there is a company in Texas, one in California, and one in Canada.

still on RL under new name, just stopped posting because Mark in Baltimore and the pirita guy are complete db's, taking themselves a little too seriously.

keep us posted how you make out, this is one repair im expecting at some point. and will likely just mail the key and the unit out to the guy in TX or the one in canada.

 

Actually you can... Look at procedure under "Releasing the parking lock manually (automatic transmission)" or "Manually unlocking the transmission gear selector"
in your owners manual.

 

Update:

Although I wanted to go the emulator route, the time required to source the emulator, pull the column apart, send out for programming and reinstall was too much this week as I need the car back quickly.

I ended up taking it to the dealer who diagnosed it was ESL, not the EIS. They needed to order the part so had it back next day, but i had a w205 loaner. Total bill at $900

 

Okay, after my update last Friday and having the ESL replaced, the problem occurred again. Fortunately I was able to work the key in and out again until it came to life. Going back to dealer. Guessing. EIS.

 

Charles, nice to see you here!
is the EIS & ESL repair / work around any different for the keyless go vehicles?

good luck 993 keep us posted, what a pain.

 

Its the same process for keyless go.

 

Well, another update. After having the ESL replaced, the issue surfaced again a few days later. After putting the key in 5 or 6 times, the ESL unlocked and I could start the car. Took it back to the dealer thinking it's now the EIS. They had the car for a week trying to reproduce the problem to diagnose....no luck. They said no codes, couldn't reproduce, no repair or charge. Got the car back but I am now very concerned it's going to happen again and I won't be so lucky to get it going again.

 

If you have another key try that. This can be a key issue as well. Or dirty eis.

 

How do you clean EIS?

 

take a cotton swab put just a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol and clean the ir reader where you insert the key.

But if you have push to start then eis shouldn't be dirty.

 

I happen to own 2 w204, one c200k and anothet c300 v6.

IT HAPPENS TO BOTH VEHICLE AS YOU REACH 7-9 years of usage.

on the c300 i went to the dealership and they landed me a hefty sum (USD 1800) which they went on to:
1. Replace ESL console box
2. Lubricate steering system
3. remove steering wheel rod as it is still in locked position
4. after removing the lock they tow the car to the dealership (my car went cold in a basement of a shopping mall which cant be towed due to tight spaces and require the steering to be unlocked first)
5. Reset the EIS NES.

After the repair it works perfectly. However my heart didn't healed by the fact that we have to pay 1800 just because a small 50 cent motor fails.

When it happened to my c200, i decided to call the dealership emergency hotline, ask the towing and onboard mechanic to remove the ESL. As it is in locked position they will have to cut 1 screw (using small metal hand saw) that locks the ESL to the steering column.

once it is removed, i opened it up.

THERE IS USUALLY ONLY 2 COMMON FLU for ESL issues.

1. Burnt out motor
2. Electronic board issue.

So what i did is remove the motor from the ESL, bought a Tamiya motor (Japanese model car toy) motor for 2.5 usd (VERY VERY HIGH QUALITY). Remove the spining rod that connects to the gears from old motor and place it on the new motor.

Afterwards using contact cleaner to clean the pcb board. continuing to replace the screw which was previously chopped off.

Then lubricating all gears in the ESL. afterwards i put everything back in place. Once in place, I ask the MB mechanics to reset the ESL EIS NEC which locks the mechanism aftet several failed attempts.

Everything works fine up till today.

1. Screw you MB for not providing just the motor or board which will be cheaper than replacing the whole chunk of die cast metal console.

 

Excellent information thanks for that, I also own a W204 C200 and plan to replace the electric motor in the ESL.

Is it possible to remove and replace the ESL motor as preventive maintenance even though it has not failed open it up swap out motors with out disturbing the position of the main big diamator gear assemble and it will still work with out any programming.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Nz-Merc

I think you should. Once your ESL fails, attempting multiple times to unlock your mercedes will lock the NEC which will then require programming and a special tool (most big MB dealerships owns it) to fix it. I've discovered that you dont need to replace the motor, just do a recoil on the motor or use a carb cleaner to clean it.

 

I recently added the repair and return service for the ESL for anyone experience steering lock issues and are willing to pull their column.

 

I have been thinking of doing this also. I'll never take my car on a road trip just for the reason you can't rely on the ESL.


Imagine your bill if your 1000 kilometers from home and that piece of crap motor dies.

 

Canadians can go direct to the Xemodex site and it will be $399 CAD not US if you go through FCP Euro.

 

Imagine your bill if you were at home, while you tried to repair something that did not need to be repaired only in the process of doing so, you fried that same part you'd wanted to protect, had the airbag pop in your face, or otherwise fried or broke another part in the process. I am all for DIYing anything and everything one can... But if it isn't broken, if it has a less than 1% chance of failure and yet it gets exaggerated online so much for reasons other it being a so called "crappie" part, I am not sure how you can justify going through such an invasive procedure in the name of "preventive maintenance" or however which way you may choose to describe it!

So let us assume you did the procedure described above, what sort of guarantee do you have that the "not so crappie" motor you used to replace the original with is not going to flop on you unexpectedly? What sort of guarantee do you have thay this procedure will also prevent your EIS from failing, or your car starter from not turning, or your battery from dying?

Keep in mind that Tamiya motors and while they are good quality motors for the purposes Tamiya uses them for, they are often multi speed motors they output a variety of torque levels, most do in fact require an additional (Electronic Speed Control ESC) module to control their speed, and are often made in the same China that the original motor is made in. Furthermore, Tamiya motors work off of 2.4, 7.2 and 9.6 Volts. Certainly not set up to be used as an automobile part running off of 12 volts. Certainly not the plug and play process mentioned above! And certainly not the most ideal replacement for a part with a single speed, low torque, one function setting. This alone would make me question the methodology and validity of some of the information posted above.

And Don't get me started on recoiling the motor yourself or worse yet, using carb cleaner to clean it out!

It boggles my mind that people find it much easier to subscribe to fear and its consequences, than they would to use their brains to figure out what sounds real and what is the product of someone's wild imagination!

 

Americans (or even Canadians) can go online and buy a brand new ESL unit (instead of ending up with their old unit after getting refurbished) for much lower the the $399 FCPEuro charges. Here is one for $269...

 

This post is of no value. ^^^^^ . The failure of the ESL can be a MAJOR issue depending on where and when it happens and preventing the failure is a worthy topic.

However, if anyone is interested in truly preventing failure, don't replace the motor, replace the ESL with the emulator described earlier.

 

Have to agree with 993, to do this as preventative maintence seems really silly... and if you're going through all work putting in the same system also seems like a waste. Deleting it with an emulator is the real solution, i could almost see doing that ahead of time...

Does Charles offer emulator service, or does he only do rebuilds?

are you still reading along Charles?

 

hey, so i had my esl replaced about 2 years ago and after that another issue had come up and i never got to fixing it.

i had my esl replaced at an indy and they did VERY BAD work, to say the least. the error code reads:
"VINs in control modules n73 (electronic ignition lock control module) and N30/4 (Electronic stability control module) are not identical."

so the esp, abs, and srs have not been working for the same amount of time. i got tired of fixing the car and people doing a horrible job on it, so i parked it for the last year. does anyone know how or where i can fix this in the tristate area without going to the dealership where i have a less than amicable relationship with many SA because they are very unpleasant people to say the least.

 

I can program an emulator for anyone who is interested in replacing your ESL with an emulator. I charge $250 for this service. I'm in Southern California, Whittier specifically.

C Class all models under chassis W204 2008-2015.
E Class Coupe and Convertible models C207/A207 Chassis 2010-2017.
E Class Sedan W212 Chassis 2010-2016.
GLK Class X204 Chassis 2010-2015.

I would need the Electronic Ignition Switch or EIS (that's the black box you stick your key into to start your car) and one working key. If you want/need this service, just send me a message. Or e-mail me at mjg90640@yahoo.com

-Michael

 

Yes I offer emulator as well. Cost 199$
Email special.coding@gmail.com

 

Hey everyone, wondering if I can find help here. I went through some guides here and youtube to try and remove my ESL, but I'm not able to figure out how to get the ESL out of the steering column. I'm unsure if it's in the locked position, but the bolt does move into the ESL. I feel like we're pushing it flush with thee ESL, but it won't remove. This is incredibly hard with the way it's situated, we've stuck in screw drives, and still can't pull out the ESL. Any thoughts?

Or does anyone know who can fix this in the Southern California area? So many independent dealers on Yelp are saying take it to the dealer. I just want to remove the ESL and input an emulator.

 

Actually, my issue is solved. I had beanieBenz help me out and solved it in just a few hours. Now that I see the ESL, the bolt must've needed just a little bit more of a push to get out.