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I have a 2010 C300 Sport 4Matic with ~57,000 miles. The last couple days my wife and I have notice that removing the fob from the ignition takes a lot of effort. I'm not sure what holds the key in, but it seems to be locking up. No problems turning the key, inserting it, or starting/turning off the car. We each have our own keys, so I don't think its a problem with those. Do you guys have any ideas if its something I can look at before taking it in? We have a 3rd party warranty, but I'd rather not pay the deductable if its something simple.
I have mechanical knowledge, but not a mechanic myself.
Hmm, ok. Guess I just haven't paid much attention until now. Might call MB and see if they know how much resistance it should have. I would assume that having to yank it out isn't right.
My wife have a 2012 C250 Luxury and our key fob has been working perfectly until today. Somehow something happened (probably inside of the key ignition slot), and now the key fob started to become difficult to pull out. I can say that it's not the issue that I have to turn it all the way to the LEFT then pull it out. Also it doesn't seem to be an issue with the key fob itself, as we have a spare key fob (with brand new battery and very seldom used), and we used the spare key fob and it also has the same issue. It's very easy to insert it, turn it on, etc., but just DIFFICULT to pull it out. We often have to spend like 1~3 minutes wiggling and struggling to pull it out. Any idea why is that? Thanks!
I was just thinking how this could be related to your Park-Position, or Neutral Position. From what I understood is you can switch the car off in Drive or Reverse, but not being able to get the key out(Easily I imagine). If this is true and you did switch off in Park, is that position functioning correctly every time-?
I have the same problem and if you push the gear lever towards the engine just a bit your key will come out easy. There are two things that go wrong. One is the wire that goes from the gear lever to the ignition and doesn't quite recognise the position of the gear. The other is a problem with the ignition, but it sounds more like the recognition problem, I got quoted $500 to replace the wire but I just keep pushing the gear lever forward and the key releases. I haven't been able to find how to do a DIY on this cable yet but someone will do it eventually. I hope this helps? Cheers Rob
I have a 2010 C300 Sport 4Matic with ~57,000 miles. The last couple days my wife and I have notice that removing the fob from the ignition takes a lot of effort. I'm not sure what holds the key in, but it seems to be locking up. No problems turning the key, inserting it, or starting/turning off the car. We each have our own keys, so I don't think its a problem with those. Do you guys have any ideas if its something I can look at before taking it in? We have a 3rd party warranty, but I'd rather not pay the deductable if its something simple.
I have mechanical knowledge, but not a mechanic myself.
Thanks guys
Brandon,
try this simple "fix"...
with the shifter still on "P" (park), give the shift knob a firm tap to the LEFT. This action reaffirms that the you are indeed in Park and allows the shift interlock safety switch to release the key lock.
If just pushing the gear lever forward as you remove the key works, it is more than likely wear in the guide that the lever slides into the park position. I had to cut a tube of plastic and slide over the top of the gear shift lever
countering the wear in the guide as shown in pictures. This worked well for me and I have had no further problems.
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