Known fault

B 250 e (W242): Tesla drivetrain, 28 kWh, no fast charging

It does not show up on every car. Check before you buy.

comfort

severity

not available

mileage

sources

1 source next to the write-up.

The fault

How you spot it

The B-Class Electric Drive (internal code W 242) is here not because of a fault, but because the design is built for short distances, and you cannot read that from a listing.

According to the German technical press the drivetrain is the first electric motor taken over from the Tesla Model S, under a joint project: 132 kW (180 hp) peak, 340 Nm, but the continuous output is only 65 kW. The battery is 28 kWh net, and the standard 11 kW AC charger fills it in roughly three hours.

The decisive point: unlike the Tesla Model S there is neither a dual onboard charger nor any fast charging option. the electric B-Class is limited to short range travel by design. Range: about 200 km on the NEDC cycle, in reality more like 100 to 150.

There is a buyer trap too. The optional RANGE PLUS package does not give a bigger battery. It unlocks roughly 3 kWh of extra capacity in software (about +30 km). So the same physical battery runs with two different ranges: the "200 km" in a listing does not tell you which one, and on a used car you should not count on unlocking it afterwards.

Sales ended in Germany in mid 2017, and production started in Rastatt in April 2014. Whoever buys one is buying an eight to eleven year old city car without fast charging. That is perfectly fine for urban use, as long as you know it in advance.

Which model

Who it affects

The card opens the generation, the engine or the transmission.

vinkodex.

Checklist

B 250 e (W242): Tesla drivetrain, 28 kWh, no fast charging

What you would check for this fault. Take it to the car.

Before you buy

Checklist

What you tick stays on this device only.

Ask whether it was ordered with the RANGE PLUS package: same battery, but about 3 kWh more unlocked capacity and about 30 km more rangeDo not count on fast charging: the car has no DC charger, only the 11 kW AC one. Planning long trips with it is a mistakeAsk for a battery state of health (SoH) measurement in writing: on a 2014 to 2017 car with a 28 kWh pack the degradation is already significantWork out the real range: the real range is 100 to 150 km instead of the NEDC 200. In winter it is even lessTry sustained motorway speed: against the 132 kW peak the continuous output is only 65 kWCheck whether there is local service support: a low volume, discontinued model with a Tesla derived motor

Sources

How we know

de.wikipedia.orgMercedes-Benz W 242/W 246 – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org

Information, not an expert opinion

We write the descriptions, and we put the source next to them. A person reviews them before they go out. They are still information, not a technical expert opinion.

A fault on the list does not mean the car you are looking at has it.
A fault missing from the list does not mean the model is fault-free. Write-ups are made model by model. Not all of them are done.
You decide whether to buy. This is no substitute for an inspection. That needs a workshop and a history check.

Details in the terms