memphis c350

Thought my wife was calling me to grab dinner. NOT!!!
She was calling me asking me to drive across town because she was going to surprise me with dinner, when she came out of the restaurant her 2008 Mercedes C350 would not crank. Light , battery fine , had to get it towed to the dealership, checked YouTube and found that the c series was known for EIS problems. Anyone else have this issue and how much is he dealership going to hit me up for. Should I tell my daughter she can't go to college this year or what

C300Sport

Sounds like EIS could be your issue. You may be looking at roughly $1000 give or take depending on your dealer. The good news is you should really push for MB USA to assist you with the repair as this is a very, very common issue. I had mine replaced and the cost was reduced almost in half as a good will gesture.
The ESL(electronic steering lock) is often grouped in as part of the issue but be sure to question this as they generally don't both go out at the same time...likely they are just throwing parts at a problem or want to make a few extra bucks with a "preventative" repair.

Cscals17

yeah around 1000 to 1800 Its happened to so many other members here and it has me worried

craiger13

Lately I have noticed that when I stick my fob in, the unlocking sound that I normally get sounds like its dying or the battery is low I would like to know is this normal?

Cscals17

I would say most likely no that is not normal look around on this forum a lot of people have had this problem theres a huge thread for this problem I heard about someone that was able to fix it but I dont remember how also your best bet if your batteries not old and going is to maybe take it to the dealer or a shop you know

IGB

The bad news is, MB has expressed very little interest in covering any portion of the cost of these repairs for the majority of those who felt any entitlement to compensation. Realistically speaking, and since it is highly unlikely that the OP's 2008 is still covered under warranty and as such, MB is not under any obligation to cover any part of the cost of these repairs... Which also means that telling people to expect this is setting them up for a huge disappointment!

IGB

No one has been able to confirm any connection between a weak/dying battery and EIS or ESL failure.

If you are going to consider that as a cause, then you should also include:

• "ESL has a cheap $0.10 motor that breaks down" (as one guy claims)...
• "The lock mechanism not having enough lubrication and so the lock gets stuck" (as another guy claims)...
• "That wiggling the steering wheel left and right real hard and banging on the bottom of the steering column, unlocks the steering wheel and resolves the issue" (as yet a third guy claims).

All while not even your Mercedes Benz technician/service advisor can tell you what is the actual cause... simply because they connect the vehicle to STAR, and the code it returns simply states either "EIS is not responding, replace EIS" or it states "ESL is not responding, replace ESL".

Cscals17

It just sucks that if one of these things go not only are you literally unable to use the car but its expensive

C300Sport

I noticed the same struggling/tired sound for a few months before my ESL gave up...

C300Sport

Interesting that you use the word entitlement to describe working with a manufacturer to assist an owner in the repair of poorly designed part that fails much more often than what is considered acceptable. It's not an obligation, it's a good will gesture...in which I am sure MB is hoping will lead to another(or many) sale(s) at some point in the future.

Disappointment is a part of life. I am pretty sure anyone that is getting ready to pay ~$1000 is already disappointed. The FACT that hundreds of dollars of discount/assistance may be a single phone call away is something I think my fellow MB drivers would like to know. If MB tells them to go pound sand, then, so be it. My car was well out of warranty, early last year a good friend of mine with a 2008 Luxury received assistance, and multiple members on this board have received assistance.
It's better to be well informed and make your decisions from there.

Alfadude

Just curious, do you know if that assistance was through the local dealer or from Mercedes itself? I could see an individual dealer try to help a regular customer and eat some of the labor or provide parts at cost just to keep someone happy they know personally that has been coming to them for years for service and buying new vehicles. I would be very surprised if the factory would do the same for a 7-8 year old car well out of warranty.

Never hurts to at least ask the question and if you get anything consider yourself lucky.

dieseldoc

I live in Dallas, My dealer paid for a repair that was 3000.00 on my GL that was 7 years old because it was known issue. I do not know if the dealer ate it or MBUSA picked up the tab.

IGB

I'll address all of ^^that^^^ in a bit but first, let me pose this question… In this thread, you claimed that:

And yet in post 18 of this other thread: “2008 c300 wont start ~ ESL or EIS? ~ renamed , you stated the following:

$200 off of $975 is close to being reduced by a fifth, but it certainly isn't even close to “being reduced almost in half”… So which statement of yours should we believe? That your cost for the repair was reduced by a fifth, or that it was cut by almost a half?

You see, when you offer conflicting statements like that, it tends to undermine your credibility with regards to everything else you post.

Example, and with regards to your claim that this is a “very very common issue”… Is that a factual statement or is that part of your attempt to exaggerate this issue hoping you'll eventually force Mercedes Benz to reimburse you? How do you define “very very common”?

Because here is how I can show that it isn't as common as you would claim it to be…

Mercedes Benz uses this same ESL part design on 141 of its models and submodels that were manufactured between 2008 and 2012. While most models other than the C-Class have experienced Steering lock failure, those instances appear to have occurred in models prior to 2008, and therefore, presumably, a different part with a different part design.

But lets look at the C-Class in particular. Mercedes Benz sold close to 250,000 C-Class vehicles in the United States between 2008 to 2011. If we were to check the NHTSA for complaints that were filed regarding this issue, we would find the following:
2008 C-Class – 75 complaints
2009 C-Class – 69 complaints
2010 C-Class – 15 complaints
2011 C-Class – 4 complaints
Total ---------- 163 Complaints

163 / 250,000 = 0.000652 Failure rate = 0.0652% Failure Rate;
i.e. MUCH LESS THAN 1/10th of 1% --- And that, to you, is a “very very common issue”

Let us for the sake of argument, assume that only 1/10 of those experiencing a problem, will bother reporting it to the NHTSA… In which case, We would then have 1630 cases of ESL failure.

1630 / 250,000 = 0.00652 Failure Rate = 0.652% Failure Rate i.e. STILL LESS THAN 1%.

But lets assume its 1%…. 1% is a “very very common issue” to you?

Whether you are willing to face and admit it, this is neither a common issue, nor is Mercedes Benz obligated to cover any repairs, or any portion thereof that are the result of this failure. Surely, you are free to suggest to others that they should contact Mercedes Benz to ask for assistance, but to include a misleading statement about it being “good news” or that it is so because this is a “very very common issue”… Or that you had them cover half your cost when earlier on, you offered numbers that suggest that you were only reimbursed a fifth, you are simply making things up, you are misleading people and by doing so, you aren't doing anyone any favors.

Let me go back to that first quote by you:

"Entitlement"... Is defined as "the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment".

The privilege or special treatment you obviously feel you are entitled to, include some sort of compensation from Mercedes Benz for repairs made on your vehicle AFTER the manufacturer's limited warranty had expired.

Even if the term you used "poorly designed part" is remotely accurate, it would imply a "defective design" and since "design" would fall under the general definition of "workmanship", it would imply that this part failed due to a defect in material or workmanship. But since that manufacturer's warranty will only cover cost of repairs needed due to defects in material or workmanship and only during the first 48 months or 50,000 miles (whichever occurs first) of the vehicle's life, and since the great majority of cases involving this issue occur outside of that coverage period, neither you nor anyone else have any claim whatsoever to any assistance from Mercedes Benz!

In fact you have no idea why this part fails. Do you? And as such, you have no basis to describe it as a “poorly designed part”… Because car batteries eventually die and most be replaced. That does not make them “poorly designed parts”… Spark plugs eventually require replacement as well, that still does not make them “poorly designed parts”… and so on and so forth.

A “good will gesture” is voluntary. You are making a big issue of this, trying to exaggerate it into a “very very common issue”, describing it as a “poorly designed part” and suggesting to others that you were reimbursed for half the cost when in reality it was only a fifth… All in an attempt to try and force Mercedes Benz' hand to revisit your service order and to offer you a refund?

And last but not least, and while you are tying to recoup costs you wrongfully feel you are entitled to recouping, you are negatively impacting the value of the car that you (presumably) still have. In other words, “you are cutting your nose to spite your face… And regardless of how you present that, it isn't very smart… Is it!

IGB

Sorry, but without telling us what that "known issue" was and how it compared to what some are claiming is a "very very common issue", its difficult to draw a connection between what you received there versus what people here are expecting to receive here.

I can only assume that you are referring to the engine containing balance shafts that were defective resulting in premature wear, which in turn damaged other engine components... etc... And if that is the case, then:

1) It was most likely MB USA that covered the repair;
2) that was not "good will"... Instead, it was a result of a class action lawsuit wherein the judge denied MBs several motions to dismiss. In other words, MB was forced to settle in that manner.

But you see.... In those cases, people went about it in a straight forward manner, they provided the court with documentation that MB was aware of the defect, that the number of engines that have suffered this issue was large enough to suggest a wide spread problem, they offered factual, realistic and proven information.

In this case, people have no clue why this part fails, and yet they have deemed it as a "poorly designed part"... They have not established it as being a wide spread problem and yet they claim its a "very very common issue"... And even more importantly, some of the reports that are being filed with the NHTSA are totally misrepresenting the issue, others clearly represent the filing of duplicate reports...

(Example: Someone filed a report by including their car's VIN #, only to then start withh a new form, only this time they lave out the VIN # (but same wording for both reports)...
One from a certain location only to then file another (same wording for both reports) claiming to be from somewhere else)...

Pretty pathetic, to say the least!

Some actual examples:

Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): Not Available
SUMMARY:
THE C-CLASS HAS A SURMOUNTABLE AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS PERTAINING TO THE IGNITION SWITCH AND STEERING LOCK. BOTH OF WHICH CAN GO OUT AT ANYTIME, INCLUDING WHILE DRIVING AND BEING STRANDED IN DESOLATE LOCATIONS WITHOUT WARNING. I'VE HAD TO REPLACE BOTH PARTS AND THE COST IS UNFAIR TO THE CONSUMER BECAUSE THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A DEFECT THAT IS NOT BEING ACKNOWLEDGED. BOTH INSTANCES, I PARKED MY VEHICLE, WENT INTO A BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT, RETURNED TO MY VEHICLE TO LEAVE AND FOUND MYSELF STRANDED. THANK GOD, I WAS IN SAFE LOCATIONS BUT WHAT IF I WASN'T. THESE CARS ARE NOT RELIABLE AND THESE PROBLEMS NEED TO BE FIXED IMMEDIATELY. ALSO, MERCEDES IS NOT SURE IF THIS CAN GO OUT WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION WHICH IS EVEN MOR SCARIER.

It should be noted hat his issue cannot and will not occur while the vehicle is being driven, because the process that deems the steering lock as having failed, can only happen during the starting cycle.

Here is an even more interesting one.... Two differEnt people allegedly filing from two different locations and yet the report is IDENTICAL word for word...

Date Complaint Filed: 11/27/2015
Date of Incident: 11/25/2015
Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM , STEERING
NHTSA ID Number: 10807137
Consumer Location: LANDOVER, MD
Crash:No Fire:No Number of Injuries:0 Number of Deaths:0
Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): WDDGF54X89R...
SUMMARY:
MY C300 WAS FUNCTIONING PERFECTLY WITH NO ISSUES. WHEN I CAME OUT TO START THE CAR, IT WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE THE KEY. I HAD IT TOWED TO A DEALER AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT'S THE ELECTRONIC STEERING LOCK FAIL. I LOOKED THIS UP AND IT IS SOMETHING VERY COMMON WITH THE 2009 MODEL. THERE ARE SEVERAL POST ON THE INTERNET ASKING FOR THIS TO BE A RECALL ITEM.

Date Complaint Filed: 11/30/2015
Date of Incident: 11/27/2015
Component(s): STEERING
NHTSA ID Number: 10807632
Consumer Location: WESTFIELD, MA
Crash:No Fire:No Number of Injuries:0 Number of Deaths:0
Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): WDDGF81X48F...
SUMMARY:
MY C300 WAS FUNCTIONING PERFECTLY WITH NO ISSUES. WHEN I CAME OUT TO START THE CAR, IT WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE THE KEY. I HAD IT TOWED TO A DEALER AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT'S THE ELECTRONIC STEERING LOCK FAIL. I LOOKED THIS UP AND IT IS SOMETHING VERY COMMON WITH THE 2009 MODEL. THERE ARE SEVERAL POST ON THE INTERNET ASKING FOR THIS TO BE A RECALL ITEM. THIS IS THE SECOND OR THIRD TIME. THIS NEEDS A RECALL.

Here is ne who s not only claiming THOUSANDS of other complainants, who have posted THOUSANDS of posts.. And this one also feels its a safety issue if it were to happen at highway seeds.

Date Complaint Filed: 09/17/2015
Date of Incident: 09/12/2015
Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM , STEERING , UNKNOWN OR OTHER
NHTSA ID Number: 10764581
Consumer Location: MARSHFIELD, MO
Crash:No Fire:No Number of Injuries:0 Number of Deaths:0
Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): WDDGF54X98F...
SUMMARY:
SAME ISSUE AS LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF OTHERS ARE COMPLAINING OF...CAR FAILS TO START DUE TO EITHER A FAULTY STEERING WHEEL IGNITION LOCK OR EIS NOT RECOGNIZING THE KEY AND THEREFORE NOT STARTING. IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE TO ME, DEALER SERVICE ADVISOR KNEW IMMEDIATELY AND EVEN GUESSED AT THE MODEL AND YEAR OF MY VEHICLE, WHICH TELLS ME THAT THIS IS A PREVALENT ISSUE, SUPPORTED BY THE THOUSANDS OF POSTS I HAVE READ ON VARIOUS FORUMS. THIS IS A POTENTIAL SAFETY NIGHTMARE WAITING TO HAPPEN, SIMILAR IN NATURE, IF NOT SCOPE, TO THE GM IGNITION SWITCH RECALL! THE SAME THING COULD HAPPEN IF THE FAILURE OCCURS AT HIGHWAY SPEED.

C300Sport

Wow, you are an interesting guy...it's nice to see someone reading through all my posts trying to find something small to pin on me...like how I tried to suggest a 50% discount was guaranteed...
I didn't think I was running for president but since you are trying to dig up any "dirt" you can find; after discussing my displeasure with the failure and the repair cost, the dealer reduced the quote from 1345.XX to 975.00 and then MB USA threw in another 200...don't worry about pulling out your calculator, that is still only about 43%...
All those pages of BS you spent so much time writing and it still ends up just like I said. It makes sense to pick up the phone to call MB USA if you have issues with a commonly faulty or poorly designed part/system.
Please feel free to write another book with some ridiculous analogies, entitlement lessons or unfounded insinuations...it's healthy to laugh...

Carsy

Good rebuttal to the forum lawyer

IGB

Is ^^that the best you could come up with Carsy?

You must still be feeling the burn from my last reply to you... And I was being friendly then too.

Typically, I find your replies very informative and on point. Not sure why you'd choose to undermine your own cred with such nonsense, but rest assured I am the least bit offended by online chatter.

IGB

So new we have 3 stories... Question is: Which to believe!!!

Carry on with your feelings of entitlement. You obviously could not respond to any of the points I offered. But in reality, I wasn't expecting much anyway...

Carsy

Take a cold shower & a valium young fella.

C300Sport

Three stories? Mine is the same story every time. I did not offer details until some neurotic little turd tried to call me a liar because he couldn't understand the point I was making....seems like everyone else that read the thread was able to comprehend my posts.
So do you think you can contribute anything or will you continue to simply brow beat everyone on this thread so you can make yourself feel like you accomplished something today?