W210 key not turning

[television]

The listed things

Key inserted, steering column does not release

1, faulty key,2 no power to ignition switch, 3, data bus fault , 4, Quarts element in the ignition switch not oscillating

 

[rhopkin]

The listed things

Key inserted, steering column does not release

1, faulty key,2 no power to ignition switch, 3, data bus fault , 4, Quarts element in the ignition switch not oscillating

Thanks Malcolm. Having pretty much elimnated 1 and 2 the weekend, my money is erring towards 3 or 4.

 

[Alex Crow]

Yes there is a sequence where you press the lock button and unlock and insert the key withing 10 sec and press one of the buttons again,,I posted it last week some where and I will try and find it

well my source was very specific about the procedure i posted. key in, press lock 5 secs, press unlock 5 times, then (hopefully!) turn key and drive away. i have never seen this specific procedure tried before, but my insider was told this through MB channels.

 

[television]

That is the very info that I posted,,no feed back on it

 

[rhopkin]

Hi Malcolm and Alex

If I can, I'll high tail it off to the Merc garage in Estepona tomorrow and have a go at it if they've yet to plug in the diagnostics.

Can you guy's confirm which button I press. Is it the lock/unlock button on the key itself or the unlock button inside the car on the centre dash area?

I tried pressing buttons on the key when it was in the ignistion but that didn't work either.

 

[television]

Always on the key and never on the car

 

[rhopkin]

Update 22 Jan

Car still in garage (since Monday lunch time) and I just received a call (my first) from the mechanic asking me if I had a spare key which I do not and they have already been told this. £5 says they have now probably lost the key.

Mercedes main dealer still don't know why the key will not turn. Again I have reiterated the problems we have all discussed in this thread.

I start a new job with a new company next week and a second car will be a necessity, we're down to one at the moment. Can feel myself reaching for a Toyota. As Bill Gates would say, "not a good user experience".

 

[rhopkin]

Just phoned Indy mechanic and he reports the main dealer are now taking the steering wheel/column apart as they seem to think it's the steering wheel locking mechanism that is failing to unlock which in turn (excuse the pun) prevents the ignition rotating when the key is inserted.

 

[pikeydave]

I had a 98 W210 E300TD. I dropped the key as I was opening the doors at a hotel at Luton Airport. Had same symptoms. No turn in ign. barrel. Car was recovered back to Dorset and a new key fob replaced under the warranty(elaectrical component about £40ish in 2003). If I'd had the spare, they said, I'd have been on my way....

Suggestion, could the spare be sent down to you in spain?

 

[rhopkin]

I had a 98 W210 E300TD. I dropped the key as I was opening the doors at a hotel at Luton Airport. Had same symptoms. No turn in ign. barrel. Car was recovered back to Dorset and a new key fob replaced under the warranty(elaectrical component about £40ish in 2003). If I'd had the spare, they said, I'd have been on my way....

Suggestion, could the spare be sent down to you in spain?

Thanks fot the suggestion but the revious owner lost the other key so the dealer only had one to gve me and I am unable to order a new one because MErcedes will not sell you a new key until all the documents are in our name which will take another week or so (Spanish reg car).

 

[Frontstep]

Better than Coronation street this, its very good of these posters to persist in what is clearly not as straighforward as it seems, or is it still the key ? has the looking at end of key through digital camera been tried to see if theres any life ?

 

[rhopkin]

Better than Coronation street this, its very good of these posters to persist in what is clearly not as straighforward as it seems, or is it still the key ? has the looking at end of key through digital camera been tried to see if theres any life ?

Hi Frontstep

Yes, done the digital camera trick last weekend when all this started. Key seems OK but I'm guessing Mercedes will have some fangled gadget that can check for sure that the key is transmitting. Mind you , this is Spain.........

Everything has ground to a halt since Friday due to the fact the Indie and Main Dealer are closed all weekend.

We're traveleing to Estepona Monday first thing AM to eyball the car and do a polite WTF at the Main Dealers and the Indie. Will post any developments after that and in fact I'll follow this through to the bitter end and continue posting updates as well as how good or bad the service from both Indy and Main Dealer has been.

If you read this thread from start to finish you'll see how things have developed and what my intitial impression is so far on quality of service.

I have since found a closer Indie for German cars in Estacion San Roque (near Gibraltar) called Dos Alemanias (Two Germans) and will be taking our old BMW E30 328i Cabrio there for various bits and pieces. They come recommeded so we'll see.

Whatever happends, stay tuned as they say because I'll be adding my comments to the "recommend a Mercedes Specialist for our Directory" section recently started. Finding a good Indie in this part of the world is not easy and there are a lot of German cars running about down here and not many well known qualified mechanics.

Could be a good opportunity for this website to add a country specific directory for this sort of thing.

 

[stz-motors]

Key stuck, starts and evry thing but no release the key out

I had a problem with car stuck in p parking gear, and installed new brake light switch, and the gear is out of parking drives as normal but i encountered another problem where i cant get he key out, i have tried every thing but no luck. Start and drive when you turn it off the key will not come out. It will not release the key. Please can any one help . Thank you.

 

[Alex Crow]

give us a clue - exact model and year + first 6x number from chassis no.

 

[rhopkin]

I had a problem with car stuck in p parking gear, and installed new brake light switch, and the gear is out of parking drives as normal but i encountered another problem where i cant get he key out, i have tried every thing but no luck. Start and drive when you turn it off the key will not come out. It will not release the key. Please can any one help . Thank you.

Just a thought, could it be a micro switch in the auto box mechanism not recognising the vehicle is in P (Park). I have heard that the W210's have been known to have autobox selector issues which requires replacement of the whole unit in the cabin (not gearbox, just selector box) centre console.

 

[television]

The EIS switches do fail so that they key will not come out

 

[xavierx]

Hi,

Sorry for coming along late, but as you have been playing with the fuse box, have you checked that the EIS module actually has +12v and a good ground connection right at the EIS unit itself? It is not uncommon to have poor contact from a fuse clip after lots of fuse wiggling.

Apologies if you have already done this.

 

[rhopkin]

Hi,

Sorry for coming along late, but as you have been playing with the fuse box, have you checked that the EIS module actually has +12v and a good ground connection right at the EIS unit itself? It is not uncommon to have poor contact from a fuse clip after lots of fuse wiggling.

Apologies if you have already done this.

Thanks xarierx

No, I did not check this however, I will mention it this morning when I visit the Mercedes garage in Estepona to see if they have done this and what stage they are at.

We have owned this vehicle for just 16 days, 9 of which we have been inable to use it due to this problem as of today (25/01/10).

 

[rhopkin]

Update

Good evening all and sundry reading this thread.

Last post I mentioned I would update you following our visit to the Mercedes main dealer as well as a very brief visit to Ralphs Auto Auto Centre in Estepona at 9:30am this morning.

"Ralph" was not in but we did speak with two people there doing their very best to hold things together whilst the boss was trying to figure out how to get to work first thing Monday morning. Nice enough lads but they just didn't have a clue exactly what stage things where at for no other reason other than there's not even a worksheet present for the vehicle supposedly in the care of the garage.

I was quickly spirited away by my other half to the Mercedes main dealer (before I had to be peeled off the ceiling) around the corner where the car is now located to find out what their prognosis is.

The workshop manager was helpful in that he was able to take me to the car so I could have a poke around and talk to the mechanic at length as to what's wrong. It would appear that the steering lock is not disengaging when the key is inserted and to this end, I have been told they plugged in the diagnostics which is able to emulate the key being inserted an dthe lock still did not respond.

Additionally, they have said the EIS could also be faulty but they are not sure so are going to order a new steering lock mechanism (see Malcolm's very kindly supplied exploded drawing elsewhere on this thread) first to see if this is the cause. NB - Mercedes can not tell me how long it will take for the new part to arrive, could be a few days or a few weeks.

If the problem is not resolved, they will next order a new EIS unit and then "see what happens". I feel slightly better in that Mercedes themselves are more pro-active in trying to fault find but somewhat uneasy in that they will not commit to telling me exactly what the fault is even though they have every possible tool, manual, Mercedes intranet access and dealer support mechanisms at their disposal.

That's it for now, will post an update when I get something tangible from Mercedes.

We have now taken the vehcile completely out of Ralph's hands. I could not recommend him to anyone to fix any vehicle based on my experience the last seven days. Every vehicle I observed being worked on in his unit last week were still present this week which leads me to believe he is not equipped as advertised to properly look after his customers. If anyone has experienced a different level of service, please feel free to contact me.

Once again, a huge thank you to those that have taken time to help me find the fault and get the car repaired.

 

[television]

On 99.9% it is the EIS failing that is the reason for the steering lock not coming off, the key would still turn if the lock was faulty, as far as I know