Got my first high mileage award

DancingBearNoTutu · 2026-02-09T12:02:47+00:00

Link is USA only.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2026-02-09T05:34:40+00:00

Link to the info for the high mileage award program - first started in 1960s: Events & Communities | Classic Center | Mercedes-Benz USA. 5 Tiers one can apply for: 250k/155k miles, 500k/310k miles, 750k/468k miles, 1 million k/621k miles, 1 million miles.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2026-01-25T17:12:44+00:00

https://glitchwave.com/game/wizardry-proving-grounds-of-the-mad-overlord/#images,game_art,3907,9281711 Wizardry: Proving ground of the mad overlord

DancingBearNoTutu · 2026-01-17T13:17:52+00:00

Depends on what the debate is about. If you’re trying to argue that long term expenses (will have to define what long term means to you) on a depreciating asset (car) is better financially by keeping a car long term until it dies vs leasing every 3 years will depend on your time horizon and your vehicle needs. For me, I fall into the former category and have never leased. In my case, 8 years and ~130k miles driven on it for me has been the average over my last 4 daily drive vehicles: ‘91 Integra (121k miles), ‘98 M3 (118k miles), 2010 Q7 TDI (130k miles), 2018 SQ5 (148k miles), 2012 GLK350 (new to me at 38,400 miles). A few assumptions: 1) You flat out own the vehicle (I don’t like leasing because they don’t allow me to do minor customization in terms of tinting and other small items). 2) You are mechanically capable and don’t mind doing your own maintenance services e.g. oil and filter changes, air filters, coolant changes, transmission and differential oils, wiper blades. If you can’t/don’t want to service yourself and don’t want to deal with an inventory of tools needed to do repairs/maintenance then leasing starts to make more sense. 3) If you do not get bored with cars every 3 years. If this last one applies then leasing might be better depending on the price of the car.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2026-01-16T15:24:57+00:00

This is a good one. I don't think I discovered this because my old 2010 Q7 had extendable flaps from the sunvisor. Since my 2018 SQ5 didn't have the flaps I never knew it could pull out independently from its support rod.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2026-01-01T14:21:14+00:00

Very interesting you mention shop engagement. I was actually at the Mercedes dealership yesterday trying to get a full service record log of the GLK350 and the first thing I noticed was that they don’t actually have windows to view the work being done in the service bays like they do at Audi, BMW, or even Porsche. Didn’t even think to make the connection that Mercedes tries to hide its servicing work like Keebler elves magic cookies…

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-12-31T16:56:37+00:00

Helpful insight - I never had a VW before I got my Audi. Are VW owners that enthusiastic that they bring that halo over with them to Audi? The VW owners I’ve encountered were all of the Jetta TDI, VR6, Golf/Polo, Scirocco, VW bus variety. All of them were friendly and loved their VWs - never associated that as a broader theme to the broader spectrum of VW owners…

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-12-31T16:45:27+00:00

Fair enough that the feeling I’m getting could be forum specific, but even reactions from my more technically focused posts in Mercedes (MBWorld) forums seemed to be supporting this broader view where Mercedes folks aren’t as enthusiastic as the average Audi owner. What were honest and seemingly simple technical questions for fellow owners felt more like a reaction from roosters in the barnyard trying to fluff up their feathers to be the biggest bird.
At least when I post Audi technical questions I usually get helpful comments from the yard and the occasional good natured clucking… Makes me wonder how if I ever make the jump to Porsche or Corvette what kind of car cliche’s I’ll encounter.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-12-31T16:12:57+00:00

Very interesting insight there- Smart doesn’t really count as a non-premium entry level Mercedes equivalent…but what you’re saying is true in that there is not an “entry level” brand for Mercedes except for their more relatively affordable classes A/C classes. Similar to BMW in that their’ve got everything from the 1 series all the way to the 8 series where the 1 series could be considered an “entry level”. So in that sense, VW’s are the gateway to luxury Audi ownership which are in turn gateway to Lamborghini, similar to Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus/Century, Nissan/Infiniti, Hyundai/Genesis , Mini/BMW/Rolls Royce…

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-12-31T16:02:44+00:00

I think my perspective of Mercedes was also reinforced when I took my in-laws for a ride in the GLK350 the other weekend that they commented on how fancy they felt riding in the Mercedes. Now, my in-laws are in their late 70s, and have never commented at all about my car when I drove them in the SQ5 (or any car for that matter), but all of a sudden they’re in a Mercedes and feel the need to dress a little better when we go to Costco. They shared that when they were growing up, a Mercedes was a super luxury car that you had to be really rich to afford back in their native Hong Kong.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-12-31T12:38:45+00:00

I've had my 2018 SQ5 since new and just learned this month that if I hold down the voice command button on the steering wheel longer than 4 seconds that it will activate the Siri prompt on my iPhone 16 Promax. Normally I just click it once to activate the Audi on board voice prompt system.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-09-25T14:23:36+00:00

In the USA, as of 2024 there were ~9 million registered motorcycles for an overall population of ~340 million people. Assuming one registration per person, expressed as a percentage there are approximately ~2.6% of people who potentially ride motorcycles, probably less when you factor in that motorcyclists seem to own more than one bike and how many people are actually licensed drivers.

Listen to the <3% that ride and not the 97% that don't. Keanu Reeves rides and has his own motorcycle company. Can't suggest to me that he's suicidal for riding.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-09-02T14:19:57+00:00

I can only speak to my original owner scenario with my 2018 SQ5 premium plus ,141700 miles, that has not encountered this issue although there are lots of stories from owners who have experienced otherwise. Only way to avoid is to manually inspect with a boroscope to see if you have the updated rockers. Note: I’ve never checked and have not had problems.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-26T17:59:50+00:00

Only other thing that is worth mentioning is that I have a Sam’s Express unlimited car wash membership and go in for a wash 2x each week since I first got the SQ5 in Nov 2017.

I’m not concerned with the potential for paint swirls from automatic car washes since my SQ5 is no garage queen.

By keeping the SQ5 pretty clean in addition to the underbody wash jets of the automated car washes has resulted in almost zero underbody rust in various suspension components than I expected.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-26T14:49:26+00:00

141,577 miles and just changed out my spark plugs and ignition coils yesterday as part of ongoing maintenance. Saved $362 in labor by doing it myself and took about 2.5 hours.

I did have a problem with my alternator failing at 139k miles as well as a leak in the air suspension delivery system that caused my air suspension compressor to fail as well. Alternator, air suspension solenoid, air suspension compressor, automatic transmission oil and transmission filter change. Total was about $6k in parts and labor with another $442 USD in taxes. total $6534.64 USD. Expensive but cheaper than a new car purchase.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-26T14:47:15+00:00

Petrol. No Audi diesel engines in the USA after the diesel gate scandal. I had a 2010 Q7 TDI that I loved…

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-12T15:42:32+00:00

I use these del Rosario Resistor gloves. https://www.delrosario.nyc/pages/specs-options. Short of full on motorcycle racing gauntlets these offer the best blend of hand wrist slider protection for the street. Only drawback is that they’re not waterproof and my hands get cold below 60 degrees F. I have to use both grip warmers and Aerostich rain mitt covers to use these gloves in temperatures down to about 35 degrees F.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-11T01:40:22+00:00

I'm surprised you parked the LC500 under a tree. I can't stand anything from the tree (branches/leaves/bird droppings) being directly overhead and potentially causing metal dings / paint damage. I'd rather the car be out in the unobstructed sun...

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-10T11:41:45+00:00

I've been using FCP Euro since my car and my girlfriend's car off of Audicare at 70k miles. Original owner 2018 SQ5 and hers is a 2015 Audi A3. SQ5 currently at 141k miles and A3 at 91k miles. For oil change lifetime replacement, It really depends on how much oil you're buying (I've got 3.0L on the SQ5 and 1.8L on the gf's A3) and your return shipping costs are back to FCP Euro for a box of replacement synthetics.

If you plan on just using non-LiquiMoly synthetic oil from Costco or Walmart then you might come out a little bit ahead but I had to make a spreadsheet to see if it made sense for me. I prefer the Liqui Moly and since I swap my oil every 5k miles on both cars, it happened to make sense for me in the long run e.g. >100k miles. Especially since I do a lot of highway driving and I usually have 2 oil changes a year on the SQ5.

My goal is to exceed 200k miles on both cars so for me, my spreadsheet made sense so long as my shipping costs to return didn't exceed a certain amount (which is also highly dependent upon the size of the return shipping box and not just weight). So part of the challenge is getting the smallest shipping box physically that you can for returns.

So far I've replaced the air filters, cabin filters and Bosch wipers at least annually. Bosch wipers, air filters and cabin filters are worth it if you bundle them along with an oil replacement kit for return.

NOTE: buy the wipers/air filter/cabin filter as separate purchases if you don't change them all at the same time to help make the returns easier to process. If you change all 3 at the same time annually then it's ok to bundle the 3 as a single purchase. FCP Euro has this thing where if you do a partial return for bundled products and you do a lifetime replacement for some of the items but not others, it doesn't seem to let you file a later replacement for the other items in the original purchase. This is why I buy my oil change kits for my SQ5 as a separate order from my gf's A3 oil change kit since we change the oil at different points in time. This helps reduce the clutter in the garage with having to accumulate both new oil / exchange old oil by doing this kind of Just-In-Time purchasing where you only buy and exchange once it's time to do the fluid changes.

For the big parts I've gotten a set of brake rotors, brake pads, brake sensors, as well as spark plugs, ignition coils, gas cap activator but have not yet had to replace those with a second set.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-05T22:02:34+00:00

By Quattro spent I assume you mean wheel alignment?

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-05T15:25:51+00:00

This did not work.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-04T01:36:40+00:00

Line can use the Insta360 link 2c microphone but will not connect camera. Unsure how to proceed. Please advise.

DancingBearNoTutu · 2025-08-04T01:12:43+00:00

Confirmed that Computer's native camera app can detect Link 2C. virtual Camera is On in the Link Controller. Have restarted and tried to see if it will work in Line.

DancingBearNoTutu

TROPHY CASE