This evening when I stopped at a gas station to fill up I was unable to restart the car. When the key was inserted, there was no electronic switch sound and the key obviously would not turn. I sat embarrasingly at the pump for about 10 minutes fiddling with everything I could think of while waiting for the Tele Aid guy to locate a tech. Finally after inserting and removing the key multiple times, it worked. I checked for debris on the key end and in the switch - there was none. Anyone ever experience this or know what would cause it?

Thanks

 

Something similar happened to me once in my 99 clk430. I was on my way to boston from NY, and stopped to get gas. When I tried to start the car, nothing happened. I was on the phone with Mercedes Roadside for a while, and they were sending a tow truck. Then this lady in a VW tells me to try putting my seatbelt on before starting the car, and it did work. It turns out that I switched the car off with my seatbelt on, so had to have it on to turn the car back on. Must have been some glitch in the electronics, not sure if this is the same thing that happened to you.

 

Hmmm., sounds familiar, but who knows. Strange things can happen with electronics. I just hope it was a fluke and doesn't turn into a re-occurring malady.

 

This happend to me 3 or 4 times in my 01 clk. I didnt know what was going on the first time it happend. It wouldnt turn at all. I took it out finally and reinserted it and it worked. Strange but not a big deal. Didnt do anything with the seatbelt at all.

 

Well,im just gonna point out my first MANUAL transmission experience with some NEW model cars,most new cars require that if its a manual transmission,to press the clutch while starting the car,otherwise it wont start at all,well im sure you all know this but I just thought maybe I say it maybe your not pressing on the clutch hard enough but this is probably not the problem because you all knew this.

 

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oh I thought CLK does have manula too,my BAD,mine is auto but I thought it does also provide option for manual for new clk 430's.

 

I think only Europe has manual CLK, but only available for CLK 200 and 230K, not higher models.

 

something different happens on my CLK 430 occasionally, sometimes after I turn off the ignition, it doesn't release the key.

I have to sit there sometimes trying to yank it out without messing up my key mechanisms, the only way I've been able to fix it is by waiting for about 2 minutes then start the car, thenturn off. sometimes i have to do this many times..... it is both annoying and embarassing sometimes, especially if you have friends or a date in the car and it takes you 10 minutes to get your key out of the car.

Fortunately, this has only happened to me 3-4 times in the past 2 years.

 

It is still a key/computer interface problem. By not releasing the key, it seems like the computer has not released a new rolling security code. Is there some way to bring this issue to the attention of Mercedes? Going to the dealer would be useless because the issue will not be able to be duplicated and apparently there is no malfunction code stored.