This happens to my car too, when it sits for a few days. Almost as if the popout mechanism goes into a deep hibernation mode. But then when unlocked via the keyfob, the regular popout behavior resumes.

I have around 8300 miles on mine now, and during business trips, the cars sits in the garage, until I get back from my trip. When I get back, it sees quite a bit of use.

Either way, I wish this popout nonsense was just not present at all, and the perfectly functional grab handles were what the car was equipped with. But it is what it is, and I have learned to live with this less-than-ideal trait.

 

On second thought, I don’t think it’s the key going to sleep because I always have my phone in my pocket which would cause the handles to pop out even if the key was disabled. Has to be the car.

 

The key fob does go to sleep, but I don't think it's the cause for the handles not popping out. I was just adding that as a data point. I'm wondering if the people having these issues are all using a digital key and causing their car to respond too often by walking near enough, even behind walls, with their phone in hand. The car may eventually decide to stop and wait for a more deliberate action like touching the handle or pressing the unlock on the key fob. I suppose this could happen with the key fob too if it were close enough and moving thereby causing the car to respond.

For those with issues of the handles not popping out. Does it happen only at home or when you are out with the car in a parking lot and you have been away for awhile?

 

Whatever the handle logic is, does not become intuitive.
Unless they behave predictably, they are more of a bane than a boon.

 

My experience with this car does not align with your statement. I'm not saying the retractable handles are better from a mechanical and use standpoint. They are not. But for me at least, they just work. I don't have to think about them. I walk up, they pop out, I get in. If in the unlikely event they don't pop out a simple press on the handle pops them out. Pretty intuitive for me.

I stand by my suspicion that those with issues are those with a key (fob or digital) moving too close to the car for a prolonged time causing the car to repeatedly activate the handles. In this case the car will eventually stop responding to prevent battery drain and unnecessary handle wear from repeatedly popping out and back in. This is expected and documented behavior. That's why I've asked if this happens only when home, but nobody has chimed in to provide any details other than to just say they suck in one way or another. Post 6 does support my hypothesis, but I don't recall others posting any useful data on what might be happening.

 

I can’t respond to what happens during long durations at a lot vs at home because I have never left my car in a lot for an extended period. My fob is kept in a drawer approx 20 feet from the car in the garage. I don’t walk by the car with my phone multiple times as I only put it in my pocket when leaving the house. I can’t explain why it happens - only that it does.

 

You may want to line that drawer with mesh wire to block continuous hand shaking signals. In my experience a key only 20' away from the car is within range. Even though a fob will enter sleep mode, the slightest vibration will awaken it. It is better to turn off the fob by pressing the lock button twice. The fob will remain off until a button is pressed.

 

In my case, the handles pop-out whenever I walk up. Normal behavior. However, after being out of town on a business trip that lasts a week or more, the pop-out behavior needs to be re-initiated with a real unlock (either via the keyfob or via the simple press on the handle), almost as if the car has gone into a hibernated state during the absence. I am not missing a single beat by any of the above, and I consider that normal behavior.

Normal behavior that's shutting down all of the non-essential stuff, so that the battery lasts.......and I have parked my car for well over a month, during an extended trip, and the car started right back up like a champ, with not even a hiccup, once I got back from my trip (no drained battery or any such other situation). And I never do any of the "trickle charging" or any such supplemental nonsense on my car, even during extended trips when my car is parked back home.

 

Exactly what I experience. It has nothing to do with the distance of key storage or digital key interference.

 

your system sucks dick. there is no difference in operation from my GLE 450 or GLC 43 or ANY car i have had from infiniti to audi to lexus. they all work the same. touch the dimple to lock. in the e450 touch it to open if the door handles are not out. you can rant all you want but your problem is a you problem.

 

sometimes mine do not pop out. sometimes they do. doesn't matter to me. one touch and they open anyway.

 

100% of the time here. I do not get all the fuss.

 

Does it still lock if you touch other parts of the door handle? The indent on older MBs with the traditional handle is meant to be used for the summer convenience feature, it has nothing to do with keyless on older MBs.

 

If the doors had a recessed area under the handle where you could reach in to pull the handle manually, then the handles could operate as either a purely mechanical handle or an electrically assisted handle. It is good for emergency responders and passers-by to know how to open a car door in an emergency. The trick where you stick a credit card into the top of the recessed handle to pull it out is not going to occur to anyone who doesn't own a Mercedes with retractable handles. A person inexperienced in Mercedes handles is probably not going to try to pry out the handle with their hand in an emergency either.

 

In the event of an accident the handles are designing to pop out and doors will unlock automatically. In addition the side windows roll down. Obviously that can fail, but so can traditional handles. If your doors are locked and you have an accident the doors won't open from the outside unless they automatically unlock or someone inside unlocks them.

 

Is this explained in the Rescue card as well?

 

In my case (only 6 weeks) the door handles have worked as advertised, WHEN the car is locked. They pop out as i approach the vehicle. When the car is not locked I find that, more often than not, the driver's door handle takes several swipes before they pop out. However the driver's side rear door handle is much more sensitive and always reacts to a first touch, even a very light one. In a way then the car is training me. I now either lock the car, even in my garage, or touch the left rear door handle without even trying the driver's door.

 

Retractable/powered door handles are extremely stupid and I hope we look back on them like automatic shoulder belts one day. They sure seem mandatory in certain genres of new vehicles right now

 

Totally agree. One of the reasons why I stay away from the new E-Class.

 

then why spend time in this forum?

 

Yes, Mercedes says the handles will extend and the doors will unlock after a crash. If the handles extend post-crash, the safety profile is similar with both styles of handle. If the doors don’t unlock automatically, the situation is bad for both handle styles. The retractable handles do introduce a potential failure mode where the doors unlock but the handles do not extend.

I sent an email to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety asking them if the retractable handles extended after the crash test. I didn’t hear back from them. In the online videos and pictures, it is not clear to me if the handles extended after the crash test. Maybe someone more familiar with the handles can look at the IIHS.org E-Class crash pictures and determine if the handles extended. I would like the IIHS to add a comment to their crash tests saying if the handles extended after the crash in cars with retractable handles.

The reason this issue comes up is that there have been multiple Tesla crashes where the handles didn’t extend, the doors were locked and passersby were unable to pull people from burning cars and watched them die. People wasted precious seconds trying to figure out how to extend the door handles in the Tesla crashes. With a regular Mercedes handle, people would immediately realize the door was locked and then start thinking about how to break the window. Unless they had a tool that could break the window, it is unlikely they would be able to break it, but at least they would start thinking about the window instead of the door handle.

Mercedes is said to have invented the Mercedes style exterior door handle to give first responders something to pull. The traditional handles are the easiest to use and are less likely to freeze up in the winter.

Teslas also had some people perish in car fires when the battery disconnected after the crash and the electric interior door handle ceased to function and the people didn’t know where to find the manual door release. In the E53, it seems that the interior door handle can operate mechanically without the battery, so the interior handle isn’t an issue in the E53.

 

Yes. The rescue card says:
** 4. Access to the occupants**
Slide a flat, non-metallic object behind the retracted door handle (1) from above and lever it slightly out. Reach behind the door handle (1) from below and pull it out until you feel resistance, then hold

 

The handles are purely mechanical - they just move in and out to look cool. So in an emergency you could just manually pull them out and then yank open the door. Not ideal but better than a purely electric situation.

 

Totally agree. I was going to buy the new E-Class but idiot door handles and other dumb features were a show stopper.

 

To find out what others think.