Hi - I had a problem with my parking brake. I went to push it down and heard a snap - the brake pedal still can go down but it doesn't stay down and the release handle is out a little bit. Found a solution on another site for the W210, but the design is unchanged and moving the metal retainer as shown in the pics with a needle nose pliers solved the issue in 15 seconds.

 

Good post, I had this exact same problem a few weeks ago. Before I looked at it I happened to be taking it to the MB dealer for something else and they quoted me $1,100 needing to replace the entire parking brake assembly.
Very glad I checked it out myself, took all of 15 mins to diagnose and 10 seconds to move the retaining clip back into place and all is good now.

 

Good, concise explanation with photos. Thanks.

 

This just happend to my 2015 E350.
Excellent post, took 1 minute to fix, don't even need to remove the carpet or anything.
When it happens the release handle feels 'sloppy' and doesn't retract fully.
Left the needle nose pliers in the glove box if it happens again.

Btw this is only the second issue I've had with this car, the first one was almost as easy to fix, the drivers headrest movement mechanism detached itself from the 'motor' on one side, so I had to snap it back, had to remove the seat back panel
Extremely reliable car so far!

 

Just wanted to say thanks to markmayer, you saved me a lot of money. It took 2 hours, but if I had to do it again, it would be 30 minutes.

I have a GLK350, the panel under the steering wheel has 3 screws with torx heads. But the hardest part is how to remove the hood release lever and the obd connector. The hood release is held on with one Phillips head screw, but then you have to figure out how to twist it through the opening, that takes a little finagling. The OBD connector is a pain. Finally saw a thread on how to remove it. On the top of the panel, the connector has what looks like a connector, but it's not. Just slide the top of what looks like a connector to the left and the whole obd comes right out. Only takes a few seconds if you know what to do. Then to make it worse, there was a second panel on mine that covers the vertical left side of the compartment. It just clips in so you just have to keep wiggling it until it comes off. Then you can see the whole e-brake assembly. Before I removed that cover I was trying to contort myself to get my head back towards the firewall. I'm glad I didn't because I would probably still be there. After removing the side cover, I just kneeled on the ground and put my head under the steering wheel. I was able to move the lever back into it's slot with my hand, didn't need a screw driver or pliers.

The e-brake worked except it was slow to release, like it was before it broke. I would normally just push the e-brake up with my foot. I'm thinking that might be why the lever fell out of position. So I lubricated the e-brake springs and cable according to this video:


It took a few extra sprays on the main cable, but it releases perfectly now. And you can actually do this without removing any of the panels. Good luck.