Mercedes
E430 Trip Computer
© 2006
KenRockwell.com
2002 E430 Trip Computer
Trip Computer
All 2000 - 2002 E-Klasse have the same multifunction computer. Earlier models didn't have it.
You get to the computer by pressing the lower left menu buttons on the steering wheel.
Automatic Trip Computer
Your first screen is this one. It automatically starts for each trip! This makes it easy to log business miles for taxes and expense reports. It also lets you track fuel consumption for the same trips you make often, so you can try different styles as a game to see which does best and worse.
It resets itself anytime the E430 is turned off for more than four or five hours. This is perfect. It doesn't reset for meal or other breaks because it keeps logging any trip as you're making it and not resetting for meal breaks, and does reset overnight.
The speedo is correct in the photo. This shot was made at 5 MPH.
MPG Calculations
The MPG meter is sort of weird when reset. Most meters start counting from zero. If you're rolling down a hill they indicate 99 or 999 MPG. Not the Mercedes. For some odd reason it secretly backloads 4 miles and one litre of fuel each time you reset it, so it starts off reading 15 MPG at first, and becomes accurate as you drive more miles. This trick prevents you from becoming alarmed, but makes it tough to gauge short term consumption.
To correct this, you can do this algebra:
Real MPG = Miles indicated / (((Miles indicated + 4) / MPG indicated) - 0.264)
For example, with the display above:
Miles Indicated = 35, MPG indicated = 20.5
Real
MPG = 35 / (((35 + 4) / 20.5) - 0.264)
Real MPG = 35 /
((39 / 20.5) - 0.264)
Real MPG = 35 / (1.902 - 0.264)
Real MPG = 35 / 1.638
Real MPG = 21.4 MPG for this short trip.
Second Manual Trip Computer
Tap the left - steering wheel button to get to the manually reset trip computer
Miles and Gallons of Fuel Remaining
Tap the left + steering wheel button to show the miles and gallons of fuel remaining.
It reads to the mile based on your current driving. As the tank gets emptier, it calculates based on a shorter amount of previous driving data. You'll see little variation with a full tank as you drive. As you get to the last gallon you'll see it vary wildly as you drive, since it's guessing based on only the most recent fuel consumption. it ignores older data as the tank gets emptier. It's as if the darn thing is making a three dimensional map of data vs. time!
Gallons remaining reads to the nearest 0.2 gallons. I got mine down to 0.0 gallons and 0 miles and the fuel gauge read "0." The E430 still ran great, and took 19.415 gallons. The tank is rated at 21.1 gallons. Let me know if you run yours any lower.
Speedometer
The E430 has two speedometers: the analog needle and a digital readout.
The speedometer needle, like most cars, is an analog indication controlled by the car's digital computer system.
The computer screen within can be set to read in big digits for MPH. Press the lower left menu buttons to get the odometer, then the upper left + and - to get to the MPH readout. The readout matches the needle.
Both speedometers read in both forward and reverse.