So today is the 1 week point of owning my 2002 C230 coupe. The first problem has now started. So when I got home today I turned off the car and the key wouldn't come out. After playing around with it for a coupe of mins the key came out. I tried it again and now it seems to be that the keys coming out fine but the key sensor is sensing that the key is still in the ignition. Because it is sensing that the key is in the car now wont lock. Also one of the times that I put the key in it wouldn't turn on. Has anyone else had this issue? any tips on what I should do to figure it out? Thanks!

 

ur either gunna need the ignition module or sum luck

 

Now I just went to the car and tried to turn it on and it wont even sense the key and it wont turn on at all

 

da heck?!? it never happen to me i drive that car 2 to 3 times a week it seems perfectly fine to me

 

Try with the second key

 

Ya its weird guess the bad lucks just on me Atleast it didnt happen in the middle of my drive back from vegas . Btw jordan I am about to go to the post office and send you back you old custom plates. I went to the DMV a few days ago and got new plates and they said to send you back your custom plate.

Same issue occurred with the second key.

 

Sounds like an EIS problem.. yikes.

 

yea EIS problem maybe.

 

Around two grand if you take it to the dealer, cheaper if you go independent. Jordan has excellent timing!!

 

Can you go independent on the EIS? Just need STAR machine?

 

Good point, sir. I was thinking the same thing after I posted my message. You may have to go to a dealer no matter what, but I'm not sure. I went to my dealer out of feeling more secure with having them do it.

 

yikes!

 

Good luck with this. Happened to my c230 a few months back. Indies will most likely be unable to help you out here, so prepare to shell out cash at a dealership, anywhere between $1,500 to $2,500.

The reason why the key will not be recognized is because the tumbler has not been 'reset' to the off position. It's still somewhere between positions 0 and 1. So while the key is out of the car, the EIS still thinks that the key is connected. When you open the driver door, it remains beeping, right? And you can't restart the car unless you can set the position back to 0 (off) first. So now you have a brick of a car, thanks to a broken EIS. It's not even electrical either, it's something mechanical.

 

Do any of you guys think it could be relivant to my recent smog? When I went in everything was fine, but when I left I was getting all these errors on my screen. The guy said they would go away once I started driving. They went away after a coupe miles but then that hole day it would say random things like a light is out when its really not and then go away. Then the next day I couldn't get the key out, but after playing with it I did. Know it keeps beeping saying take key out when the key is out and starts sometimes and doesn't sometimes. Right now I would say half the time it works completely normal and half the time its useless.

 

Maybe smog drained your battery? The other issues seem battery related as low voltages cause this car to do funny things.

 

Can you elaborate? Kind of confused here.

I am almost absolutely certain that smog has nothing to do with the EIS situation. It's just that something in the EIS broke due to unusual wear and tear.

 

It won't hurt to check the battery, but it does sound like the EIS is going to take a dump. But $2500? I have heard $1000.

 

Fully depends on the dealer. The EIS itself should be no more than around $600~700, but then the SA will begin to throw on big bucks for labor. "one hour for prediagnostics, probably three hours for the actual work, an hour to reprogram keys..." yadda yadda, same BS they try to tell everyone to make an extra buck.

 

My local indie guy, one day he's holding an EIS, and saying, hey you ever seen one of these? I'm like no...he says it's a $500 part and someday you'll need one. (crossing fingers!)
It was an EIS and had this little electronic key, that allows them to program the EIS to work with your car.
You have to order by VIN direct from Mercedes.
So, a real Indie shop with Star can do it.
He said the whole job was around 1K.
Some places advertise they work on benz, (and BMW and and and...)
but then aren't really benz specific, don't have Star.
So you just need to ask around.
BTW- He was holding the EIS, I was holding a bottle of tequila.
Always helps to have friends in the biz.

BUT 1ST THING HAVE THE BATTERY TESTED.
Old battery puts a strain on things.
Weird problems ensue.
Any auto parts store will test for free.

 

Any dealer who says they need to charge you an hour to reprogram keys is lying to your face.

 

wow how do these go bad?? age? the car miss the original owner??

 

Actually, the questions should be:
Did you have any key recognition problems before you sold it to him?
Did you give full disclosure?
Should you be somehow splitting the expense of such an expensive fix, as it occurred only a week after the sale?
That's what I would be wondering if I had bought the car from you. That, and what else could be wrong that I don't know about.

 

it happened once when my car was still in N gear and i shut off the car so i thought my car was park but other than that never really happen and taht was long long time ago, I told him all the possible known issues with my car, Radio, fender liner, rock chips, ashtray etc... recent change brand new alternater/battery, CPS sensor replace all those stuff

 

In this situation, the EIS will fail without warning. One day, it will just decide to not turnover back to 0 (off) and remain stuck. I doubt that the previous owner would have had any knowledge about this... I could be wrong though.

There is one temporary fix to set the position back to "off," but it requires a small screwdriver and some finesse. OP, pm me if you'd like more information.

 

maybe, I would go have the battery tested but I cant get the car to turn on


I hope its not $2,500 because thats half the cost I payed for the car

Stealer ships for ya I called a indie in my area and they said the parts and labor should run me between 900-1100 but could be more, He said he needs to look at it. I want to make sure its not a stupid small mistake like a low battery though before I start throwing money for diagnostics and repairs.

If I could get my car to turn on I will go to auto zone right after I finish typing these replies, the thing is the car turns on sometimes and doesn't at others so crossing my fingers that it will. I see that you are in the bay area too. Do you know any good indies I could go to for this repair? thanks!




Or maybe the car is just so exited that it has such an amazing new owner that it cant handle it .

I trust jordan, he seems like a pretty honest and good guy, but do you think this could be relevant to the recent CPS or alternator/battery change?

PM sent! thanks!