Is It Possible to Void Warranty?

[clickbait]

I am looking forward to the opportunity to diagnose my own car, primarily for educational purposes. Mercedes is still under warranty so naturally I won't have to worry about this, but it's still worth researching them in advance to ensure long term sustainability.
Is there a risk in reading it yourself? Plugging in a cheap Openport 2.0 dongle and checking error codes with Xentry? I wouldn't jump right into coding or modifying anything, I just want these tools for observation. I also want to check the TCU firmware version or any other outdated firmware as there may be an update for my model that can fix the "jerking" issue.

 

[Falconsson]

Basically, we are in the same place for the same reason (unfortunately I have no guarantees that can be cancelled), here is some of my knowledge that may help you.

Mercedes is still under warranty so naturally I won't have to worry about this, but it's still worth researching them in advance to ensure long term sustainability.

I highly recommend that you make the most of your warranty, check if your car is subject to a recall, and get all the free fixes done. Any software or hardware changes made by an unauthorized dealer can void your warranty and are sometimes at the discretion of your dealer. I know of a car whose warranty was voided because the owner installed a better sound system.

Is there a risk in reading it yourself?

Doing "read only" actions should not cause any problems, but you mentioned updating the firmware, which is beyond "read only". Even clearing a simple error code without the proper knowledge can lead to bad results, you can miss an important warning that should be checked, or you can miss a service date, or mess up your service schedule, etc.

Also, in my personal opinion, investing time and money in useful information and equipment is always beneficial. And it is always better to be well informed before making a purchase.

Plugging in a cheap Openport 2.0 dongle and checking error codes with Xentry?

There are hundreds of cheap clones on the market, all about the same price, but with different chipsets, different colors, and different reliability. Think about one thing: how much does the car you will be working with this dongle cost? For this reason, I would suggest "reliable" instead of "cheap". The original Tactrix 2.0 is more expensive than the clones, but much more reliable. I would not want my Openport 2.0 clone to die during a firmware update.

If you are sure you want a cheap dongle, there are many blogs about "how to choose the right Tactrix Openport 2.0 J2534 clone". I want to adhere to the forum rules and conditions so I won't give any links, just do a Google search, it's easy to find, there are people who buy a certain device and modify it to make it more reliable, it's useful if you have the time and patience.

Wish you all the best!

 

[clickbait]

Thanks Falconsson, great advice!
For me it's more a matter of curiosity and peace of mind that I can check before and after the service what they say/actually did to the car.
I wouldn't even try to erase codes or change anything, especially if it's under warranty.
I have Service A in a month, and I'm currently collecting questions and issues that have accumulated over the last year to ask the mechanic. Available software updates will be one of them.

 

[cjz]

You can read the trouble code to understand the condition of your car. If you have some knowledge, you can also fix some simple faults yourself. There is no risk in doing a reading, but the risks associated with coding are significant.