Our post about typical problems in NTG2 from a few years ago definitely needs updating. On 19 February 2017, the phrase “mercedes benz” returned 182 million results in Google; now it is 698 million. Not only is the number of pages increasing, but OEMatic’s ability to repair newer Comand units is growing too. So today, on the service, 10 typical faults of Comand NTG4 and NTG4.5 navigation systems.
Melco, Harman Becker and Matsushita
The navigation units for which we have prepared this list of common faults came from different factories. Don’t worry if you cannot identify the manufacturer — you will certainly recognise the fault description as your own problem.
NTG4 models
The main units in this group were fitted in W204, W207 and W212 cars.
NTG4.5 navigation units
You can find devices from this series in Mercedes Benz W166, W176, W204, W207, W212, W246, R172 SLK cars.
10 typical faults of Comand NTG4 and NTG4.5 factory navigation systems
Here is a subjective selection of problems that we at OEMatic encounter during workshop repairs. Of course, there are more faults, but the ones below are the ones customers report most often.
1. Comand does not switch on at all.
No response to the power button, and the screen is black. Silence from the speakers.
2. The navigation radio resets to the logo.
After turning the key, you see the Mercedes logo, then the unit switches off and back on by itself. The cyclical resetting continues all the time.
3. The system freezes and does not respond
In theory everything works, but Comand can freeze from time to time and stop responding to the buttons.
4. No sound in the car.
The fault shows itself as complete silence from every source. You can forget about listening to your favourite radio station.
5. Crackling in the speakers.
A characteristic irritating knocking sound, like gunfire. The problem appears immediately or some time after start-up.
6. The unit has been flooded / exposed to moisture.
Water inside the unit can cause real havoc. You need to be careful, because corrosion progresses at express speed.
7. No CD / DVD reading.
The drive cannot recognise the disc and ejects it automatically. In addition, it may happen that the disc gets stuck in the mechanism.
8. Map update stops at 97%.
While installing a new map, your Comand asks for DVD2 at 97%, after which the update stops completely.
9. Faulty hard drive.
Although the media used is automotive grade and theoretically shock-resistant, unfortunately it fails very frequently.
10. Damaged SD slot.
If you tried to insert the card the wrong way round or forced it in, the result can only be one thing. A damaged reader or a coin stuck inside — that is the most common description of this fault.
If your Mercedes has any of the listed problems, instead of throwing the Comand in the bin — send it to OEMatic. We have effective methods for the faults above.
