b_rashed

Im having problems with my key again. right now the car is at the dealer ship and the buttons will not work. that really hasnt bothered me though. the real problem is that the key will not turn inside the ignition. when i showed the service manager she said that they just changed the batteries and when the buttons started working again but when they tried turning on the car she said that the car shorted out the batteries inside the key. does anybody know what can be the problem here. and you know the dealer is going to want to charge me up the butt. so i just want to know what the problem might be if anybody had this situation before. thanks in advance

tashakes

Sounds strange that the batteries inside the key can be shorted by the ignition. There are no contacts on the key itself (as opposed to BMW or Infiniti fobs) and AFAIK there is only a wireless chip connection between the key and the ignition, how can that short the batteries. Sounds more like a problem with the key itself, maybe when it receives the signal back from the ignition switch something makes it short. Does it throw any codes on the SDS? Send a PM to the guys at www.midcityengineering.com they can probably help guide you better.

Diesel Benz

"The car shorted out the batteries within the key"? The key should start the car even if the batteries were out of the key. It is powered by a coil at the ignition switch.

You don't say how the car operates with your spare key (please don't tell you don't have one)?

It could well be the EIS. But it should be easy for the shop to diagnose that. If it works with a spare key, then it will be cheaper, either fix your old key (the shop would not do it, it could be the receiving coil loosing soldering contact) or buy a new one and have it coded.

b_rashed

so guess u were right. it was the EIS. now the dealer wants 1200+tax. can anybody shed some light on exactly what the problem is. the dealer just wants me to pull out an American Express and say "Go ahead you can screw me now, would u like me to bend over". also what could cause this to happen. could it be from the alternator or what?

tashakes

Call an independent, now that you have a diagnostic, and get an estimate. After that, call the dealer again and haggle like crazy, they know they are sticking it to you, and some SA's will be helpful. Also, call other MB dealers as well, some shops are not as busy as others and with this economy they will welcome the business. You should definetly shop around.

I looked at the WIS and there are programming procedures that need to be followed with SDS, so it is not just a module replacement.

b_rashed

idk, the money just keeps adding up with this freakin car, im starting to think if it was a lemon in the beginning. i think ima just go get it from the dealer and part out everything on it. just say hell to it. im probably gonna go get an e60 545i or something.

TMAllison

Did you even try a spare key?

A bad EIS is likely as one of the first security handshakes that takes place is the steering wheel lock retracting allowing the key to be turned.