Maps, Apple Maps, or anything else. I like the MB NAV, and I want what I bought the car with, an integrated system that gives me NAV/map/traffic integrated with the audio screen,etc.

See also

@jeisensc

My observation is that integration is a weakness across the industry. Some ground-up design/build, some choose the best off-the-shelf sub-assemblies — either way (and anywhere on that spectrum) nobody does a good job of fully integrating (which must include robust feedback upstream to make these off-the-shelf products better”).

TL;DR: tech in cars is becoming geometrically more complicated, increasingly less-understood by the OEMs, poorly integrated in its implementation, with broken feedback-loops inside a broken feedback-loop.

A key reason I’ve been leasing since 2004 — not that I won’t ever buy a car again, but the speed of obsolescence is blinding. They have all designed Franken-monsters that nearly everything works nearly all the time, while under warranty. After that, good luck - and you have no right to repair so don’t be dismantling/reverse-engineering your own solutions.

[Traderx]

Totally agree. You would think mb with their prestigious brand would keep something their MB drivers want.

[njc]

The targeted MB demographic doesn’t keep the car past the 3 year lease time frame. That’s who MB caters to. On the other hand I also can’t find any reference to the OP’s claim outside of this post.

[alphawave7]

@Dany1122

You should try google maps - don’t be scared of innovation- it won’t bite - Go woke son

Until it goes the way of Google+. Welcome to the world of buying software instead of hardware…hardware as a service, HAAS.

[njc]

While google is well known for abandoning projects, I don’t think they are going to do away with google maps unless forced to. This is their way into collecting data about you in the physical world, and they need the data.

[Jeffkad]

Thank you for your email to Mercedes-Benz USA.

From the initial mbrace service activation Live Traffic services were complementary for three years. Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience. However at this time, this service cannot be renewed, and we are currently investigating if service may be provided in the future.

We realize our apology will not negate your expressed dissatisfaction, but nonetheless, do extend it most sincerely.

Kind Regards,

Lakoya R.
Mercedes-Benz USA
(800) 367-6372

[Jeffkad]

When it happened, I tried to research it, hard to find info but came across several threads on various mb owner sites including MBworld and Benzworld. The attached reply from MB was copied from an mbworld post back in March.

[jeisensc]

Just for kicks, I would contact TomTom and see if they have any ability to offer it directly to you (probably not, but worth asking).

[njc]

are you sure they didn’t just rename it into a different package with different subscription? mbrace for 2016-2018 Models | Mercedes-Benz USA seems to imply that traffic is part of the concierge package and is available for 2016-2018. I’m not that familiar with MB to know all of their packages and definitions, but it could be that everything was repackaged for a different monthly fee. Just a thought.

[trism]

I will never buy another INFINITI after they stopped selling DVDs to update the navigation system in my 2011 G37.