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Hey guys, just purchased a 2016 E350 AMG sport with 60k miles over the weekend. My first Mercedes (I've had many BMWs and a handful of Audis). The steering column adjustment lever works normally for the telescoping function, but the up/down function does not work; if I lift up on the lever, it makes a noise like it's trying to move the column, but it does not move upwards. Pressing down on the lever does nothing. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Hey guys, just purchased a 2016 E350 AMG sport with 60k miles over the weekend. My first Mercedes (I've had many BMWs and a handful of Audis). The steering column adjustment lever works normally for the telescoping function, but the up/down function does not work; if I lift up on the lever, it makes a noise like it's trying to move the column, but it does not move upwards. Pressing down on the lever does nothing. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
This is a standard birth defect from factory.
There's one nut that conveniently jams the whole assembly by tightening itself up.
You can deal with it or best disable the convenience entry option from IC Menu display.
There's one nut that conveniently jams the whole assembly by tightening itself up.
You can deal with it or best disable the convenience entry option from IC Menu display.
Does "dealing with it" require removing the steering column surrounds? Is the nut obvious and easy to unjam?
What do you mean by "deal with it" and disable the convenience entry option? I don't believe I currently have anything that auto-adjusts the steering wheel when I get in or out of the car, and I did turn off the auto-seatbelt tightener feature, I don't know if that's related.
The steering wheel position isn't terrible, but I really would like to be able to move the wheel down so I don't have to have the seat in its highest position and be as close as I am to the wheel.
the nut circled in color is the defect that cause steering column-tilt to get stuck over and over until nagging feature is disabled from setup menu.
disfunctional tilt column
nut self tightens to jam mechanism
Once loosened, 1 Mo later... bingo again.
So what would you recommend? Because I really need to be able to adjust the up/down height of the steering wheel manually. I don't care about any convenience auto-adjust feature (I'm also not sure where to turn this off, if you could point me to how to do that?). Advice? Thanks.
You can toggle on/off the entry convenience settings on your dash display using your steering wheel buttons. I cannot recall exactly, but look for vehicle then convenience I think?
Regarding stuck wheel in general, I have had this issue on 3 MB’s and all were fixed by some combination of heavy whacks on both top and bottom of steering wheel. On one I then had to apply constant pressure with thighs while repeatedly toggling up on the adjuster. FWIW, on mine once I ‘freed’ them up they often stayed freed up. So it sounds like experiences do vary. I did hit wheel hard enough to hurt my hand and rattle the dash. Probably not smart…but effective in my cases lol
You can toggle on/off the entry convenience settings on your dash display using your steering wheel buttons. I cannot recall exactly, but look for vehicle then convenience I think?
Regarding stuck wheel in general, I have had this issue on 3 MB’s and all were fixed by some combination of heavy whacks on both top and bottom of steering wheel. On one I then had to apply constant pressure with thighs while repeatedly toggling up on the adjuster. FWIW, on mine once I ‘freed’ them up they often stayed freed up. So it sounds like experiences do vary. I did hit wheel hard enough to hurt my hand and rattle the dash. Probably not smart…but effective in my cases lol
Hmm, interesting, okay, maybe I'll give that a shot lol.
So what would you recommend? Because I really need to be able to adjust the up/down height of the steering wheel manually. I don't care about any convenience auto-adjust feature (I'm also not sure where to turn this off, if you could point me to how to do that?). Advice? Thanks.
to quickly adjust this JB has the best shortcut... don't bang the wheel loose electronics too many times.
You can toggle on/off the entry convenience settings on your dash display using your steering wheel buttons. I cannot recall exactly, but look for vehicle then convenience I think?
Regarding stuck wheel in general, I have had this issue on 3 MB’s and all were fixed by some combination of heavy whacks on both top and bottom of steering wheel. On one I then had to apply constant pressure with thighs while repeatedly toggling up on the adjuster. FWIW, on mine once I ‘freed’ them up they often stayed freed up. So it sounds like experiences do vary. I did hit wheel hard enough to hurt my hand and rattle the dash. Probably not smart…but effective in my cases lol
That's the working solution and is not necessarily "heavy" but whacks is necessary together with some wd40
That's the working solution and is not necessarily "heavy" but whacks is necessary together with some wd40
So I'd need to take off the steering column surround to get at this nut to lubricate it then, I'd imagine? Is this necessary or does the "holding the left down and banging on the wheel" without lubricating the nut usually work by itself? I don't want to damage anything.
I took off the lower panel below the dash and loosened that nut by an eighth of a turn, in the twelve years I've had the car it only got stuck twice, I banged it the first time but that did not work the second time, you will be able to clearly see this once the panel is removed, My easy entry feature has been activated since the car was new, this is my '13 sport which is my wife's car so it moves at least twice a day, since I backed off the nut it hasn't gotten stuck again in three years so far
P.S. Mine has the knee airbag which made it a little more complicated to remove the panel,
Last edited by pierrejoliat; Jun 2, 2025 at 08:35 AM.
I scrolled all the way to the bottom without even looking at any of the posts. You have to whack the steering wheel. Dry film silicone spray that doesn't mess with electronics is the long term fix on the adjuster nut mechanism
I scrolled all the way to the bottom without even looking at any of the posts. You have to whack the steering wheel. Dry film silicone spray that doesn't mess with electronics is the long term fix on the adjuster nut mechanism
Ahh okay, looks like this is the method then. I'm assuming I'd still have to back the nut off a little bit and then hit it with the silicone spray?
Hey guys, I was told on another forum by a user that there is a "kit" available from Mercedes to replace the shaft/nut that causes this issue? Is this true? If so, does anyone have any idea how to find this kit/part? Thanks.
Hey guys, I was told on another forum by a user that there is a "kit" available from Mercedes to replace the shaft/nut that causes this issue? Is this true? If so, does anyone have any idea how to find this kit/part? Thanks.
You don't want to/can't do this repair solo. It's a multi-day job.
"This will be very uncomfortable, especially for overweight people" LOL
That nut is self-tightening ... that's the only issue.
Don't buy replacement: this is defective all new.
Simply GLUE THE NUT so it does not tighten itself during Up/down motion.
It needs a little functional freeplay so its not tight, nor loose.
If you only loosen the nut without glueing it,
then it will get stuck again after a while from in/out "convenience entry".
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Jun 5, 2025 at 12:20 PM.
That nut is self-tightening ... that's the only issue.
Don't buy replacement: this is defective all new.
Simply GLUE THE NUT so it does not tighten itself during Up/down motion.
It needs a little functional freeplay so its not tight, nor loose.
If you only loosen the nut without glueing it,
then it will get stuck again after a while from in/out "convenience entry".
That makes sense, thanks! Though I don't really need the convenience entry/exit feature, so that's probably not a big deal for me. I just need to be able to adjust the wheel height once and I'll be good with it.
That makes sense, thanks! Though I don't really need the convenience entry/exit feature, so that's probably not a big deal for me. I just need to be able to adjust the wheel height once and I'll be good with it.
Now you're empowered to decide what best suits your needs.
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