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madraelle · 03-21-2022, 09:57 AM

I have had my 24x on order since Aug 2021 and they are stating it's coming this summer (3-4 months late) but they told me it's coming with the following changes are due to Chip shortages;

1. Infotainment System will not be Mercedes MBUX System, but rather a Garmin System with a removable 10" Tablet. I assume this might be an upgrade but haven't used either...

2. Just regular Cruise Control - NO adaptive cruise (i have adaptive/Distronic on my 2012 ML550 - 10 years ago!). Huge downgrade....

3. Non wrapped leather steering wheel.

I think I can live with 1 and 3 but Adaptive Cruise is such a key feature...

I researched and found some sites that sell the parts to make any modern adaptive ready MB chassis accept the parts (new Mercedes emblem/sensor, wiring harness, and new steering wheel controls). I'm sure I'll get warranty hassle if I made the upgrade myself - so love to hear input from the group.

**Rocinante** · 03-22-2022, 06:06 AM

If adaptive cruise is important to you, tell them, “No, thanks,” and walk away. 🤷

Reminder, lack of adaptive cruise won’t just affect you now, it’ll also affect resale later. [emoji17]

Saluda372 · 03-22-2022, 06:18 AM

Love adaptive cruise.

SWH · 03-22-2022, 06:20 AM

I would be more upset by going back to an aftermarket infotainment system. The MBUX system is excellent and was a night and day upgrade over the Fusion. I’m sure whatever they are putting in is better than Fusion but aftermarket will never be as good as MBUX integration. I’m really shocked by this change.

uncle_bob · 03-22-2022, 09:22 AM

Hi

I would not be surprised if some of this is coming straight from MB in terms of what they are supplying on the new(er) van chassis. Simply getting 4x4 is going to be difficult as time moves on.

Bob

Gerdog · 03-22-2022, 09:43 AM

Wow those are key MBZ features and one of the reasons we pay a premium for an the Airstream over the competitions. Obviously its your decision on how you want to play that but I appreciate you calling this to our attention. I am taking delivery of a 24GT next week and now curious if they are also shipping with less features. For me the adaptive cruise control and MBZ Infotainment is a big deal and would give me reason to seriously pause on the deal. I hope you find an acceptable resolution to your situation. Good luck!

DW 24X · 03-22-2022, 01:04 PM

Hi all. We were told that our unit went into production yesterday. Any ideal of delivery after production start?
Also, I wasn't informed of any deviations from what we ordered.

I will check and get back to everyone.

DW 24X · 03-22-2022, 01:51 PM

It looks like park assist is also deleted. All these deletions without a price reduction.

madraelle · 03-22-2022, 02:03 PM

Eek - they didn't tell me about the Park Assist not being there as well. I'm told the Garmin is more expensive than the MBUX so that is why they are not dropping the price.

I wonder if we can convince them to at least prewire where the sensors go for adaptive and park assist so we can add all this stuff after when they have the backlog of chip dependent stuff handy.

SWH · 03-22-2022, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madraelle

I'm told the Garmin is more expensive than the MBUX so that is why they are not dropping the price.

I would be shocked if this were true.

justinshort · 03-22-2022, 07:30 PM

I personally despise adaptive cruise. The front sensors are constantly too dirty to function in the lightest rain which leaves me with no cruise control at all.

Saluda372 · 03-23-2022, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justinshort

I personally despise adaptive cruise. The front sensors are constantly too dirty to function in the lightest rain which leaves me with no cruise control at all.

Never happens in the rain with us, only clingy, heavy snow.

XPat · 03-23-2022, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DW 24X

It looks like park assist is also deleted. All these deletions without a price reduction.

I didn't know it has park assist. Now I've got to go look at the manual.

We have five cars from five different manufacturers with adaptive cruise control. The 24X adaptive cruise control is by far the best in my experience. Maybe that's because I'm rarely in a hurry driving the van.

There are three assistance technologies we use all the time; adaptive cruise control, the crosswind assist, and whatever they call the proximity sensors feature. I'd hate to live without any one of them.

With the upcoming 2023 model year changes every manufacturer that uses the 4x4 chassis is facing the same supply problem.

We're very happy with the 24X despite some quality issues. I'm not sure that helps but it isn't as if there are a lot of other options if you want a 170EXT 4x4.

DaveG · 03-23-2022, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saluda372

Never happens in the rain with us, only clingy, heavy snow.

Not sure I would be too upset with a downgrade to straight cruise. Ours can get cranky without obvious cause. I've heard others describe the same experiences we have had. Open road (no rain, snow, or dirt) without much traffic seems to be one of the conditions where it will start seeing ghosts and try to brake. I read speculation that a contributor to distronic dysfunction may be attributed to paint. A range gated radar unit is located behind a painted plastic piece of the grill. We turn off the cruise when it starts acting up. When it works it's great.

**Rocinante** · 03-23-2022, 05:05 PM

Yeah, gotta say if they took away all those "standard" features, I'd be demanding either a significant price break because those missing features will devalue the van both now and in the future, or I'd just cancel and buy something else from someone else.

DW 24X · 03-24-2022, 07:34 AM

I am not sure the future resale value will impacted due to the removal/substation of a couple of electronics. The current base price is $235K vs $215K and I am assuming all future units will have the updated features.
We also looked at a lot of 4x4 Class B's and kept comparing them to the 24X. I still like the 24X.

uncle_bob · 03-25-2022, 06:35 AM

Hi

We probably could start taking beer bets on the likelihood of a price drop when they no longer can get the 4x4 chassis .... My bet is no drop ... Could be a smaller than expected price increase that year, but even this may be worth betting on. I don't think there is any debate about the 4x4 adding significant cost / value to the van.

Bob

**Rocinante** · 03-25-2022, 08:29 AM

I couldn’t care less about MBUX, but I would be disappointed not to get those safety features. If it were me, I’d cancel my order to make that point and would start shopping for something else - maybe a gently-used unit with an upgraded radio head, kinda like the one we happily own and drive/camp in right now. No, ours is not for sale, but it feels like I’m seeing more used units for sale recently than I did a few months ago. Of course I can’t say whether there’s a trend since I have no hard data.

ModernVista · 03-25-2022, 11:24 AM

Quote:

I couldn’t care less about MBUX, but I would be disappointed not to get those safety features. If it were me, I’d cancel.

This 100%. I love the distance based cruise in all our vehicles and our sprinter. Helps lower fatigue with the long haul from SoCal to WA. I can’t go back.

Parking sensors are super useful too, but less of a deal breaker for me

Cb

madraelle · 03-25-2022, 05:34 PM

Cancelling the order puts me in the conga line for another year and i want get on the road... I'm figuring i can find a clever dealer or aftermarket tech to put in a 'repair' kit/parts and add back the Adaptive radar/harness and steering wheel controls... I saw the parts for sale for under $1000 so might only cost me $2000 with labor.... I purchased the 24x last year so i have some price room given the increases to invest on a few upgrades to get it to par. Leaning towards keeping it and living with the bad situation...

I'm a first time Airstream buyer and was excited to leave my last Forester for better quality/company... Bad start i guess - hopefully i will have some positive surprises.