I have a 2008 C300 4Matic with 71,000 miles. I drove the car home from work today parked it in my lot then I notice my windshield wiper started moving on its own?? The key locks and unlocks the doors the lights come on and the dash lights up. You can insert and turn the key but the car will not start. I wasn't able to close my window, open my trunk, the lights came on, the stering wheel is locked and the drive is locked in park. I tried jumping and it did nothing I dident think the battery was bad but went and had it checked anyways. The battery checked out ok. I check the fuses that are associated with the starter and they seem to be ok. I'm not sure what to do next and not excited about having it towed to the dealership. Any information would be helpfull.

 

Did you try to disconnect the battery?

How were the windshield wipers moving? Like doing full swipes or just shaking around? Did they stop?

I have nothing to offer but am rather curious.

 

No I haven't tried disconnecting the battery yet.

The windshield wipers was doing full swipe like it had a life of its own! Even when the key was out from the ignition it was still swiping. But it did stop after a few mins.

???

 

Weird, keep us posted with whatever you find out.

 

Uhhh oh... Sounds like you have the infamous, pre-facelifted w204 stuck steering lock issue. The steering lock will get stuck and it won't let the car start. Take it to the dealer. It'll be about a $1,000 to $1,500 repair.

 

Sounds like you have a mean little gremlin running around in there. As michail71 advised, I would disconnect the battery for a while and see if that clears things up.
I would check for any stored codes even if everything clears up.
Hopefully it's not your ESL and/or EIS going bad but that may be your next step....and you pretty well have to go to the dealer for those.
Let us know what you find!

 

When you say you had the battery checked did you get a load test done on it? Nowadays it is not unusual for batteries to go bad without warning and the electronics are so sensitive that even if the battery is a little low the car would not start. How old is your battery? Might be worth starting with the simple things first.