Mercedes-Benz bulletin LI54.65-P-066284

Complaint The flap of the reversing camera opens and closes by itself during forward travel. This happens several times during the trip. The customer notices the sound of opening and closing. No camera image is displayed in the head unit. The reversing camera or the 360° system functions normally when activated manually or by engaging drive range "R". This behavior occurs again during each driving cycle. Cause This is not a malfunction, but an intended system behavior: Calibration of the reversing camera is in progress. For this, the cover on the camera is opened for max. 5 cumulative minutes in forward travel. The calibration can be performed if the vehicle speed is < 35 km/h and the steering wheel angle is < 10° (for early vehicles from MFA2 facelift model series such as A-Class, CLA, etc., the 35 km/h (~22 MPH) opening limit may only be reached after the SCN coding is replaced). If the speed of 35 km/h (~22 MPH) is exceeded, the camera retracts and the calibration is therefore aborted. The sequence is started again once the speed returns to the range of 18 km/h (~11 MPH). Remedy Complete the calibration successfully. For this, the vehicle must be driven forwards for a certain time (usually significantly less than one minute) at a speed < 35 km/h (~22 MPH) and a steering wheel angle < 10°. This should occur during daylight and without a vehicle following too closely (the camera must be able to see the asphalt). When calibration is successful, the camera flap closes automatically at an unchanged speed. For the rest of the driving cycle, the camera now only opens if the customer requests this, for example by applying the reverse gear. When starting a new driving cycle (ignition change), another calibration is required. The customer can generally perform calibration at the first attempt when a speed in the range between 15 km/h (~9 MPH) and 35 km/h (~22 MPH) is briefly maintained and can therefore play a significant role in reducing the actuation frequency and therefore also the noticeability of the noise to a minimum. In the case of early MFA2 facelift vehicles (A-Class, CLA, etc.), the parking control unit may have to be SCN-coded again to have the complete speed window available for the calibration.

Owners of the 96 model years this bulletin names have filed 3,752 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 770 of them name Electrical System, Back Over Prevention — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.

On the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class, the 13 owners who gave an odometer reading for Electrical System reported it at a median of 6,615 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.