SeaCoupe

Okay, just today, my car started to run the door locks up and down in a rapid/rabid motion when I press the key to unlock the car.

When I unlock, the car does the same thing. Sometimes it will open, most often, not.

Any ideas? I hate electrical problems. I fear no bolt, but I HATE electrical gremlins.

Now that Phil has his M3, I'm thinking of trading up. Maybe time to go to the dealer. I actually called Vadim, not too long ago, about the E55, but man, that is just a stretch right now.

E

Cappa26

Happend to me once, if your under warranty take it back to the dealer, it has something to do with the gears jamming I believe.

nlpamg

weird. I wonder what could cause that.

thanks for including me in the thread! Vadim is good, he'll hook it up, I almost got an SLK55 from him but the M3 made more sense for me... good luck!

white_w203

i also wonder what causes that. that happened to me when i had my 96 acura integra. the lock just kept wigging out.

raymond g-

E-
are you describing an anomaly in which the door lock pins pogo up and down,
spordically, irrhytmically....and may occur during driving? any irregularities
with int/ext lights or alarm?

r-

GINO-ESC

the problem is usually one of two things.

1. the wiring to the power locks has a short in it and is grounding against other wiring or the body. The most common place tends to be the wiring to the trunk lock. Generally the wiring runs from the body to the trunk lid, through or along the trunk hing. The wiring undergoes a lot of movement and bending, often leading to wornout wire insulation. The exposed wires then touch other wires, such as the ones for the rear lights or ground out on the metal surface. check the wiring for wear, especially in the areas where the wire bends. you may need to open up the plastic tube/coating that covers all the trunk wiring, but you can easily use black electrical tape to seal it back up.

2. the second most common problem is a lock solenoid that fails.

SeaCoupe

Excellent, these are great answers. Today has been frustrating. I takes multiple attempts to unlock the car, and then when I open the car, the door goes to the lock position, and therefore won't close. I spent 10 minutes outside of the grocery store trying to close my car door. Yeah, I was attracting all the wrong attention when my door would go <BANG>, even though I was gently closing it.

Okay, the problem of the door pins pogoing only happens when I attempt to lock or unlock the door. The pins are not fully actuating. This keeps the door from unlocking, or in the reverse, from locking.

When I start moving the car, it does it again when I get over 5 miles an hour. But that is likely because the car is programmed to lock over a certain speed.

Gino, your comments could be the clue. The car was hit in the rear hatch about two years ago, so maybe a wire has chafed.

I have no problem pulling it all apart, but the problem then becomes knowing which wires to look for. I guess I can look at them all.

I'll let you know.

Thanks,

E

yupeak

Yeah. Been there. The whole lock assembly was replaced ($176CAD) by dealer. Took about 3 hours in labor.

yeuchau

never see those prob before

good luck

Arn560

I had that on my Passat but that had a vacuum system on the power locks which Mercedes doesn't use. Let's know the cause if you ever find out.

GuruGuy

Mine did the same thing. Dealer replaced the spring on the locking mechanism and also lubed up the rubber boot. Both can cause the symptoms you talk about.

RES

Thats got to be in the rear of the car by the SAM in the trunk, not to hard to get to. The other problem I have heard and expierenced is when something shifts in the trunk while driving and hits the left side of the trunk, the locks unlock. That makes me thing it's got to be right there by the SAM.

1st lite

I had the same thing with the door lock (02 C240) happen to me a few months back. Hit the remote to lock or unlock the doors, and the door lock would bounce up and down 3 or 4 times. Sometimes it wouldn’t lock automatically, would have to use the manual key sometimes.
I ended up purchasing a new auto lock assembly (made by Hella, approx. $175 cdn.) from the dealer and installed it myself. I asked one of the mechanics how long it would take and how difficult to change. You need to have some mechanical knowledge and it will take somewhere between 2-3 hours (took me a little longer). You also need to drill out some pop rivets that hold the airbag and the window slider mechanism to make the job a bit easier. The lock mechanism is fairly tight to remove and re-install. The pop rivets will have to be replaced when the door latch mechanism is in place. MB will also sell you the pop rivets. I’ll have to admit, it was a bit fustrating at times to shoe horn that thing in and line it up. It’s done and it works great!
Someone mentioned to pull up the rubber boot that slides over the door pull rod and to put some lube on the rod. You may want to try this out first. Just remove the door panel and you will see the rubber boot. Nothing to lose by trying this first.

GuruGuy

I was the one who mentioned lubing the rubber boot. I'm 99.9% positive this will fix your issue. It is a known problem.

SeaCoupe

Thanks for the input. Celebrating my girls bday tonight. So, no valeting at the restaurant. This has been really embarassing. Sunday, I'll have time to lube the rod. What type of lube do you recommend?

This also makes sense because only the drivers side is doing this. Passenger does pogo, but cleanly will open and lock.

I made a dealer apt on Monday, so If I can fix this, I could save money.

E

GuruGuy

Not sure about the type of lube...haha. Dealer did mine. As is your case, mine was the same way. Only the drivers side was affected....very easy fix though. Covered under warranty.

powa

got that, warranty will cover it. I heard something about the driver side has more mechanic stuff, that's why that side usually has problem

sirenebekim

when i was installing my new grab handle tonight, i tried to unlock the doors via the button on the dash, well the lock was stuck under the door plastic, so it jammed up the lock. Obviously it didn't unlock, but it also made a beep. If your locks are jammed, it will beep when you try to use them.

MJ50

i'm just out of standard warranty and noticed the locking problem on driver's door. (tho i have extended warranty)... so what's the solution? lube or new locking assembly???

Racin_fool

I would take off the door panel and inspect the rubber boot around the door lock rod. If it is pushed down, pull it up and spray some wd-40 or some sort of lubricating spray on the inside of the boot and down the lock rod where it contacts the boot. If this does not fix the problem then you would need to replace the lock assembly which should be covered under your extended warranty.

pnoye2

Yup mj, this happened also to the Mrs car right before the factory warranty had expired... it's about 2.5 hours of labor and a total charge of almost $300.

Heres what the invoice stated.

Concern: Driver side lock inop., door lock is bouncing up and down.
Cause: Door lock actuator
Correction: Replace left front latch assembly
Part number: MBN 203 720 01 35
Description: Lock ($50)

After the new part is installed, the Tech will then initiate a series of test program; short test, locking actuator, checks central locking function, etc., etc.

Make an apointment to your local stealership and have 'em address the issue... free of charge!

Hope this helps, goodluck!

MJ50

thx for the info...
i will make appt this week!

kaze81

Just wondering if this problem will be covered under extended warranty?? I am guessing yes it will cos this fall into Electronic issue, anyone can confirm?

MJ, please let us know how it turns out after you got it fix.

drexappeal

I think this is what the dealership was saying would not be covered (if it went bad) for me since I changed the door pins and custom surrounds. Right after that, I switched dealerships!

coolshades

I have the same problem with my 2002 C230K. Car is out of the original warranty and under the 48 months premium extended warranty. Took it to the dealer today (Sugar Land, Texas) and the tech advisor said it is NOT under warranty. He claims it is not the actuator but it's a short of the lock mechanism, therefore not under warranty. I have never changed anything from the door. He wants $400+ for the job.

Will someone please confirm if it is under warranty or not? My warranty states "if a part is not listed, it is not covered ... 16. Central Locking System: Actuator/element, pneumatic check valve, switches and linkages...."