dynaryu

Hi,

I got panicked after reading so many bad experiences from the ESL problem in the forum. So I contacted a mechanic to ask if there is any preventive maintenance. He said that there are chances, but not all cars have the ESL problem. I'm not quite sure whether he is right or not, and even so, I don't want to take the risk. So what could be the best option as a preventive maintenance?

1) replacement of ESL motor.
Which motor should I buy? How do I assure the quality of ESL motor?

2) Emulator:
Which company would you recommend? FYI, I live in Canberra, Australia.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

alecmascot

It is straightforward to replace if it is still working, but difficult if it fails in a locked state.
Not sure if this link will work for you. If not search for "mercedes ESL Motor".
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3282...archweb201603_

meazz1

Let me hijack this thread;
does all the W204 has this issue or certain years?
I have a 2013 C250 and I was wondering if I should also be actively looking to fix it before goes bad.

alynch

I thought the issue was limited to the pre-facelift models. However, the ESL failed to disengage a couple of times on my 2013 C250. I replaced it with an emulator from PRESSERTECH in Atlanta.

meazz1

I'm in Atlanta.
How difficult was the replacement process?
can you share some pointers?

alynch

Here is the write-up on the replacement:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ml#post8013499

meazz1

@alynch
Thanks
I'll call the place and see if I can bring it by and wait.
I don't wanna be out of the car for long time.

alynch

I know they offer onsite tuning so they may also provide onsite replacement of the ESL. Definitely worth a call.

BeaverMjr

I just got rid of a 2013 C250 coupe that started experiencing the ESL problem and left me stranded one evening. After having roadside assistance tow the car to the dealership, it started working. It was on its way out. Definitely not just pre facelift.

W204Motorsports

I've had my Chinese emulator since 2015 and its never let me down. With how cold our winters get, I would never trust to stock ESL motor even if it's been replaced.

dynaryu

I decided to go with the emulator option, and happened to find a shop in Sydney NSW, who can install emulator including taking the parts out and put them back at a cost of AUD 420.
I guess I'll take my car to the shop this week.

meazz1

That looks like a very good deal.
I wish I found a place here in Atlanta.
I can take the ESL out but just don't wanna deal with the extra work.

dynaryu

My wife is skeptical about the expense of preventive maintenance just like mechanics that I've contacted.
Am I worried too much? What's the likelihood of having the ESL issue roughly for the C-class W204?
Any thoughts?

W204Motorsports

From my experience, if its a pre facelift, its guaranteed to fail. Facelift are better but there's been a few failures. If you have a facelift and don't drive much, I wouldn't worry about it. If you do a lot of mileage and go on a lot of long-distance trips, it's probably worth getting the emulator. Usually, it will give you some warning signs if you know about the issue. If you know your car and notice the lock sound change, you know its time to look into it before it fail completely.

rob_fed

I had recent failure of my ESL... On 02/15/2021, President's Day, stopped to get gas then tried to start the car and was greeted with no light on the dash other the center display indicating the remove key message. Had the car towed to my mother's house so that I could do my research. This thread seems to be the most recent, although the preference is "preventative". And ended up getting an emulator after trying to fix the ESL with a motor replacement

• 2010 W204 C300 Sport - owned from new, but my wife was the primary driver until about March 2020, about 126K miles on the odometer
• No intermittent starting problems, once the ESL failed it did not come back - In addition to the warning lights not illuminating in EIS position 2, if your column does not lower into the driving position when you insert the key, this another failure ESL symptom
• Although mine failed in the "unlocked" position, the locking pin was not fully retracted in the housing and still blocked the spring loaded mounting bolt by 1/16"of an inch and I had to remove the steering column to remove the ESL
• I purchased a new motor with 2 tools, the roll pin remover and EIS socket, the roll pin remover was a little too bit for the roll pins, a small torx driver bit worked better as is tapered
• If the ESL is cannot be removed due to the spring loaded bolt, you can remove the two upper roll pins in the case and slightly pry it open and you can turn the main actuator gear with a small pick to pull in the locking pin all the way
• Once removed and the case opened up, my motor had the typically burned up brushes and I was able to replace it easily
• Upon further inspection of the ESL internals, there are two micro limit switches that are used to indicated the fully open and fully closed position of the locking pin. When I replaced the motor, I positioned the locking pin in the fully extended or locked position as indicated in other forums/threads/youtube. But it still did not function, I removed and replaced the motor again with the locking pin in the fully retracted position. I assumed the static position should be either one side or the other. But did a final try with the locking pin centered between the two limit switches which still did not work
• Read another mbworld thread over again and another member indicated that the motor replacement works about 50% of the time, if the ESL keeps failing or fails permanently, then a fatal error is logged. Others indicated in the NEC chip.
• Before going the emulator route, I doubled checked the car error code with my iCarSoft MBII scanner which indicated the ESL fault. And also did this from the start of the disassembly process, I also tried to clear the codes, but it did not work
• Ended up getting the emulator from this Ebay seller: https://www.ebay.com/itm/233699537681?ul_noapp=true $169 plus tax and had to pay the shipping of my EIS and key one way.
• Knowing that I was going to use an emulator and had the steering rack out, I cut slot for the mounting hole, although the bolt is spring loaded, I wanted to be able to remove and replace easily with the rack in place.
  • Other tips: I was able to remove the column straight out of the dash, I did cut a small piece of dash material out that sits under the instrument cluster and does not bear any load
  • When replacing the motor in the ESL and repositioning the locking pin, make sure you view the micro switches and ensure that they are not binding when the circuit board is pressed down
  • The steering wheel was held down with a 10mm internal hex bolt. Unlike Youtube videos I saw, I could not remove it with a ratchet and long cheater bar. I had to use an air driven 1/2 impact gun to break it free.

In the end, knowing what I know now, I would of purchased an emulator long ago and replaced the ESL.