Faulty electronic steering lock?!?
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 55
Likes: 13
From: Florida
12 E350 Cabrio & 19 C300
Faulty electronic steering lock?!?
I've got a 2012 C207 with ~58K miles. Last week, I was driving around town, stopped at home for 10 minutes - got back in the car, turned the key, cluster would light up, but the car would not start... Had AAA come by for a jump start, still nothing. Had AAA tow to my Indy and they came back with a faulty electronic steering lock?!? To get the replacement parts, I had to send copies of my car registration and driver's license. $1245 later... BTW, I have owned many MB's over the past 20 years and have never heard of this nor even seen it mentioned on any of the forums here. My Indy told me it happens more often than you would think. He has driven a car into a bay to do an oil change and when it came time to drive off, this fault would occur... He claims the C class is notorious for this.
Just curious, anyone else had this fault?
Just curious, anyone else had this fault?
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 15,901
Likes: 4,630
From: North Scottsdale, AZ
'71 Pinto
Common problem: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-c...brio-a207-141/ search this forum “lock”
Member
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 182
Likes: 34
From: Georgia
2011 E550 Cab
ESL fault sucks and I hope I never get it. It's a DIY fix that you can perform for $25. As described in the video, if your ESL fails, try banging on the underside of the steering column to unlock it. Don't rely on that to happen more than once. Once unlocked, disconnect the battery and repair it.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 55
Likes: 13
From: Florida
12 E350 Cabrio & 19 C300
Yes, it sucks! Luckily it happened to me and not my wife and it failed in my driveway. My Indy also tried to get the ESL unlocked by bumping it with a rubber hammer - to no avail... What German genius came up with this design? I also have a 2012 E350 Cabrio with ~44K miles on it - hoping it doesn't happen to that car as well...
