E-Class (W212) 2010 - 2016: E 350, E 550
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: CARiD

Steering Wheel does not go up or down

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Rate Thread
 
Old Aug 2, 2023 | 04:00 AM
  #1  
jay024's Avatar
Thread Starter
Newbie
 
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 6
Likes: 2
2015 e300
Steering Wheel does not go up or down

hi all. my steering wheel has stopped going up or down. I have tried doing the youtube method of forcing it up and down with my leg pressing etc but did not work. is there a guide or anything else i can do to get this fixed?
2015 e300

thanks in advance
Reply
Old Aug 2, 2023 | 12:12 PM
  #2  
CaliBenzDriver's Avatar
Out Of Control!!
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,923
Likes: 6,776
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
Go ahead use a scanner to collect a list of faults.

Check fuses at F-SAM who is charge of this convenience feature.

The telescopic steering column convenience entry use 2 electric motors that have an abnormally hard life.
The factory mechanical adjustment are poorly made and need to be redone.
Reply
Old Aug 2, 2023 | 12:24 PM
  #3  
Chevota's Avatar
Super Member
20 Year Member
Photogenic
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 954
Likes: 245
E550 Coupe 2wd (2016)
Manually push the lower lever and a split second later hit up on the wheel. If you wait too long it'll time out
Reply
Old Aug 2, 2023 | 01:26 PM
  #4  
CaliBenzDriver's Avatar
Out Of Control!!
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,923
Likes: 6,776
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
LAST CALL ⚡

if you get the steering column going by chance...
get it to your driving position followed by
be sure to disable "convenience entry" through Settings menu.

Problem solved else fix column for a great opportunity to meet two solderless VIP nodes: the SCM and King-pin of awesome CAN troubles:
The amazing EIS Module.
Reply
Old Aug 2, 2023 | 02:25 PM
  #5  
pierrejoliat's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
10 Year Member
Photoriffic
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,359
Likes: 1,555
From: Pepper Pike Ohio
24 GLS580 '23 E450 4matic 12 E350 4Matic
Originally Posted by jay024
hi all. my steering wheel has stopped going up or down. I have tried doing the youtube method of forcing it up and down with my leg pressing etc but did not work. is there a guide or anything else i can do to get this fixed?
2015 e300

thanks in advance
It gets bound up in the fully raised position and on occasion the fully lowered position, there is a double nut on a threaded rod under the dash that needs to be given 1/4 turn of more slack, then it stops getting stuck, at least for mine after I did it, now it's been working fine with the entry/exit feature enabled. It did get stuck maybe 3-4 times over my nine years of ownership, the banging on the wheel thing does work eventually, sometimes it takes quite a few tries, but I couldn't get it to move the last time it happened so I broke down and loosed the two jamb-nuts. I found the procedure here on this forum, actually, maybe it was an old post by Cali? Likely the one he posted above?

Last edited by pierrejoliat; Aug 3, 2023 at 01:45 PM.
Reply
Old Aug 2, 2023 | 04:19 PM
  #6  
CaliBenzDriver's Avatar
Out Of Control!!
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,923
Likes: 6,776
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
Bang your way to chaos...

Personally I don't advise anyone to bang the steering wheel too hard too many times, don't!

The steering wheel electronic is built to notice abuse to the point one may guess the clunky column exists to be trigger.
​​​​​​
... anyways when in doubt scan to collect rare clues.

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Aug 2, 2023 at 10:11 PM.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2023 | 12:11 AM
  #7  
BenzV12's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,372
Likes: 945
W212 FL
I would not bang the steering wheel either . Those things are electronic and highly sensitive and it might get the things worse if you have lane assist or other driver assistant systems as well
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2023 | 02:48 AM
  #8  
CaliBenzDriver's Avatar
Out Of Control!!
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,923
Likes: 6,776
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
steering parts expecting big banging

I know we like the steering wheel to work the way we are used to having it move... It's upsetting when it wants to quit... here is a quick insider look at the fragile steering wheel electronic ...


optical position encoder and unsoldered pins


naked optical sensor and pins


steering wheel controller... 😅


steering wheel side buttons

Take it easy with luck
🙂

When I fixed that my car noticeably started to drive planted straight on the freeway instead of the electric rack hunting left and right unstable.

A few of the MB systems suffer from issues that lock out best performance like driving straight, not burning oil, not killing batteries.... European luxury.

By the time cars are all electrical... people will need to fix new things that are being tested right now! The old "Balance shaft" game will be replaced by HVAC weaknesses.

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Aug 4, 2023 at 03:19 AM.
Reply
MB World Stories

The Best of Mercedes & AMG

story-0

6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun

 Verdad Gallardo
story-2

Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know

 Verdad Gallardo
story-7

5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping

 Verdad Gallardo
story-9

10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Aug 4, 2023 | 08:57 AM
  #9  
Chevota's Avatar
Super Member
20 Year Member
Photogenic
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 954
Likes: 245
E550 Coupe 2wd (2016)
If you dont want to hit it then push it up. I dont think itll work as well but its an option. So push, click down, then let go of it. Repeat and push harder as needed. Often you can simply push the down lever and itll work, might need to do it many times. Mine sticks a couple times a year.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2023 | 09:02 AM
  #10  
DubVBenz's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,319
Likes: 251
From: Virginia
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
I think a common problem with these adjustable steering wheels and the convenience entry thing (I have it on my W211 as well) is that people will not wait to push off from them when exiting a vehicle while it's still moving. If I need to use the steering wheel as leverage when getting out of my car, I wait until it's stopped moving so I don't fight the motor. I haven't had any failures on my w211 or w212 and attribute it to that. I'm also only about 200lbs, so I'm not putting a ton of weight on it, however I used to be 350 for the majority of my ownership of the W211 and it never failed either.
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2023 | 09:08 AM
  #11  
pierrejoliat's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
10 Year Member
Photoriffic
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,359
Likes: 1,555
From: Pepper Pike Ohio
24 GLS580 '23 E450 4matic 12 E350 4Matic
Yes, I agree Dub, I had to learn to stop doing this even at 175 pounds, my wife does it as well at 120 lbs, After I adjsted the jamb nuts on the threaded rod I had no issues so far in the last 18 months. I also never had this issue in any of my 8 previous Benz's
Reply
Old Aug 4, 2023 | 07:19 PM
  #12  
CaliBenzDriver's Avatar
Out Of Control!!
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,923
Likes: 6,776
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
Originally Posted by pierrejoliat
Yes, I agree Dub, I had to learn to stop doing this even at 175 pounds, my wife does it as well at 120 lbs, After I adjsted the jamb nuts on the threaded rod I had no issues so far in the last 18 months. I also never had this issue in any of my 8 previous Benz's
Pierre is that the contraption that helped your column tilt normally ?


how many issues can this pack ?

The big question is how loose is too loose... that is why I opted in for the Grand-Tour - I don't regret the journey one bit to encounter amazing EIS... A lot of things got exponentially better.


Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Aug 4, 2023 at 09:39 PM.
Reply
Old Aug 5, 2023 | 08:37 AM
  #13  
pierrejoliat's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
10 Year Member
Photoriffic
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,359
Likes: 1,555
From: Pepper Pike Ohio
24 GLS580 '23 E450 4matic 12 E350 4Matic
Yes Cali, the two jamb nuts at each end of the plastic block, I backed them of just a little, less than a quarter turn on the lower nut in the picture, turned back on the easy exit feature and have had no issues for the last 18 months or so, I assume when the wheel went all the way up, that black plastic block was binding up too tightly at the stop.

Last edited by pierrejoliat; Aug 5, 2023 at 08:39 AM.
Reply
Old Jan 31, 2024 | 04:30 PM
  #14  
CaliBenzDriver's Avatar
Out Of Control!!
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,923
Likes: 6,776
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
Part II or so...

It is the second time in recent past my "convenience entry" develops a fault. ​​​​​
In december I realized my steering wheel was no longer moving up 'n down automatically with my front door...


TILT adjustment nut...

I got under the dash and loosened the nut and adjusted the freeplay. Done!

Then one month later, again!
Now what?
Same thing, the nut quicky got tighter by operating the convenience. The repeat calls for a different fix.

This time I lubricated the nut with dry-lube spray so it has more friction on its shaft than the black plastic piece it is operating.

It this happen one more time I will clean the assembly with brake cleaner then Epoxy glue it to the nut.

crawling under dash: column

The one thing I still can never do is.... bang on my steering wheel. 😳
When the nut gets itself tight, the motor simply can not move it.
✌️

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Feb 1, 2024 at 03:36 AM.
Reply
Old Feb 1, 2024 | 05:23 PM
  #15  
hecdog's Avatar
Senior Member
20 Year Member
Liked
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 440
Likes: 44
From: Oakland, CA
2014 E350 Estate Wagon 4Matic
This happened to me once and instead of banging on it, I moved the lever as if to adjust the wheel all the way up, then when I heard the motor sort of stop (it clicked slightly) I pulled hard downward in the steering wheel while moving the lever down and the mechanism started working again. Then I turned off easy exit.

however, just yesterday I picked up my 2014 wagon from th dealer and the steering wheel was stuck in the upmost position. so I complained that they broke my steering wheel (lol) and I just took it this morning and they fixed it while I waited. They said it was a simple software fix. Here’s the invoice attached.

go figure 🤷🏽


🤷🏽

Reply
Old Feb 1, 2024 | 08:50 PM
  #16  
CaliBenzDriver's Avatar
Out Of Control!!
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,923
Likes: 6,776
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
TILTING NUT SETTING

Originally Posted by hecdog
This happened to me once and instead of banging on it, I moved the lever as if to adjust the wheel all the way up, then when I heard the motor sort of stop (it clicked slightly) I pulled hard downward in the steering wheel while moving the lever down and the mechanism started working again. Then I turned off easy exit.

however, just yesterday I picked up my 2014 wagon from th dealer and the steering wheel was stuck in the upmost position. so I complained that they broke my steering wheel (lol) and I just took it this morning and they fixed it while I waited. They said it was a simple software fix. Here’s the invoice attached.

go figure 🤷🏽


🤷🏽
The relearning is not even necessary once the nut is loose. I have done the relearning the first time, not even second time.

This free of charge relearn procedure is not fixing the hardware binding. This module does not get disrupted into forgetting its learned positions.

At any rate hopefully the repair will last a while.

The real fix is to have a counter-nut to hold position or epoxy glue it with JB-WELD. Cheaper than $3G column, right?


LISTEN TO TILT: now my tilt sounds like butter, super smooth, fast easy no laboring... lubing one nut only maybe good enough after all

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Feb 1, 2024 at 08:53 PM.
Reply
Old Feb 1, 2024 | 09:23 PM
  #17  
hecdog's Avatar
Senior Member
20 Year Member
Liked
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 440
Likes: 44
From: Oakland, CA
2014 E350 Estate Wagon 4Matic
Can you explain a bit about how the re-learning actually fixes it, even if only temporarily?

how is a hardware problem fixed by a software process?

thanks!
Reply
Old Feb 1, 2024 | 11:10 PM
  #18  
CaliBenzDriver's Avatar
Out Of Control!!
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,923
Likes: 6,776
From: Silicon Valley
W212 MY'14 M276-3.5NA @75kMi
SW did not fix this....

Originally Posted by hecdog
1-- Can you explain a bit about how the re-learning actually fixes it, even if only temporarily?

2-- how is a hardware problem fixed by a software process?

thanks!

seat module says no mo' convenience

These excellent questions i dont have the answer for as I can not believe doing adaptation have a chance to fix a tight tilt mechanism.
​​​​​​
Nor do i think this controller can forget its location to need relearn. The seat controller itself is reliable besides harness.

I think the dealer tech.gave you a free steering wheel bang procedure. All 5 secs of it.

My chassis mostly has good clean GND.
One way possible to loose position is with marginal GND. If this happens again soon, keep GND's in mind.




Reply

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 


You have already rated this thread Rating: Thread Rating: 0 votes,  average.


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:24 PM.

story-0
6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)

Slideshow: Not every Mercedes design becomes timeless, some feel stuck in the era they came from.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:09:07


VIEW MORE
story-1
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun

Slideshow: Yes, Mercedes built manual cars, and some of them are far more interesting than you'd expect.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-02 12:36:58


VIEW MORE
story-2
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren

Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-29 11:19:28


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

Slideshow: Before curves took over, Mercedes mastered the art of the straight line, and some of those shapes still look right today.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-25 12:05:49


VIEW MORE
story-4
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction

Slideshow: The 190E Evolution II shows how a homologation necessity became a six-figure collector icon.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-22 17:53:47


VIEW MORE
story-5
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know

Slideshow: Mercedes is turning one of its core nameplates electric, and the details show just how serious this shift is.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-21 13:58:06


VIEW MORE
story-6
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know

Slideshow: Faster charging, longer range, and a controversial steer-by-wire system define the latest evolution of Mercedes-Benz EQS.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-15 10:35:34


VIEW MORE
story-7
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve

Slideshow: These overlooked Mercedes-Benz models never got the spotlight, but they quietly delivered more than most remember.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-13 19:35:45


VIEW MORE
story-8
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping

Slideshow: A well-used 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300D with more than one million miles is now looking for a new owner, and it still appears ready for more.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-10 10:05:15


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used

Slideshow: From bulletproof sedans to surprisingly tough SUVs, these Mercedes models proved that the three-pointed star can go the distance.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-08 09:55:49


VIEW MORE