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Not exactly sure what the problem is or where to start first but one day I pulled into the driveway and turned the car off and tried to pull the key out but it was stuck i had to pull real hard to get it out ... Didnt drive the car for the weekend and went to drive again the battery was dead when i put the key in nothing happens. Steering wheel wont unlock , dash says remove key , key wont turn at all. i know yanking the key out probably ****ed something up but im not sure where i should even start ... I charged the battery an put it back in but now all the exterior lights flash ( hazards sre not on) and my interior light stay on but still key wont turn
Try a second key and see if that works. Next, go through all of your fuses and make sure they're all good, along with a fully charged battery. Try manually moving the gear sector down into D and back up firmly into P. You can do this by pushing lightly with a Bic pen on the little access panel located next to the shifter. It doesn't take much force to unclock the shifter by pressing the pen down.
It seems like you have some sort of communication issue with the EIS. I'm not sure how common or uncommon it is for those to fail on a w208, but other models it is. I'm thinking it is more key related then anything, and a spare key may give you more answers.
problem sounds related to the ignition. it is probably stuck out of the entirely 'off' position, so thats probably what drained the battery.
Originally Posted by PHILLYCLSJOE
Try a second key and see if that works. Next, go through all of your fuses and make sure they're all good, along with a fully charged battery. Try manually moving the gear sector down into D and back up firmly into P. You can do this by pushing lightly with a Bic pen on the little access panel located next to the shifter. It doesn't take much force to unclock the shifter by pressing the pen down.
It seems like you have some sort of communication issue with the EIS. I'm not sure how common or uncommon it is for those to fail on a w208, but other models it is. I'm thinking it is more key related then anything, and a spare key may give you more answers.
Was thinking either ignition problem or maybe an issue with the gear selector. Since the key didn’t want to come out maybe it didn’t recognize it was in park and kept the key locked in. I was wondering maybe I can pull the ignition and unplug the gear selector plug and use a pick to unlock the ignition so the key will turn .. not sure if it’s even possible
Ok was working on it today and now have more problems.
When I connect battery, Srs light is on and both blinker indicator lights are on in the dash. (Not flashing just solid green light ) the digital display now doesn’t say remove key but seems like it’s not even getting power .sometimes headlight and I think tail lights flash outside. But NO KEY is inserted at all , key still does NOT turn and steering will not unlock . not sure what’s going on .. will post video tomorrow a show what’s going on
Last edited by Jdubb1998; Apr 4, 2025 at 06:21 AM.
your car is quite likely not getting enough power to keep all the electrical system powered and functioning fully.
Any time you are going to be working on this car that is sitting, the battery should be on capable battery pack, or you should have jumper cables and another car running. You cannot expect to navigate an electrical system issue with a battery that isn't fully powered. Also, if you do not fully charge that battery(as in have the car running for 30m+) and keep trying to mess around with it while it isn't fully charged, it's going to ruin the battery.
Get full power to the car. Try and push the brake while moving the steering wheel back and forth slightly to see if you can unlock it, and/or try and move the shifter while doing so. You could even do the same with trying to get the key into the off position(or, if necessary, to start it), while your foot is on the brake and you are trying to move the wheel. It is normal for the steering column to lock in certain situations on most cars. Don't try and yank the key out, especially if it is not in the off position, fully rotated to the left.
Just a thought - maybe the alarm is in a triggered state and in some kind of anti-theft lockout with the immobilizer - especially with the lights flashing. Try pushing the UNLOCK button on the key fob and see if that changes anything.
I'm dealing with a somewhat similar situation with an intermittent problem draining the battery. Evidence points to a short in the alarm system triggered by washing the car. Last time it happened, the car woke up (after appearing to have fully drained the battery) with the alarm going off, and after hitting UNLOCK the interior light came on and it fired right up. Prior to that, my jump pack wasn't even stirring a response. Right now, I'm paranoid to wash my (black) car so it looks like cr*p...
If you have access to a clamp meter (for measuring current), put it on the battery lead to look for a big current drain. That's as far as I've gotten so far. Next step is to take it circuit by circuit, checking fuses and relays.
Could the ignition still be stuck on ? Why else would my dash still be lit up like this without the key ?? How do these eis systems work could there be something jammed up stopping it from turning off completely? . What wires should have power when in the off position ?
Think I may have found the problem with instrument cluster stuck on , found 3 wires behind it all chewed up smh looks like a damn rat got inside or something. Not sure exactly what they control or where they go but they clearly need to be fixed . Anybody know what the yellow wire is ? I’m assuming the brown is ground
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