My drivers door broke last night. The lock pin will bounce up/down several times as the mechanism inside sounds like it is struggling to lock and can't. I tried the metal key and it won't turn, so something is jammed/broken mechanically inside.

Anyone had this occur?

 

I have a 2004 C230 Sport Sedan and am starting to have some problems with my automatic door locks. When it is cold (below 50'F - that's cold for California) and the car has been sitting for a few hours my doors won't fully unlock. I hit the button on the remote and the door pins go up and down rapidly a few times, but I cannot open the doors until I hit the button on the remote again or use the actual key in the door.

I took it to the dealer, and of course they cannot duplicate the problem since it only does it in the morning or evening after it has sat locked for a while. Just wondering if anybody else has had a similar problem.

Thanks in advance.

 

Taking my car back to the dealer Thursday - but still wondering if anybody else has had this problem.

 

might wanna try checking if something is blocking the locks from the inside of the door...tell the dealers the situation again and just tell them to take a peep

 

theres a dtb about door locks bouncing (cant remember if the 203s are effected or not) . . . you have to take the door panel off and check to see if the rubber grommet that the door lock sits in is folded up at the bottom of the door lock assembly. YOu might just need a new door lock/latch assembly.

 

Mine has been doing this since about November....same thing. cold outside it bounces up and down and then ends up half way unlocking. Have to keep hitting the unlock button on the remote to get it to open.

Took it in today and there is a DTB on this about the rubber boot on the lock. They fold it down and lube it up.....will know tomorrow morning if it is ok.

 

What does DTB stand for again?

Wow, I'm going to have to pay attention to this. Sometimes, I press the remote button 3 times and still the other passenger doors aren't always unlocked. Never really noticed anything, but I'll keep an eye out.

 

I think it is some sort of tech bulletin that they have for customers that complain about things....

 

What do you mean?

 

I noticed i had the same problem with my car up here in seattle...

I figured it was something to do w/ the doors / locks themselves, but i wanted to make sure it wasnt the batteries on the keys. I replaced the batteries and the problem no longer exists

Hope that helps. If it isnt your batteries... It is a very cheap attempt to fixing the problem anyways

 

Okay, so my co-worker has a 2003 C230K Coupe and she's having problems with the locking mechanism. It's not exactly the same problem as stated in this thread, but it's the closest to it that I could find.

Basically, from how she explains it, when she locks the doors with the key fob, the locks will rapidly go up and down, up and down...and the doors won't always lock. She has to check if the doors actually lock before leaving her car.

She brought it to the dealer, but since she's out of warranty, they said that the locking mechanisms need to be changed out. The parts are around $100, but the dealer is charging $500 (including labor) to fix the problem.

So my questions are #1) Any DIY procedures for this fix, #2) Are there any local mechanics in the Los Angeles area (SFV, WLA, DTLA, SGV, etc...) that people can recommend that have the capabilities to fix this electronic problem?

Thanks in advance to anybody that has some input.

drex

 

I parked my car in my drive way and when i pushed the button to lock the car i heard, click click click. The button i guess you would call it that is on the drive side door wont go down or up it will go up and down like its jammed. anyone ever come across this? It would also help me if anyone has some basic instructions on how to take the door panel off. Thank you so much.

 

taking the door panel off is like pulling teeth, it's not fun. is the drivers side lock jammed? try unscrewing the door pin and see if it will lock. what year/model is your car? if its still under warranty take it to the dealer.

 

i got the same problem coupe months ago, i bring it to the dealer and they say it happens usually on the driver side, since that side has more electritcal stuff. Anyways, bring it back to dealership

 

wow that coupe looks good, i like the SL vents!

 

I had the same thing with the door lock happen to me the other day. 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 and installed it myself. I asked one of the mechanics how long it would take and haw 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 to make the job a bit easier. The 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.

 

I have the same problem described in the post.After reading the posts I think we three options

1. Replace batteries.
2. Lube the rubber boot on the lock.
3. Replace the lock assembly.

Hope it works by just replacing the battery .

 

I have a C180 Kompressor 2003 model, and the passenger front door lock was jumping up and down several times with a machine gun effect when locking or unlocking and sometimes did'nt lock or unlock properly, all the other doors were ok, I contacted MB and they told me I needed a new door locking mechanism, £68 and £180 to fit it. So I purchased the lock and decided to fit it myself, It was quite a simple job, took one and a half hours altogether. as this seems to be a common problem I can now explain how I did it for those who wish to try it themselves:

You will need: Set of Spline screwdrivers, Flat screwdriver, Pop rivet gun, 3 small cable ties, Drill and 5 pop rivets.

1. Pull off the tweeter cover on top of door panel near front of window, no need to disconnect wire, just let it hang down.

2. Pull off SRS badge and remove the spline screw behind it.

3. remove the door latch plastic cover (1 screw)

4. At the bottom of the door pull handle next to the armrest there is an oblong slot, insert a flat screwdriver and prise the top half off, it is just clipped in. there are 2 spline screws behind it, remove them.

5. Using a plastic wedge of some sort or just by hand and starting at the lower part of the door latch, prise off the lower half of the door panel there are 6 or 7 plastic clips which hold it on, (I did this by hand and without breaking any but it may be worth purchasing a few just in case)

6. Lower the window and while pulling the panel slightly towards you, use your other hand to pull the panel upwards from the top starting at the front end, (this is quite tight, but it will come up)

7. panel is now off, pull the plug from the window switch and disconnect the cable from the door handle by opening the handle slightly and pulling up on the hook, the cable can then be removed from the door panel insert.

8. Drill out the 3 pop rivets holding the air bag and the 2 pop rivets holding the lower window strut. do not disconnect the airbag, let it hang down or tie it out of the way.

9. Remove the 3 screws holding the door latch and disconnect the wire from the panel near the front of the door. ( I actually cut the wire and pulled it through the loops to keep the original cable ties in place, when I replaced it I just used new cable ties to attach it back to the original location.)

10. You can now remove the locking mechanism by pulling it down and then towards the front by pushing back on the window strut.

Now do everything in revesre.

 

just yesterday when i unlock my car manuelly witht he switch in the center of the car my drivers door lock sounds like it is unable to unlock. It just pops up and down for a few seconds and than it will unlock. But if i just open my door it will unlock fine. If i unlock my car from the outside it does the same thing it has trouble unlocking and the door pin just goes up and down and up and down and sometimes i have to press the unlock button a few times for the door to unlock. The rest of the doors seem fine though. Has anyone ever had this problem before???

Thanx in advance

 

That's weird. I found 5 threads talking about the same problem.

 

i still have warranty i think i might just bring it back when i go home or somethin its gettin really annoying

 

well, my sister and I both now have the same problem. Calling MBUSA's 800 # was fruitless and was told there is no TSB for this problem. I found P-54_21-126 DEC 04 Power Locks - Central Locking System Inoperative under the 2003 C239 TSB pinned forum. I asked them if they could look that up and if it would apply. They said they could only tell me if there's anything that applies directly to my VIN which he claimed there was nothing and that they couldn't look up any 3rd party listings (such as that listed on this website).

Regardless, it appears that either the door lock actuator/solenoid needs to be replaced or the atual lock assembly (which i believe is what actually closes onto the latch on the frame's door jam. A quick fix might be to "pull up the rubber boot that slides over the door pull rod and to put some lube on the rod" which i don't really understand. I guess if i pull of the door panel it might make more sense.

Any opinions?

 

Unless you have some mechanical aptitude, I don't sugges this to the common hack. I just did this about two weeks ago. Takes about an hour to get the door panel off, drill out the rivets etc. Took two more hours to get out the door lock assembly. TIGHT FIT!

It is rather tough to squeeze that lock assembly out of the door.

I have pics I need to get up, but, feel free to ask questions on the work.

 

You have an email.

I forgot to mention, the replacement rivets should be 5/32"

 

I am taking my car in tomorrow for the exact same issue (driver's side door lock pin dance!) will update