taken the plunge

[bananapeal]

hello

i've been investigating this car on the forum for some time now, i'd like to thank you all for sharing your experiences. my parents who live in rural eastern ct have taken the plunge and kept the car beyond its guarantee return period. their example is a 2015 blue south seas with navigation and wood. it has 24.5k miles and is 9 months from warranty expiring.

it will be their second car after subaru forester. they are very excited about the future of electric gas free driving. initial range estimates look good at comfortably over 100 miles in e+ without a special charge. 40 amp evse is getting installed and finishing garage for warm starts in winter.

i simply hope it makes it through the winter and that the motor stays intact.

 

[JeffRay]

BananaPeal,

Nice set up. This will be a good rural getabout.with their Forester for longer trips and when the snow piles up. Warming up the car while plugged in will improve its winter performance and range. I put Michelin snow tires on mine and it rides very smoothly.

Good job. Hope your folks enjoy the ride.

 

[bananapeal]

i've thoroughly scared them by showing the threads on motor replacements here. my dad'll take it to dealer in the morning. he described the noise as a whirring sound you can hear above 20 mph and that it's very noticeable at 60 mph. i'll update how it goes in a new thread.

are you expecting your 2017 to eventually develop engine noise or they fixed the issue in later cars?

i hope the replaced examples stay quiet. the ones that replace multiple times seem cursed.

 

[JeffRay]

BananaPeal,

I have written in many threads that one should take a used B250e immediately to the MB dealer to have them check everything out before purchasing or during return period. These cars are quiet so you will hear fans, etc. But you shouldn't really hear the motor except a pleasant run up.

The ones that are cursed my theory is the MB dealer only replaced the motor but may not have tracked down the root cause, e.g. bad coolant, so the issue repeats.

Best of luck here.

 

[bananapeal]

hello

sorry for the delayed reply. especially after implying this severe problem. to summarize everything, buying a car mail order sight un-seen is a bit disconcerting when it isn't perfect. and it was so easy to make it perfect.

we took it to dealer to inspect but only after i had them delay the appointment so i could visit and we could diagnose the sound together. it almost exclusively came from the back, speed-specific howl with vibration. took it in for bearing maybe. they said tires and quoted $1500.

bought a rear set from tire rack and installed for $70. stayed with original run-flats to match the front. sound is gone and the car is silent. very beautiful device. sorry i couldn't update sooner, i stayed rather unplugged during my trip.

it is incredible that non run-flat tire are less than half the price. we could have installed 4 tires for less than replacing these rears. and some are reported to be quieter too. next time we will probably chance it and go without run flats.

latest bit of news is conflicting info about how to transfer the battery certification. called mbusa they say visit dealer, dealer told us to call 1-800. this is next item but so far it looks good!

 

[JeffRay]

bananapeal,

Sounds good (pun intended). Yeah, run flats are pricey but for piece of mind for your folks, since there is no spare, this works. I live in an urban environment where once a year, a nail punctures one of my tires. That being said, I switched to winter Michelins and the ride is even quieter and of course softer. I do carry a battery powered air compressor in case I get a flat and need to go further to have it fixed.

Let us know how the battery story ends. The point is for someone to certify that your battery warranty is still intact. For this I am told, the car needed to be battery tested annually or they will say the warranty is void. Did the MB tech run the annual test and give you the results in any case? The test is likely to be okay as a B250e like yours will almost certainly pass. The shortcut is what the GOM says when the car is fully charged. It should say north of 90 given rural driving and current warm temperatures.

Thanks for posting.