parked my car came back and it will not start. put key in and will turn but not start or even engage starter. radio does not turn on, steering wheel locked, shifter locked. battery is charged

 

http://tinyurl.com/y8yo39yp

 

Bummer. I am betting an EIS or ESL failure. Possibly both.

So no sound of the ESL disengaging when the key is put in?

Key turns but nothing happens? When my ESL failed I could still turn the key like you, but I could turn on the radio and my gauges lit up and door locks worked.

Unlocking the shifter is easy if you don't know how. It is in your manual but all you need to do is push on the shift boot and trim piece. Push to the left and I pushed where the shift boot meets the trim piece. Put my fingers on that edge where the leather meets the aluminum trim cover and pushed. Popped right off and there is a tab you push or pull (can't remember) and once engaged you can shift the car into neutral so it can be put on a flat deck.

Good luck.

 

Lets give this nonsense a proper name, so that it can be recognised and addressed properly, to no cost to the owners.

SUDDEN DEATH: The one moment the Mercedes works, you park, return and its dead for all practical puposes.

Note:This is not something I experienced on any other vehicle I ever owned.

 

Yeah, this has me concerned. I’ve never had a vehicle that would leave me stranded like this.
Mine is working fine, but still.
Are there particular years this happens with?

 

They presumably fixed the issue in the face lift in 2012, I haven't really hurd of any face lift w204 having this issue but maybe because they are still new. Regardless the early generation 08-12 w204's are prone to have the ESL fail, I would get an emulator for it asap if you don't have a facelift and dont want to be stranded. Not to mention if it fail on locked position( as in the wheel is locked in position) that makes the job harder since it will require the hole steering column to be removed and a grinder to cut open the ESL If you are able to get it to unlock one last time by maybe hitting it ( Mostly when the motor fails) but if it failed electronically( the chip inside fails) its not going to be your best day, thats why i recommend converting it to an emulator while it still works.

http://www.ogsmechanics.com/tutorial...-engine-start/

 

Hi all - just joined this forum...have been a MB guy for many years. Anyway, my ESL went out on me on my 2010 C300 after 127K miles in July 2020. Wanted to let everyone know that you can fix this yourself - you really can. If I can do it, you can do it. Have a little patience and treat it like a project to conquer. And spend $10 on a new motor instead of $2,000 at the dealer. I replaced the motor on my ESL and didn't need to do an emulator. Here's a link to my video which is semi-technical and please read the description, where you'll see the links for the technical video I used. But watch mine first for some issues that no one else seems to really clearly discuss. Good luck and you can do this! Best, Al