Last Infotainment System That Is Frustrating According To Consumer Report

Mercedes-Benz S550

Normally, pairing a phone to most cars is fairly straightforward. Not with the S-Class. Using 

a voice command term Consumer Report used to pair phones to lots of test cars, 

Consumer Report hit the VC button on the steering wheel and said, “Pair 

phone.” Consumer Report  got nothing. Pressing the phone icon on the steering wheel was 

also met with silence. Then Consumer Report  looked up the proper term for pairing a 

phone in the car’s “Voice Control System” operating manual, where Consumer 

Report  found nothing on how to tell the car to pair a phone.

Consumer Report  also tried using voice commands to find their local FM NPR radio 

station. Starting out, they pressed the voice command button on the steering wheel and 

said the words “tune radio to 90.5” which returned 92.1. Then they tried saying “radio 90.5,” 

which produced 94.9. Consumer Report  tried a different approach and said “FM 90.5,” 

which gave them 89.5. Finally, Consumer Report  said “radio NPR.” That brought them to 

the satellite radio station “NPR Now.” Close, but no cigar. Clearly, “luxury” and 

“convenience” can be mutually exclusive.