Problem with Remote Locking

[Neil Plumridge]

I have recently (within the last 6 weeks) purchased an '03 C240 Avantgarde SE and all has been fine until the weekend when the remote stopped working on the key. Basically to unlock the doors now I need to be about 6 inches from the drivers door. I guess this is using the infra-red remote rather than radio. The batteries in both keys are fine.

It's checked in at the local dealer for tomorrow but is this a usual problem? Any suggestions on the cause?

I must say that with all the negative things said about Mercs I was a little concerned about reliability and this hasn't helped. I used to have a 1999 Audi A6 and had very few problems in the 6 years I owned it (and put 160,000 miles on the clock) so having the Merc break in 6 weeks is a bit worrying.

 

[Blobcat]

You say the batteries are fine, but when were they last replaced? Are both fobs doing the same?

 

[Neil Plumridge]

Yep, both fobs doing the same. The car was only serviced about 6 weeks ago and they are supposed to change the batteries. However, the garage I bought it from also tried new batteries with no joy and the Merc main dealer I took it to said the batteries were fine.:-(

 

[Neil Plumridge]

well, the Garage have had the call for a full day and still don't know why the remote has stopped working. All they have done is confirmed it isn't the keys (after having to drive miles to provide them with both sets). They also found out that the rattling noise I got over bumps seems the be the same suspension issue that everyone else gets (torsion - tortion bar - cant spell).

The upside of all of this is that the car is still under warrantee from the garage I bought it from so these fixes will be free but it's still a bit inconvenient.

This car has 34,000 miles on the clock and already has suspension problems. My Audi had 160,000 miles on the clock and the only suspension trouble I had was 1 front wheel bearing after about 140,000 miles, and I drove it like a man posessed for 6 years.

If anyone reading this is thinking about buying a Merc I must say this is a little off-putting but the car still looks fantastic, is a pleasure to drive, sounds great and goes like stink. Check in 6 months to see if I'll continue to put-up with it's "little" reliability short-comings.

 

[Blobcat]

Suspension problems are becoming more frequent due to the number of road calming measures installed by councils. We are also noting ball joints failing at similar miles, partially due to the speed bumps and partially due to power steering use when vehicle is stationary. Non of these are limited to MB products

 

[Neil Plumridge]

ok, update (if anyone cares). It seems the problem was caused by a box of electronic gubbins located behind the windscreen. This is not the RF receiver apparently, it is the gibbins that works out what to do with the signal once it has received it. It is £300.00 + labour (which needs to include removing and re-fitting the windscreen just to get to the part)! Ouch. The Merc dealer said they would confirm it was covered by the warrantee from the garage I bought the car from. That was 2 hours ago and the no-one has phoned me back so they have either a) agreed or b) are still realing from the shock. Mind you the garage sells Ferrari's and Nobels and "Really Expensive" Mercs so this should come as no surprise to them.

If they wont pay for the repairs you may want to put your fingers in your ears, no matter what part of the planet you live on you will hear me yelling!.... is it to late to get my Audi back do you think?:cry:

 

[Blobcat]

Hi Neil,

Thanks for the update, and yes we do care.
In my experience of this type of thing, no news is good news. If the garage were not going to cover it then the MB garage would be straight onto you. The £300 + labour is the cost you would have to pay, I very much doubt that the other garage would have to pay as much. Let us know how it works out, I can't sleep at night not knowing the outcome to the problems on this forum.

 

[Neil Plumridge]

given how quickly you seem to reply to these new posts it sounds like you don't sleep anyway!

Thanks.

 

[Neil Plumridge]

just spoke to the garage and it seems they have applied to Mercedes for a "good will" gesture as the car is only 3 months out of warrantee. I guess if I were the dealer I would have done the same thing. Still waiting for the "this isn't covered by the warrantee" call though...

 

[Neil Plumridge]

well, it's all done and I have the car back. The garage (Baynards) were true to their word and covered the costs. Just as well really; the anti-roll bar came to £184.00 and the remote repair came to £600 + Vat !! Still, didn;t cost me a penny so I'm happy. I just hope it isn't a taste of things to come.

I must say, if you have the rattle from the front suspension getting the anti-roll bar done is well worth £184.00, the car is so much quieter now.

So, if your key stops working and it's not the batteries....just use the emergency key, it's a little less convenient but you could buy a cheap run-around for the cost of getting it fixed.

btw, I'm sure this is on the forum somewhere, but can anyone reading this suggest a good garage in West Sussex that doesn't charge Merc prices?

 

[Neil Plumridge]

Answered my own question. Haveing read some of the other enteries it sounds like John Haynes Auto Technics in Worthing are pretty good and that only about 15 miles from me.

 

[C220GJS]

Only one I can find that's been recommended is;
Ian Jowitt,Mercedes specialist.
Thwaites Garage, Willian St.,Portslade, East Sussex.
Tel. 01273-430303.
Don't know how convenient this is as obviously I'm not local so don't know the area, but there is a lot of positive comment about this fellow on another forum.
Cheers, Geo.

 

[Neil Plumridge]

Thanks for that....Hope I don't need them any time soon

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Unfortunately it seems time to reserect this little problem as it seem to have happened again.

I went to the shops today and the central locking stopped working. When I got home it was working again so I just put it down to one of those little "Mercs never go wrong" moments. However, I've just been out to the car again and the remote locking has definately died again. It only works in the Infra red. I have tried both keys.

Does anyone know how long Mercedes garrantee their work for? As they have already "fixed" this once I'm hoping they will do it again.

Mind you if it's done it twice now (since May) I am guessing some other un-diagnosed problem is causing the fault to re-occur so they may just fix the symptoms again without fixing the cause.

As I've asked before, given that the cruise control keeps flipping out too could there be some central issue that cuases both of these problems? Some sort of electrical fault perhaps?

 

[Blobcat]

12 months on labour and 24 months on parts, although you may wish to confirm that with your dealer.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

ok. I'm just worried they'll say something else is causing it to break. Still, I guess they should have spotted that the first time around.

I've just been looking at Audi A8's on autotrader.....:sad:

 

[Blobcat]

Saw a couple of new A6's getting towed onto flat beds last week off the M4

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Just to add to the joy of owning a Mercedes, my radio decided to pack up today as well. The CD player still works but the radio will not pick up any signal at all, just static all the way through.

So to recap, in the last 2 days the remote locking has stopped working (again) and the radio has packed up. Additionally, in the last month the Cruise control and Speed limiter have periodically stopped working.

Anyone want to buy a Merc?:sad:

 

[Blobcat]

It's the tinsel blocking the reception

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

or possibly the car just giving up in shame....