How a power steering error on my S-class turned out to be a simple fix

The service folks ran the diagnostics and reported there were no errors or stored faults. Connectors and other usual suspects where checked and found no issues.

BHPian androdev recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The car has returned from its 11th annual service visit. Nothing special to report except for a warning message I received when I stopped the car for refuelling a couple of days before the service visit. The error went away when I started the engine and everything including steering worked normally. I patted myself on the back for not flinching after seeing a big bold red error message on the dash.

The service folks ran the diagnostics and reported there were no errors or stored faults. Connectors and other usual suspects where checked and found no issues.

After consulting with their Pune technical team (this is something I have noticed with Mercedes, they consult with their Pune technical team a lot - which is a good thing IMO) they said it is likely due to weak battery. The battery was 2016 make.

They charged battery fully and tested the battery. The battery test report said "Good Battery".

Then they left the car overnight and tested the battery next day morning. The battery test report now shows "Charge" which means the battery is not holding the charge sufficiently and a replacement is recommended.

They could have easily said "saar, it's 2016 battery, time to replace it". Credit to them for taking the trouble to follow the process to confirm that battery indeed needs replacement. A side note: The battery lasted this long because I was using Bosch C7 battery charger. Prior to that I was changing the batteries way too often. This S Class is a battery hog, not surprising, given all the stuff it is loaded with.

The new battery costed me Rs 42,000 incl labour after 10% discount. I requested for a separate bill for the battery just for clarity.

The rest of the service was routine and the bill came up to: Rs 53,072 (10% discount was given for senior citizens - the car, not me, lol!)

My spend analysis looks something like this. I need to explore how I can bring down the cost of schooling, food and other non-essentials!

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