On an electric or hybrid Mercedes, regenerative braking (Mercedes calls it recuperation) works by running the electric motor as a generator when you lift off the accelerator or press the brake. The wheels turn the motor, the motor slows the car, and the electricity it makes goes back into the high-voltage battery …

The black gunk on your Mercedes wheels is brake dust: iron flakes, carbon residue and friction material that the brake pads and rotors shed every time you brake. Mercedes pads are tuned for performance and low noise, so they dust more than most. To remove it from the inside of the wheel and between the wheel nuts, let …

To replace the cabin air filter on a Mercedes Sprinter, empty and remove the glove box, press in the tabs on the filter lid underneath it, pull the old filter out, and slide the new one in with the airflow arrow pointing down. It is a 30-minute job with no special tools. Replace the filter once a year or every 15,000 …

In Mercedes-Benz cars, BlueTech coolant is the liquid that controls the engine's temperature. It is usually a 50/50 mix of water and ethylene glycol: the ethylene glycol lowers the freezing point and the water carries the heat away. Never add plain water or plain antifreeze to the cooling system on its own; the coolant …

The Mercedes EQE is the smaller, cheaper electric sedan; the Mercedes EQS is the bigger flagship. The EQE is built on the same EVA platform and inherits many of the EQS's best features, so for most buyers it is the better value, while the EQS wins on range, space and luxury if cost does not matter. The EQE is the …

The 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 is a completely new generation of Mercedes' compact luxury SUV, even though it looks almost the same as the old one. It gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, a 9-speed automatic, the C-Class interior with an 11.9-inch portrait touchscreen, more …

The "auxiliary battery malfunction" warning on a Mercedes-Benz means the small backup battery (or, on newer models, the voltage converter that replaces it) can no longer hold a charge. The usual fix is to replace that part. Most Mercedes models use a dual-battery system: the main vehicle battery plus this …

A failing NOx sensor on a Mercedes-Benz diesel shows up as a check engine light, higher fuel use, rough idle, jerky acceleration and, in the end, a failed emissions test. The usual causes are soot build-up on the probe and burnt or damaged wiring. The fix is to read the fault codes with a scan tool, inspect the sensor …

To troubleshoot the vapor canister purge solenoid on a Mercedes-Benz, scan for EVAP codes (P0440 to P0446), then bench test the valve: it should be closed with no power, hold vacuum from a hand pump, and click open the moment you apply battery voltage. If it leaks vacuum or does not click, replace it. The purge valve …

To fix an EVAP canister problem, read the trouble code first, then work from the cheap parts to the expensive one: tighten or replace the gas cap, look for cracked hoses, and test the purge valve with a hand vacuum pump. If the charcoal canister is only clogged, you can blow it clear with 50 psi of compressed air. If …