So I took my car to the dealer last week to have them look at the summer opening feature for the second time. I have owned two W210 cars with this feature and use if quite often.

On my 2005 E320, the remote must be within 3 inches from the IR window on the driver door handle to work, and only if it is dark outside, so I explained to the dealer that it was not working properly. Went to pick the car up today, and they said they replaced the batteries in the remote. I knew at that point they had not fixed it because I had tried that already. First time I took it in they said that it worked fine and they held the SmartKey right against the handle in the service bay and sure enough the windows rolled down. I needed the car at the time so I said OK and drove away. This second time I was a little more specific and said the IR sensor was bad on the driver door and I and needed it looked at. EXACT same thing this time. They said it's working fine and when I mentioned that it did not work in daylight they said that's "normal" that the sun interferes with it. This was coming from a tech who claimed to have 24 years experience working on MB!

My friend just bought a 2008 E350, and the summer opening feature works about 20 feet away without any problem in daylight or not. I mentioned this to them and the first thing they said "it has the chrome key - it is different" so I asked "how so..."

I then insisted on looking at another E320 that was a 2005 with the same key style that was in the bay and that we try it. Again - worked over 20 feet away. They said they have never seen one do that before and that wasn't normal for it to work that far.

What do I do now? I called MBUSA and they said it should work 20 feet away as well. THEN - they said they would need to double check and call back. They called me back and said 3 to 6 INCHES! Come on??? If that is the case this feature is useless! Even MBUSA has their information wrong!

Very frustrating...

Why can't they at least try to replace the IR? The car is under warranty and it is clear that it is not working properly...

 

I've never tried this. How does it work? What button do you press?

 

Is the key not covered by the warranty? If they think it is the key, let them replace it under warranty. If it is not covered by warranty, you tell them you will only pay for it if it fixes the problem. We know it is not the key, so you probably get a free key and the problem fixed.

 

The problem is that they are saying the three inches is "normal" and that there is nothing wrong with the car - so they will not address it. Which is ridiculous. Not really sure who to go to now - the service manager is out for a while due to an illness, so I'm kinda stuck.

 

I know mine works over 3 inches (more like 10 to 20ft), and I have 06 E350.
Couldn't you go to another dealer to plead the case?

 

If you've tried it with your other key, and it too must be 3 inches away then the receiver is malfunctioning, not the transmitter. (I had the same problem on my '04 & they replaced the receiver in the door which fixed the problem. I don't lnow whether the whole door handle has to be replaced or just the IR receiver in it. Whenever they would test it, the car was in the service bay, so it seemed to work well enough for them to pass the car through. In use outside it would sometimes work, sometimes not, sometimes start to work then stop...) 20 feet away is FAR to use this feature outside with perfect results. 3 inches is also rediculous. 3-6 feet seems reasonable to expect.

When I use my Summer opening feature I'm slightly further than arms length away from the door, standing still, and I aim the key towards the door handle, press and hold 'till complete. On this car it has worked perfectly every time. (1 1/2 years old)

They should do what they have to to fix the damn thing & not blow you off.

 

Hmmmm, with my '05 I need to have the key right next to the receiver for it to work at all.

 

Point your key fob at the driver side door and press and hold the unlock button. After about 3 seconds all your windows should roll down and your sunroof open. If you press and hold the lock button all your windows, and sunroof, should close and the car will lock.

 

Can't believe I just found this out. And I just tried it from the passenger's side, doesn't work for me either. I have 2003 E320.

 

See the end of my post:

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...er-months.html

Basically there IS a way to partially engage the summer ventilation feature from the passenger side if you have keyless go. There is a button on the inside of the door handle and a certain button press combination followed by holding the button would engage the summer ventilation feature by rolling down all 4 windows and turning on the ventilated seats but for whatever reason it does not open the sunroof.

Unfortunately I could never reliably duplicate the exact key combination I pressed to engage this from the passenger door handle so I have to do some more testing.

Does anyone know or can someone definitely find out how to engage summer ventilation from the passenger side?

 

The opening closing feature works via IR and not radio frequency, hence the need to be closer.

 

Would be fantastic if it worked via radio frequency.

 

Not entirely true. I have been able to trigger the summer ventilation feature from the passenger door handle based on how I click and hold the button inside the door handle. I just have not been able to figure out the exact key combination I pressed so I can repeat it but I know it is there and it is possible...

 

I have a 2003 as well and it's real finicky... the pointing has to be spot on and close proximity... by the time it takes to stand there and make it work, i could've gotten into the car and opened all my windows faster

 

A matter of taste, technically nothing would prevent it working via radio but MB specifically decided it should not. This is a safety feature, also makes sure you do not unintentionally open windows with the key in the pocket while you've lost sight of the car (you could accidentally open doors, but they would automatically lock again, unless a thief was quick).

The question in my opinion is "why do some cars not work via IR from distance"? Unlike this dealer claimed according to an earlier post, the IR connection should work from decent distance, not as far as the radio but perhaps 10 metres at least (30 feet).

 

Coming back to this (cannot edit my previous message), I just read a comment from the UK forum where a member claims strong sunlight (he says UV, I would assume it is the IR from sunlight that saturates the receiver) killing the door IR sensor sensitivity. Anyone tried to play with it? I only use the summer convenience feature at hot days and have not had problems but perhaps our sun is different in the UK (in the UK it is even more rare at least ), at least different from the sun in the Southern USA.

 

Mine no longer works in any kind of daylight, but works every time in the "service tunnel" or in the garage.

On my other (more famous, previous 2004) car when the dealer replaced the little IR window (or the door handle) that fixed the problem on that car.

 

If your convenience feature is finicky, it could be the IR sensor.

See my video below on how to repair the IR sensor. Hope this helps!

 

Great vid. I thought my summer opening feature was disabled through star perhaps, but i managed to get it working one time. Will definitely try this, although i hesitate to saw off the metal bit, is there really no other way?

 

Thank you, glad my video is helping. Some folks drill out the pins, but I liked the option of sawing off the metal hook. With the right tool (Dremel) it goes quickly. There is absolutely no way to wiggle it out otherwise. Good luck!

 

@hand....did you buy that Acrylic Conformal Coating at the Shack, it's not on their web site?

 

Required tools and costs are in the video description. Embedded vid may not show it but will be visible if opened from YouTube.

The Acrylic coating is $10 on Amazon. I applied several coats than dumped a bunch on at the end to make sure it was completely covered, since it's thinner than epoxy. Check MG Coatings website for details on all their acrylic and epoxy coatings for electronics.

 

Great Vid !!

Tools needed (Copied From You Tube):
T20 Torx screwdriver
25-30 watt soldering iron (Radio Shack $10)
Electrical solder (Home Depot $5)
Heat gun (Home Depot $20-40)
X-Acto hobby knife (Staples $5)
Zip-ties
Dremel with saw attachment
Flat head screwdriver
Acrylic Conformal Coating (Mg Coatings, Amazon $10)

 

Hand your video was spot on for me. The only changes for me were: I only removed the conformal coating around the IR solder points, after the repair I used some rtv sealant to protect the soldered connection. As I removed the conformal coating I could tell the the solder joints were loose. Total repair time was 1 hour. Thanks so much for the great video.

 

hand, your post helped me. I did exactly what you said and got it working. Thanks.
The only thing is like many members, the remote will work only in 2-3 feet range.