Command screen is blank

stargazer · May 19, 2019

I had a scare today when I noticed that my command screen on my 2019 GCL 300 went black. When I put the car in reverse, it worked fine, but when I started driving, the navigation screen, the radio screen and the media screen was black. After I got home a few minutes later, I turned my SUV off and on again couple of times, and each time it was black. The only time the screen came on was when I pressed the 360 degree FOV or put the car in reverse. That told me that the screen worked, just something else wasn't working. I went online to see if anyone else has a similar problem. On MBworld, I found a thread on it. Someone mentioned that the volume button also acts as a power button. I went back out to the SUV, powered it on and tried that. Again it did not work. For a moment there I thought I might have to take my new Benz in to have it service. I then took a closer look at the layout of the console near the armrest, and saw there was a power button. I pressed it, and it worked. Command screen came back to life. Up until now, I did not notice there was a power button there. That same power button turn the command screen off and effectively turn off the entire command console, navigation, radio and media off. This also reminded me of a thread that someone posted awhile back asking if there was a way to turn off the radio. I believed more than one person replied was to hit the mute button and that worked similar to turning off the radio. At the time, I thought that was a silly design by Mercedes. Now that I know there IS a power button, whether it be an actual power button or a power button built into the volume knob, I'm the one now who feels silly. As to how I managed to turn off my command screen without knowing it, it was because I put a small bag of items I bought from Lowes and one of the items was just enough to hit the power button and turned it off.

Stargazer.
Clear sky

ArnoldHC · Mar 15, 2020

Wow....thank you so much. Exactly the same problem. Thought it may be a power save feature as the car had been parked up for a while. Put it on charge over night. Grumpy OH when we still has the no screen. Now realise that we must have accidentally powered off when we cleaned the interior prior to parking the car up....phew

Ruprect · May 18, 2020

Wow THANK you so much. Cleaned my car last night and today the screen was black and driving me nuts. Who knew that the push to mute Volume on the console would be the power button. Embarrassing once you see the power symbol on it though.
Matt

Brent1662 · Jun 5, 2020

I’m having the same issue and I’ve tried tapping and holding down power button and nothing!

matchel · Jun 26, 2020

I have been having this issue for a year with my 2019 C300 and learned about the power button as well. But this is NOT my issue. My screen will just go blank but the power to the radio, etc is still on. I sometimes can push the console power button on and off several times and it will power up. Last time I had to pull over, turn off the engine and start the car back up.

I have taken my car to the dealership 5 times. They replaced the computer last time but it is still happening. It is currently at the shop AGAIN and they are doing more updates. I do not believe this will solve the screen going blank problem. Any other thoughts? I am very over this.....I feel like they just think I am crazy!

Anna · Oct 9, 2020

Hello everyone. I had a problem with my 2016 GLC command screen as well. There were times of which i started the car engine and the command screen went black. No buttons were working apart from the air condition. I tried to switch off the car engine and turn back on with no response. I also tried to push the off button, even hold it for some time, again with no response. The command screen recovers after some time on its own. I took the car to the official Mercendes car service in my home country and they just reboot the electronics and told me hopefully the error will not return. If it returns i will have to change the radio console which is approx. 1800euro. And i was wondering.. is it reasonable after four years the car to have such a problem? Is anybody else having a similar problem? Does anybody found a solution to the problem? Thank you

bob simon · Aug 11, 2025

I have a 2019 GLC 300-great car but my command screen went black.
It is $1000 for the diagnostic, passenger front seat removal to get to the wiring and remove dashboard to get to control panel. 5K to fix the panel if it goes that far. Not sure what to think as this is supposedly rare.

Ian H · Oct 10, 2020

Anna, I have the same problem with my Command Screen. It has been into the garage and they reloaded the software, however this has not resolved the issue, it is back into the garage on Monday for further inspection. This is an extremely intermittent issue and it can go weeks without it occurring. The last time it occurred I drove to the garage and had a technician come out to look at it - he had not seen this issue before. The car is also going in for an annoying rattle on the drivers window and a creaking rightsize rear suspension! The car is not even 12 months old and has only covered 3k miles. This is my second GLC and the quality of build seems to have slipped. I will let you know how I get on with the Command Screen issue

Anna · Oct 13, 2020

Thank you Ian very much for your reply. When they called me to pick up my car from the garage, they told me that they found the problem. But when i went to pick it up, i realised that they have just reloaded the software with an extra charge, hoping the issue to be resolved. When i took the car in the garage and expained to them the problem, they seemed puzzled. I believe they have no idea on how to resolve this, despite the fact that from what i see in this forum there are other people with similar problems as ours. I have even asked them whether official Mercendes came up with a recall since it seems to me that it is a default and not a problem created by usage, but the answer was negative. Hope you get lucky

Victor Ferreira · Oct 10, 2020

Pressing and holding the eject button on the CD player also reboots the system, I've had the blank screen happen once and I tried the reboot and it worked.

Anna · Oct 13, 2020

I have tried this as well with no response. When the command screen goes black, no button in that console seems to work. Only the air condition button is working. Thank you though.

Harveymom · Oct 13, 2020

I have a 2017 C300 Mercedes and this happened to me today, the screen went black but music continued to play. I was able to turn the music on and off but the screen remained black. I also noticed the A for the eco engine shut off didn't work. The green light on the button wasn't there no matter how many times I pushed the button. The AC red light was on but nothing else. I restarted my car twice and it didn't fix the issue. Now three hours later it's back to normal. The other thing that happens occasionally is I get a message "no memory card containing navigation software inserted" however it is there and worked just fine an hour prior. We are taking It to the dealership Friday and can show video of the issues today but what are the chances they tell me nothings wrong? Is there a known recall?

Anna · Oct 14, 2020

About the A for the eco engine shutting off, i have the same issue as well. They told me in the garage that the battery of the car weakened and it is the first thing shutting of in order to preserve the battery for the other main significant operations. An option was to replace it or wait until an error message appears that would suggest replacement. I chose the second option. Alternatively, i notice when i take the car in the high way for long distances the button appears green again. Hope this was helpful.

Moira S · Dec 29, 2020

Hi All
Yesterday my command screen went black in my 2018 GLC300. All the functions seemed to be working but I couldn’t find a way to get it back on. I called the dealer immediately. The service centre response was “yes that does happen” and asked that I come in for a software upgrade. In the mean time we shut the car off and left it for about 30 minutes and the screen came back on.
When I left it today they called me an hour later and said that the software was already up to date and the cause was an intermittent short. The whole “head unit” has to be replaced which they will do in two days. Thankfully it was under warranty or the charge would have been $6000 (CAD). I’ve also had an issue with voice recognition - one minute it works perfectly and then it doesn’t recognize anything. I’ve asked about this before and received no useful response. The service rep. now said thr controller issue could be a cause for that as well.
If it happens to you I would take it in immediately- particularly if it’s under warranty. Mercedes knows this is happening and should be issuing a recall rather than waiting for cars to be out of warranty and then charging a fortune to fix it.

GLCManiac · Aug 12, 2024

having the same problem. the screen goes out randomly and won't come back on. Radio, and everything else works with the screen blackout. Did you find the fix?

Kmj265 · Jan 25, 2021

Thank you so much for this!! I had my dog in my S560 and he stepped on the center console region and my display went black! Like you I tried turning car off, powering down. Your info was perfect! I didn’t notice the power button before! 🤦🏻‍♀️

benzo604 · Apr 24, 2021

You're lifesaver. Literally just made an account to tell you that. I never noticed the power button there. Doh!

Star Light · May 26, 2021

Thanks so much for this post. The same thing happened to me: navigation, radio and CarPlay not working but reverse and all around cameras working fine. I called my local Mercedes dealership, and they told me to bring my car in. On a hunch, I googled the issue and found your post. It took one minute to get in the car, start it, and press the power button--everything is working. Thanks again!!

Zimsaints · Aug 13, 2021

This helped me . I did the same thing and was ready to go to the dealer. Yikes

Levsolo · Jan 30, 2022

Thank you, just helped me to get the display back.

My Benz · Mar 25, 2022

Gosh I am so glad you made this post!! I would have probably gotten hit over the head for a needless repair. 💕 My puppy pushed the power button cans I went in panic mode when I saw the blank screen.

My Benz · Mar 25, 2022

Thanks one million

heather.f.berry · Oct 17, 2022

stargazer said:
I had a scare today when I noticed that my command screen on my 2019 GCL 300 went black. When I put the car in reverse, it worked fine, but when I started driving, the navigation screen, the radio screen and the media screen was black. After I got home a few minutes later, I turned my SUV off and on again couple of times, and each time it was black. The only time the screen came on was when I pressed the 360 degree FOV or put the car in reverse. That told me that the screen worked, just something else wasn't working. I went online to see if anyone else has a similar problem. On MBworld, I found a thread on it. Someone mentioned that the volume button also acts as a power button. I went back out to the SUV, powered it on and tried that. Again it did not work. For a moment there I thought I might have to take my new Benz in to have it service. I then took a closer look at the layout of the console near the armrest, and saw there was a power button. I pressed it, and it worked. Command screen came back to life. Up until now, I did not notice there was a power button there. That same power button turn the command screen off and effectively turn off the entire command console, navigation, radio and media off. This also reminded me of a thread that someone posted awhile back asking if there was a way to turn off the radio. I believed more than one person replied was to hit the mute button and that worked similar to turning off the radio. At the time, I thought that was a silly design by Mercedes. Now that I know there IS a power button, whether it be an actual power button or a power button built into the volume knob, I'm the one now who feels silly. As to how I managed to turn off my command screen without knowing it, it was because I put a small bag of items I bought from Lowes and one of the items was just enough to hit the power button and turned it off. Stargazer. Clear sky

THANK YOU! I could probably say this 1000 times. I must have turned off mine when I was cleaning the console

davethechain · Jun 17, 2023

Blank screen resolved by pressing and hold the CD eject!! Thank you, nothing else worked GLC 220 2019

justinjong5015 · Jul 19, 2023

I had the same issue. Command screen goes black totally for no reason and sometimes it came back after 10min. Usually it happen when I start the car in the morning or after many hours without starting the car. It’s frustrating cos media is not working and the reverse camera also doesn’t turn on. Anyone know what’s the issue?

GLCManiac · Aug 12, 2024

Did you even find the fix? I am having the same problem on 2015 GLC300

Kimberlystarr · Jan 19, 2024

I created this account to say thank you so much. Your post helped me a lot. My car is working now and display is perfect 👌

willigle4 · Apr 28, 2024

I've been reading these posts because my 2018 GLC 300 exhibited the flickering screen issue. I could hear the radio and blindly change stations. 360 camera was not working either. I tried the power button several times, shutting the engine off and opening the door, which also powers off Command. No result. I had a similar issue with my 2012 C300, but only once in the 7 years I owned it. They both rebooted after the car was off for a few minutes. My 2018 is still under 90 day used car warranty. I did not purchase an extended plan because having done so for the 2012, I never needed it; $6000 wasted. However, now that I know this screen issue seems to be widespread, I'm rethinking the extended warranty. It kinda makes me wonder if I should have invested in a new vehicle of a different make, like Hyundai or Infinity, both of which I've owned before for a longer warranty and no such issue. But I do love how my Mercedes drive and their comfort. I'll see what the dealer says tomorrow about a resolution. I'm also glad I financed a small part of this purchase through my bank instead of a cash purchase. Perhaps they can offer pressure toward a resolution under the current warranty.

Jerry · May 4, 2024

Here's my beef. I spent nearly $60k for my wife's GLC300 thinking "It's a M-B. It's got to be great! Right? While she's now had it a few years and just turned a whopping 36,000 miles, we've experienced issues that would keep me from ever buying another one. Had to replace a silly vacuum sensor. Part cost $200, labor cost $1200 cuz they had to pull the motor to get to the sensor. German engineering??? This stupid black screen on the command center! They say " Just bring it in" instead of " yeah, we hear that alot. Did you try the power button on the console"? Bye bye Mercedes! Will be going back to one of the premium competitors with my next purchase. I gave you a try and am totally disenchanted.

thornloki · Oct 1, 2024

thanks for taking the time to help out

Jeanette · Jan 12, 2025

My 2018 GLC 300 is having the screen go out while backing up, plus the radio and screen goes on and off regularly. I do push the power button, and the radio and screen turns back on. I am disgusted by this but I am not willing to pay $6000 to have it afterwards possibly work or not. I figure it is annoying, but not a major vehicle issue that affects the drivability. I actually wonder if my power button got something spilled on it, because it seems sticky. I am going to try cleaning that and see if it helps. I am glad to hear this is not an issue just with my car, but MB really needs to do a recall because they know the cars have this issue.

Command screen is blank

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