Have a 99 E320 wagon with original 6-CD changer in rear sidewall. Just recently have been getting message at radio/cd/tape console that "magazine is empty" when I press CD function button to play a cd. In fact, the magazine is full. Despite replacing it with a second full magazine (repeatedly alternating between the two magazines many times, also emptying & reloading each magazine several times), I cannot get the cd to play--just keep getting the "magazine is empty" message. (Incidentally, when the magazines are removed & the cd function button is pressed, I do get the correct message of "No Magazine".)

Can someone advise on the likely problem? Mechanical--correctable perhaps by cleaning, etc. Or something else--home-reparable or tech reparable?
Certainly would appreciate any help at all!

 

I got this problem also w/ my '01 E55. It seems the loading mechanism is malfunction. IIRC, the CD is not loaded to the reader so the unit thinks the magazine is empty.

When you get this error message again, you could open the CD door (don't take out the magazine) and see whether any CD is loaded to the reader... I would guess not.

I'm not that techie.... but I opened the case and took everything apart and reinstalled them back, everything worked properly again... However, not for long (like 2-3 months) and the problem came back.

If yours is MC3198, my suggestion is to find one from eBay (around $100-$200) and make sure you get the one MADE IN JAPAN, not MADE IN CHINA or HUNGARY. I bought one MADE IN JAPAN and it worked flawlessly until I sold the car.

 

Hey, my 01 c240 still has the same message. I got this msg sometime back in June. I took it to the MB dealer since I had an extended warranty. They said that the CD changer has gone bad and they have to replace it. the total cost estimate was $900.00 and the extended warr. would cover only $300.00 for my audio. So i dropped the Idea and invested on a lot better Audio 10. It makes a whole lot of difference in my car. You can still try in e-bay and you should find one for about $150 - 200, instead invest the same on Audio 10 and you will get an excellent in dash CD player. ... Wait a minute, I don't know if they have audio 10s or same likes for E class though.