E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

Proud new owner of this 05 E500.

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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 08:15 PM
  #1  
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2005 E500 4matic
Proud new owner of this 05 E500.

02/05 Stuttgart car.
just over 121,000 miles






more pictures after giving it a bath at work.

Has some front end issues I am working on resolving.

Front drivers side took a swipe doing some trim damage including knocking a parking sensor ajar. So parkmatic is a little screwy. Missing front drivers sidemarker.

And then this happened...


Outside of the cosmetic.

I have a few electrical gremlins to address.

Trunk soft close button lights up but does not function.
key and door buttons open the trunk just fine though.

Rear headrest button will not raise the headrests but does release them.

The car is going to make for a solid specimen and I am overall very happy with it!!!
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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 08:25 PM
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2005 E500 4matic
Current plans.

Cosmetic reconditioning:
New lights.... all front end.
Parking sensor readjustment or refitted.
New sidemarkers.
and recondition front drivers side chrome trim.

Future plans.
Updated stereo deck. (Currently using a dated alpine)
modest subwoofer install (nothing overwhelming)
Rotiform TMB wheels. (after researching fitment options)

be sure to say hi!

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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 09:04 PM
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It looks like you just crashed into those rocks.
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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 09:11 PM
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2005 E500 4matic
Adding some more pre bath photos. Went to the grocery store and was able to do a better walk around.







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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 10:57 PM
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2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
Originally Posted by Travis M
Trunk soft close button lights up but does not function.
key and door buttons open the trunk just fine though.

Rear headrest button will not raise the headrests but does release them.
Try to normalize the car. Open and close all windows and hold the buttons down at least 5 seconds after open and close. Turn steering wheel lock to lock, open and close sunroof and also hold button for a while afterwards. Also use the button on the driver's side to open and close the trunk. Hold the button down to close. I would also change the batteries in the keyfob if you have keyless go.

If that doesn't work, there could an issue with the motor or electronics.

The headrest button just releases it so it's fine, it doesn't raise them.
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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 11:09 PM
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2005 E500 4matic
Originally Posted by cetialpha5
Try to normalize the car. Open and close all windows and hold the buttons down at least 5 seconds after open and close. Turn steering wheel lock to lock, open and close sunroof and also hold button for a while afterwards. Also use the button on the driver's side to open and close the trunk. Hold the button down to close. I would also change the batteries in the keyfob if you have keyless go.

If that doesn't work, there could an issue with the motor or electronics.
I will give all of this a shot. Batteries in the key fob are brand new. Previous owner mentioned that the soft close was working up until the car was detailed, and my tech at work told me that it is common for them to have some loose wiring issues. License plate lights are working along with the 20 amp fuse located in the trunk is in perfect shape. I will be sure to mention what the fix was

Originally Posted by cetialpha5
The headrest button just releases it so it's fine, it doesn't raise them.
oh awesome! I was kind of dreading pulling the interior apart to check them out!
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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 11:40 PM
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2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
Originally Posted by Travis M
I will give all of this a shot. Batteries in the key fob are brand new. Previous owner mentioned that the soft close was working up until the car was detailed, and my tech at work told me that it is common for them to have some loose wiring issues. License plate lights are working along with the 20 amp fuse located in the trunk is in perfect shape. I will be sure to mention what the fix was



oh awesome! I was kind of dreading pulling the interior apart to check them out!
You'll probably be able to get it working again then. It also won't close if it doesn't detect the key which is why I mentioned changing the battery. Also sometimes the batteries you get in the store are half dead from sitting there so you should also check the voltage with a meter. The trunk tends to flake out when you disconnect the battery so maybe they went a little crazy in the detail or put in a new battery or ran the battery down when detailing it. Doesn't sound like a wiring problem in the trunk, normally when that happens the button doesn't light up. Getting a code scanner that does MB codes and clearing the codes might also help.
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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 11:45 PM
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2005 E500 4matic
Thanks for the info. Helps me prioritize diagnosing it.

Keyfob opens the trunk just fine along with the button on the drivers door.

No visible codes mentioning the trunk. But I will have my tech at work run the scanner just for fun.
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Old Dec 9, 2019 | 11:56 PM
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2005 E500 4matic
Decided on this head unit. I think it will look like a nice OEM look and gives me the updated features I am looking for.
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Old Dec 10, 2019 | 01:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Travis M
Thanks for the info. Helps me prioritize diagnosing it.

Keyfob opens the trunk just fine along with the button on the drivers door.

No visible codes mentioning the trunk. But I will have my tech at work run the scanner just for fun.
Opening the trunk doesn't really mean anything. It's the closing where keyless go kicks in, has to detect the key, the motor has to work etc. Push down on the button on the driver's door, that will also close it without using the keyfob. One fun thing to do is to open and close the trunk from inside the car while you're at a stop light. If the button works closing it, then it's not the power trunk closer motor. If the battery died at one point, there's probably a bunch of low voltage error messages, clear all those out.

As for the head unit, I suppose. It's not too popular switching them out. I had the ipod cable in the glove box so I just an ipod touch and use the steering wheel controls. But I think your system is more limited when it comes to bluetooth so I guess something modern that does Android auto would be nice. You'd have to get a 2016 E350 in order to get that option from the factory.
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Old Dec 10, 2019 | 02:22 AM
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2005 E500 4matic
So. If the car is on. And the trunk is open. I am able to turn the car off and use the soft close button from the trunk one time.

The switch from the door functions both opening and closing.

The keyfob opens the trunk. I would be surprised if it closed the door as well.

On another note. Doing research on the stock stereo system in the car.

The subwoofer is not wired up correctly, and the center cha el speaker is appearantly not wired up at all or is emitting no sound. I didnt even know I already had a sub in the car.

So I turned it on via the current alpine head unit and the instrument cluster popped up a new warning starting that the passenger airbag was turned off. I can only imagine some amateur installed this current head unit.

The subwoofer when activated by the head unit came on but was so incredibly underpowered it made no difference in bass output at all. I'm guessing it was drawing power from the deck instead of some amp hanging out in the car.

More research to be done to straighten all of this out.
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Old Dec 10, 2019 | 02:37 AM
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2005 E500 4matic
I have also failed to mention, the car is not equipped with keyless go.
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Old Dec 10, 2019 | 10:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Travis M
I have also failed to mention, the car is not equipped with keyless go.
Oh you poor peasant how do you even deal!?!?

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Old Dec 10, 2019 | 06:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Travis M
So. If the car is on. And the trunk is open. I am able to turn the car off and use the soft close button from the trunk one time.

The switch from the door functions both opening and closing.

The keyfob opens the trunk. I would be surprised if it closed the door as well.

On another note. Doing research on the stock stereo system in the car.

The subwoofer is not wired up correctly, and the center cha el speaker is appearantly not wired up at all or is emitting no sound. I didnt even know I already had a sub in the car.

So I turned it on via the current alpine head unit and the instrument cluster popped up a new warning starting that the passenger airbag was turned off. I can only imagine some amateur installed this current head unit.

The subwoofer when activated by the head unit came on but was so incredibly underpowered it made no difference in bass output at all. I'm guessing it was drawing power from the deck instead of some amp hanging out in the car.

More research to be done to straighten all of this out.
The keyfob doesn't close the trunk, only opens with the button. You could also lift the handle and it would open if you had keyless go, but you don't.
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Old Dec 10, 2019 | 06:53 PM
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2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
Originally Posted by tjts1
Oh you poor peasant how do you even deal!?!?

The look on the peasant's faces when you use the button is sometimes priceless.

But we might still be peasants. I saw a lady with an S class just close the trunk manually. I felt like running up to her and telling her she could just hit the button. But I didn't. That's when you have too much money to be bothered to learn about all the features of the car.
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