Your right, there is one in PA near enough. That is the next step.

 

They're basically all privately owned. I think there's one in NY that's actually owned by MB but run by some management company and some people also say they're bad. I go to one a few towns over because the one in town has a bad rep, they even charge more than list price for parts. And the one a few towns over has a better selection of drinks and snacks.

 

Mine has been repaired 3 times, including replacement of the motor. It's making a "clunk" sound and is sticking again. Does anyone know if there is a service bulletin on this? Anyone else had repeated problems with this?

 

I just came from the dealer because I just got my rims done and as I got in my vehicle, I noticed that my steering wheel didn't move down. Read this article and the symptoms were the same so I pulled down on it real hard and its working just fine. the easy entry and exit is back to normal.

 

I signed up just to say this worked for me... I'm out of warranty and I waswas reluctant to give MB plenty of money to sort thethe inconvenience. I'm glad it worked.
What's the easy exit feature please?

 

 

This easy entry/exit feature is good to use, not only because of extra knee height allowance.... but it is to exercise your steering column UP/DOWN for those who is not using MAXIMUM up.
I too had my UP/DOWN steering mechanism not working once, it was kinda "stuck" for not being used for a long time. Press down long enough and it finally moved.

Play with UP/DOWN and telescopic up to max limit once a week is a good exercise to keep things lubricated and cleaning the steering column flexible cover from dust.

 

Had this problem with a recently traded ML350. Wheel stuck at the top.

This sounds assbackwards, but I found it I struck the bottom of the wheel upwards (with the palm of my hand) at the same time I pressed the down switch, the steering wheel would now engage. Try that several times and see what happens.

Also had the problem on a SL550 which got 'fixed' by the warranty. They told me to be sure I did not lean on the steering wheel when exitiing the vehicle. In other words they did not replace squat but got it working. Both cars gone now. New E450 Wagon will probably at some time do the same thing. It's in Mercedes DNA.

 

That's why I disable the easy entry/exit feature. Then you don't have to worry about it breaking.

 

As mentioned before, this was a common problem with a few different Mercedes models that used similar electric motors. After a while of being in the same position, the electric motor "freezes". This is a common problem with these electric motors. I've had it happen 1 time on my E350, and took it in. My buddy at the mercedes dealer explained the issue, and mentioned that replacing the motor doesn't guarantee the issue is resolved because they are the same motor. The common way the Mercedes techs unfreeze the motor is by pressing up an down multiple times until it moves. I was under warranty, so they replaced it anyways. Problem went away, after a while, but came back. I have my easy access turned off. I remembered him saying the press up and down multiple times, and sure enough, it worked. Have never considered this to be a real issue since.

 

Yep, just lack of "exercise" for steering up/down motor .... LOL
No issue.

 

I've had all sorts of work on this, including the motors replaced. Car is now at dealer for attempt no. 4. The entire steering column is being replaced.

 

I had the problem before one month. And tried to moved manually but it didn’t work..
I sent my car to good service center, I hope it doesn’t cost me a lot. 💔

 

I had the same problem today

Coincidentally, I was at the dealership today and the techs said that it wasn’t covered by my CPO warranty. It pissed me off to no end.

So as a diligent consumer, I checked this forum and lo and behold and by moving it in and out and when full out I yanked the steering down sharply and it seemed to have fixed.

Don’t these idiots know that this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Wait till someone gets killed because they weren’t able to adjust the steering and the airbag is not positioned properly. It will be a 100M + lawsuit!

 

I hope it’s been fixed. Any position of the steering wheel is going to protect you. Otherwise there wouldn’t be any tilt wheel. Power or manual. Of course that still doesn’t stop people from sitting too close.

 

Not true. If the steering wheel is all the way up, you are going to make max impact with your head which will result in injuries. See below.

--
https://www.idrivesafely.com/defensi...-airbag-safety

Your Position is Key for Airbag Safety: During airbag deployment, serious head injuries and trauma happen when people are not sitting in the correct position or fail to use their seat belt properly – if at all.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration takes this one step further, recommending you keep a 10-inch minimum space between the center of the steering wheel for drivers and the dashboard for the right front passenger. With that in mind, it’s best if the airbag deflates toward the broad expanse of your chest rather than the small area of your face. This protects the core of your body while still cushioning your head, minimizing your risk of serious injury.
--

I reiterate, this is a widespread problem and will bet that a lawsuit is just waiting to happen.

 

As I also said, seating position is very important. I believe it’s more about where you sit than the position of the steering wheel. I checked both my cars. From the upper most to lowest is about 1.5 inches. Not enough to really make a difference. It’s more about the position of the seat.

 

Probably nothing will happen. There are other issues like the leaking gas tanks where people would smell gas in the cabin and SBC brakes which could randomly fail and all that MB did was extend the warranty. Remember, the driver is the pilot in command. If the steering wheel won't go to the correct position or you can't adjust it properly, don't drive the car, it's not like the steering wheel is going to randomly pop out of position while driving.

 

See attached bulletin.

 

Haha thanks. Funny that the official bulletin says to hit the steering wheel with force.

 

I tried the 'bush fix' for this issue and it worked. I moved the wheel to furthest position inward, pulled down firmly on the wheel and the up/down feature started working. Thanks everyone.

 

 

What is "Commission driver's seat control unit." suppose to mean?

I was able to clear mine by extending the wheel out as far as it would go (more leverage that way) and it was the force at the bottom left part of the steering wheel that finally broke it loose (hits elsewhere did nothing).

Apparently, it's a bit temperamental. I was probably applying weight on the steering wheel while exiting the car at the same time the easy entry/exit function was active.

Memory controls moved the steering wheel as expected.

 

What was your part number? I'd like to see what my equivalent part would be.

 

Reset using MB diagnostics proactively for memory function.