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Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

mercedesbenzofnatick.com

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Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#241

Post by anchpop »

foepys wrote: post #217
snvzz wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A couple year ago, I was listening to music at a super low volume (way below that of people talking around me, if I removed the headphones) when fire alarm triggered. I didn't hear it. A coworker did pat my shoulder to let me know, and I noticed the super loud fire alarm as soon as I removed the quiet headphones. The headphones were not noise-cancelling or anything. Just Sennheiser HD380 Pro, which provide ~30dB isol…

Small children have this problem when they are sleeping. They just don't wake up from high-pitched noises, but require lower frequency alarms ideally with spoken words: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-38918056

I wonder if this is an adaptation to not be woken up by infants crying at night until they're old enough that sleep isn't as important or they're able to help?

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#242

Post by Sebb767 »

anyfoo wrote: post #48
twblalock wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxis get maintained religiously, and taxi companies have no problem replacing worn parts or even entire engines. There is a big difference in build quality and longevity between modern Mercedes cars and the ones built in the 1970s and 1980s. They used to feel substantially better than other cars. Now they don't really, except for the S class.

That’s a good point. A lot of taxis in Germany are owned by individuals (so while it’s still a business, it’s often a one-person business), but I know they have workshops specifically for taxis, that are probably somewhat specialized on Mercedes. And maintenance packages that factor into the price, which Mercedes likely has if only because of their long tradition as a taxi brand, would play a role as well. Otherwise,…

Note that Germany has some pretty strict requirements on what a car needs to have in order to be used as a taxi. Going non-standard in your choices there is probably not worth it financially in the end.

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#243

Post by jnty »

fuzzy2 wrote: post #174
adinisom wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Proper situational awareness while driving is a visual task. As people age, they begin to lose hearing and ability to localize sounds due to age and noise exposure. Leaning on hearing for safety becomes a liability.

That’s incredibly narrow-minded. You’re not “leaning on hearing”. You’re using all the information you can get. Hearing is vital . How else would you know an ambulance is around the corner, about to run a red light? There are things you simply cannot see, no matter how hard you look.

Emergency response drivers never assume they've been heard by any road users and are trained to look for signs of acknowledgement and awareness before doing anything unusual for exactly this reason. They certainly don't blast at speed around blind corners against the lights.

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#244

Post by OrangeMango »

distances wrote: post #232
OrangeMango wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you expound on this a little and perhaps mention some brands? I also have issues following discussions in those kinds of environments. I can hear the people talking, but it blends into the background noise and becomes very difficult to isolate the actual words.

Sure. My plugs are Elacin ER. I walked into a hearing aid/protection shop and got a mold of my ear canals made. Plugs were made to match the mold, took a couple of weeks and about 200€. Noise reduction is done with an exchangeable filter with different options for reduction levels, I'm using 25dB. Not the cheapest but if you don't lose them the should last a decade. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thank you very much!

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#245

Post by samirm »

hbosch wrote: post #135

I just want to say that this is exactly the type of thoughtfulness, design, engineering and research that justifies the price difference in something like a Mercedes and something like a Honda. There are so many small triumphs like this in class-leading, high-end vehicle manufacturers that go unnoticed and unsung and allow people with 2019 Accords to say things like "why would I pay $45,000 for that when I get better…

I'd say a comparison to Tesla would be way more apt than to Honda.

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#246

Post by _-___________-_ »

shoo_pl wrote: post #212
skgoa wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but people regularly get burns and light blunt trauma from airbags. The US versions of many cars even have slightly weaker airbags, because many people don't wear seatbelts and might be killed by a full-strength airbag.

In modern cars the airbag will not fire if the seatbelt is not used. This is the reason why we even have seat belt detectors that make this annoying noise - not just to annoy you but also to figure out whether its safe to fire airbag or not. Getting hit with airbag into the face when wearing eye glasses for example... that would suck, would it not?

This is completely untrue. The airbag will fire regardless of whether the seatbelt is worn, though it will be much less effective at restraining you. Out of curiosity, where on earth did you get the idea that they don’t fire?

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#247

Post by [deleted] »

vorpalhex wrote: post #236
i_am_nomad wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or dumbbell bench with those heavily rubberized weights. Dropping them is about as close to silent as you can get, and the exercises are the ultimate in form-focused weight training.

> heavily rubberized weights They're called bumper plates! They're so you can drop a loaded bar without causing everyone to glare at you - and also to help avoid the plates bouncing onto your foot. But you shouldn't need these on the bench. If you bench without a spotter and get stuck, move the weights to your hip and then sit up and shift them slowly to the floor like you're finishing a deadlift. (I've always called…

[deleted]

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#248

Post by danmg »

bluetomcat wrote: post #180
kemitchell wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about the difference in long-term cost of ownership, serviceability, and overall reliability? It's certainly one kind of car person that wants the latest and greatest nearly all the time. Some like to patronize particular auto makers, like fashionistas patronize fashion houses. It's quite another, equally valid kind of car person to take used examples of far simpler, utterly reliable cars and add suspension, brak…

> How about the difference in long-term cost of ownership, serviceability, and overall reliability? Long-term owner of a 2004 Mercedes W211 E320 CDI in Europe, with 420k kilometers on the clock. The inline 6-cylinder engine and the 5-speed auto transmission still work buttery smooth and the car pulls like a train without ever smoking. No interventions have ever been done to the engine and trans, apart from changing c…

I own a 2003 Mercedes W203 C230 and it has 400k km.

No problems with the engine and transmission other than the valve cover gasket blows every once in a while and starts leaking oil. Simple fix.

Some of the other parts on the car aren't quite as robust. I had to get the front end rebuilt. The key fob died. (That was a fun day since the steering column was locked, and there was no way to get diagnostic codes out. The only way to diagnose that it was the key was to buy another key and see, so that required a trip to the dealer with the title in hand.) The starter failed twice. It started leaking oil from a gasket around the oil level sensor and got onto the wiring harness, and had to replace the wiring harness. The transmission gear in the panoramic sun-moon roof wore out, not worth fixing---just keep it closed. The motor actuator units under the seats both died a year apart from one another during a cold snap and started drawing 1A all the time, replaced the drivers side, and just disconnected the passenger side.

As long as there aren't any major problems with the engine/trans, I'll just patch it up. People just want too much money relative to the value of the cars. We'll see if there's a correction in that market once this next recession hits. Convincing people to finance $50k vehicles for 144 months, so that their payment is roughly $500, isn't a sustainable market.

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#249

Post by kemitchell »

leokennis wrote: post #223
kemitchell wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about the difference in long-term cost of ownership, serviceability, and overall reliability? It's certainly one kind of car person that wants the latest and greatest nearly all the time. Some like to patronize particular auto makers, like fashionistas patronize fashion houses. It's quite another, equally valid kind of car person to take used examples of far simpler, utterly reliable cars and add suspension, brak…

I drive a Honda and, as most Japanese cars, it’s virtually indestructible.

The Japanese makers still have that reputation. I think it's still mostly deserved, with one big exception: continuously variable transmissions. Toyota has done well on reliability there, thanks to their big head start with Prius. Honda might be catching up. But the other Japanese makers that merged with foreign rivals---Nissan, Mazda---have had more trouble.

Toyota and Honda have also had duds, of course. In particular, their up-spec engine options have often sacrificed a lot of reliability and serviceability, compared to the ubiquitous base options.

Re: Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound

#250

Post by kemitchell »

benjaminsuch wrote: post #192
dvdbloc wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just wanted to share that I am a proud owner of a 2005 W211 E320 as well, gas however. 235k miles on the clock and it still starts up with the same 2 cranks and woosh as it did new and pulls on the highway just fine. Definitely a quality vehicle that has not only held up but hardly degraded since new.

I once talked to a taxi/cab driver about, why (in germany) almost every taxi/cab are a Mercedes. He said, that is is because of the insane durability of Mercedes cars. Plus it's easier for them to maintain them, since even for older cars there are plenty of repair parts (is that the correct term?) available.

Mercedes in Germany tend to be made in Germany, and there's a network effect in having so many around. I imagine Merc spares availability in Germany is a bit like Ford or Chevy parts availability in the US. With cabs, it's not a question of whether there will be issues, but when, and for how much. Here in the US, cabs routinely do full engine swaps to stay on the road. So many US fleets, like police departments, favor American cars.
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