Vincent Mart

A funny thing happened this morning, i went to start my 2 month old 2010 glk which I purchased with 8400 miles--and nothing. All the open door and tailgate functions worked but dead silence when key was put into starter. I thought I had a dead battery but I then tried the spare key and everything worked and the car started etc. Does anyone know what happened to the original key? Did the circuits burn out? I am taking it in for service.

plewton

is it possible the key's battery died?

kyoshiro

was the key dropped? supposibly the static from plugging in the key will allow it to ignite (thus theres no actual key slot for ignition if key is out of batt)

GLKKa2H

In case:

- The SmartKey battery check lamp comes on briefly when the Lock - or Unlock button is pressed (- battery OK),
- There are no display messages pertaining to SmartKey in the Multifunction Display, i.e. "Obtain A New Key" or "Key Does Not Belong to Vehicle",

I would say the SmartKey needs to be re-synchronized to your GLK. To be done at MB dealership.

NYCGLK

Did you try taking key out and then putting it back in? Something similar happened to me once, but once I pulled the key out and put it back in the car started.

Also a bit off topic but realated to this, sometimes when you shut the car off (but electronics on) it won't start untill you rotate key all the way back to zero position.

phil17

kind of OT but sometimes i would need to turn the key really hard to remove it. the key gets stuck in the ignition ,,, other times it's super smooth...

UK-C200

Hmmm. MB Smartkeys use the battery to unlock the doors - eg when you push buttons on the key. When you put it in the key slot, it's powered by induction, so regardless of the keys battery state, it should work.

The drive authorization system uses the same set of base keys as the unlock, so if it will unlock the car, it should be able to start the car.

I'd pop by your dealers and have them read the codes on your truck - it's under warranty, and if you are have a problem with the DAS, you want to get it fixed...

Vincent Mart

Thanks to all for the advise about the key,I went to the dealer and they said they never heard of this happening---they couldnt reprogram the key and decided to order a new one under the guaranty. It will take about 10 days to get it. If your key is ever lost or missing ,it will cost you between $ 250 to $ 300 for a new one from a dealer.

MKenM

Vincent, were you able to show the dealer how the 1st key would not work? If so it is a sad thing that they could not tell you what the problem is. So much for the great MB shop.

jkerkvoord

It happened to me today. MB GLK 350 2012. Called MB Road Svc and they said that its a problem with the key and try the spare key. Same problem. The radio worked but it would not start, or let put the shift it neutral.
Had to tow the car to MB Dealer. Will find out next Tuesday, but I understand that it is not unusual for this to happen.

MKenM

It actually IS unusual. Do you have Keyless-Go or the standard fob? Have you ever replaced the batteries?

n5160u

The batteries only power the remote locks.
The ignition is controlled by the passive RFID chip in the key fob and should work even if the battery is removed.
The failure is likely in the transponder antenna surrounding the key slot or the micro-switch that is triggered by the key being inserted into the lock.
The way it works is the insertion of the key into the key slot causes a burst if RF energy to be transmitted into the key. The RFID chip in the key fob is powered up for a moment by the RF energy and sends a coded reply back to the immobilizer system to unlock it.
There really isn't much software involved since the system is mostly hardware based so the likely failure is the micro switch and resetting the system controller may have little if any effect.

TSchuettinger

Ughhh ohhh. This sounds similar to the w204 c class esl/Eis fiasco.

bop11

Vincent Mart said is second key worked, so it is probably the chip in the FOB got burned. Jerkvoord had both keys fail so his problem is more likely as n5160u said.