W211 AMG Discuss the W211 AMG's such as the E55 and the E63

Horror Story re: Keyless Go

Old Jul 9, 2006 | 11:55 AM
  #1  
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From: ann arbor
2014 GL 350 on order
Angry Horror Story re: Keyless Go

Owners: solve this puzzle for me. So Im in Chicago getting my 'Steve installs' done and I go to test the new phone system so he can give me my tutorial and the key is not recognized by the Beast! Thank God Im in the man's garage safe and warm. Car is totally dead!!?? We call the MB roadside service and he cant help with this issue and we send him off. He was very courteous and came right away from the MB dealership in Barrington but this wasn't a flat tire/no gas scenario. IM in a moderate panic and steve finds a flight from Detroit to Chicago leaving at 2100 and I had my daughter fly to O'Hare and briing me the spare key. She fires up and were on our way home. Lets imagine how bad this could have been!! Like stuck in west bumf__k with all the kids,0300 in the morning windows, sunroof open, after getting gas and 'no go'. 100 miles from any airport,dealer etc... I wont go on about it anymore but you guys can fill in the 'nightmare script' for yourselves. Has anyone thought @ this failure from the analysis aspect! This thing freaked me out, any ideas how complicated this could have been? Our host allowed me to use his car, home etc. so I was lucky as H__L. The tech said that Keyless Go FOB failure is not that uncommon! Lets solve this and I will be speaking with MB management soon-Joker
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 12:10 PM
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Can Drive 55's Avatar
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Did you try new batteries in the key? Also, did you try inserting the key in the ignition switch?
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 12:18 PM
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yes we did and dead as a doornail. You were not able to even turn the key in the ignition as it said 'not recognized'.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 12:24 PM
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Definitely let us know what happens. Even if the battery dies, the key is supposed to work by placing it in the ignition. Also, the doors could be unlocked with the little silver key. That is what the "emergency" process is. Sounds like the chip in your one key was no longer recognized.

Could the car have somehow reset a security feature that made the key no longer good? I am thinking of a computer code that would protect us from "fake" chips. Dunno. I would be very upset as well.

Keep us in the loop as to what MB says. Interesting to see if they get the original key to work or if they can figure out what is up. My assumption is that you will be able to program it back in. I think it got dumped, and that is why the spare worked.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 01:02 PM
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Strange. Like to hear what the dealer says. I had an episode where one of my keys was not recognized by keyless go but then seemed to reset when I placed it in the ignition.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 02:11 PM
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Not sure what the heck it is does but was your car set to Key Dependent ? I had to re-set a few menu items....Easy Exit etc.

"edit" in fact now that I think about it..I had to insert my key for it to get recognized again ! When I got home is when I reset the key dependant setting to off....gotta go look at the manual to see what the hell that does.

Last edited by vader; Jul 9, 2006 at 02:15 PM.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 02:15 PM
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All; it is my impression now that if the fob dies with keyless go you die with it! Seems like this would be a major liability issue if you get stuck in a snowstorm in the middle of nowhere and cant close your windows,bla,bla- Someone prove me wrong, pleeze-Joker
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 02:23 PM
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This happened to me. I now carry a spare key fob in the car as a back-up.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 03:07 PM
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Hmm... key not recognized happened to me once. I inserted the key into the ignition and she fired right up. No issues afterwards.

However, something similar happened to me last weekend. After a spirited drive home, I was approaching a stop light and when my car came to a full stop, the engine shut down for no apparent reasons. I was using Keyless Go at that time and I tried to use the Start / Stop button to fire up the car again, but that failed. I had to insert the key into the ignition to get her fired up again. However, there was no error codes in the MFD. I still don't know what's wrong with the car, but it had not happened again in the past week.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by JokerzWld
All; it is my impression now that if the fob dies with keyless go you die with it! Seems like this would be a major liability issue if you get stuck in a snowstorm in the middle of nowhere and cant close your windows,bla,bla- Someone prove me wrong, pleeze-Joker
I took the batteries out of both of my key fobs to check the voltage. They were close to the rated value, so I put them back in without replacing them. They both worked fine after having the batteries removed and replaced.

FYI - Whenever I go out of town, I take both keys and give the other one to the passenger. I do not have 100% confidence in the system, even though mine has never failed to work properly.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 04:49 PM
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2014 E550 & some other stuff too...
Is the gimmick of not having to put a key in the dash of your car to start it really worth all this crap? And you had to pay extra for this???? LOL!
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 05:00 PM
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w00t I live across from that dealership!
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 05:19 PM
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Originally Posted by abalto
Is the gimmick of not having to put a key in the dash of your car to start it really worth all this crap? And you had to pay extra for this???? LOL!
Yes. And, I haver never had any problems with mine.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 06:10 PM
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Originally Posted by abalto
Is the gimmick of not having to put a key in the dash of your car to start it really worth all this crap? And you had to pay extra for this???? LOL!
Actually, not pulling the key out of my briefcase at all is quite nice. Mine has also never failed.

Let us know joker
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 07:00 PM
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some slow@$$diesels
just to clarify a bit:

the key has several different features build inside...it transmits radio frequency to open & lock the car...it tranmits IR to roll up/down the windows AND it has a chip for the car to recognise...that is 3 different features AND NONE OF THESE 3 FEATURE WERE WORKING ANYMORE.

Even if the battery is dead - the car will still start when it recognises the key (keyless or with the key in the ignition).
Even if the ignition-recognise chip is toast, the car can still be locked/unlocked BUT NOTHING WORKED ANYMORE.

What did surprise me is that roadside assistance in chicago travels around WITHOUT stardiagnose (now how is that suposed to work with the nowadays benzes)...

however - glad to know that you made it home afterall Gene...

greetingz,
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 07:22 PM
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Yes. And, I haver never had any problems with mine.

Actually, not pulling the key out of my briefcase at all is quite nice. Mine has also never failed.
tick . . . . . tick . . . . . tick . . . . .

It was a dark and stormy night . . .
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 09:51 PM
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Originally Posted by jangy
Actually, not pulling the key out of my briefcase at all is quite nice. Mine has also never failed.

Let us know joker
Agreed, it's nice to keep all your crucial stuff in your backpack. Sure is nice when it's raining dogs and cats to just jump in and drive off
Oh I'm too lazy to pull out the key.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 10:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Grumpy666
tick . . . . . tick . . . . . tick . . . . .

It was a dark and stormy night . . .
Cut it out Grump....I have it too...now you are putting the evil eye on us !
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 10:41 PM
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i think only the guys without keyless go are painting doom and gloom in this thread. the rest of us know the benefits of 'keyless go'.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 11:14 PM
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I don't think JokerzWld had a keyless go problem. The 2nd key fob worked just fine. This indicates that the components in the car were functioning properly. The key would not work when inserted in the ignition switch. This process bypasses the keyless function. I think, at least in this case, it is a key fob problem and could have happened whether or not he had keyless go.

I agree with Ricky. It is a great convenience to open the door in rain or with my hands full, without having to first find my key and push a button.
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Old Jul 9, 2006 | 11:21 PM
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Originally Posted by can drive 55
I don't think JokerzWld had a keyless go problem. The 2nd key fob worked just fine. This indicates that the components in the car were functioning properly. The key would not work when inserted in the ignition switch. This process bypasses the keyless function. I think, at least in this case, it is a key fob problem and could have happened whether or not he had keyless go.

I agree with Ricky. It is a great convenience to open the door in rain or with my hands full, without having to first find my key and push a button.
THE HEAVENS FROWN UPON YOU! HOW DARE YOU DO YOU CHOOSE TECHNOLOGY OVER YOUR GOD GIVEN HANDS?!

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Old Jul 10, 2006 | 12:06 AM
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Originally Posted by ricky.agrawal
THE HEAVENS FROWN UPON YOU! HOW DARE YOU DO YOU CHOOSE TECHNOLOGY OVER YOUR GOD GIVEN HANDS?!

I will keep that in mind. Are you going to the GTG in Centerville on the 27th? I am planning on it and MB-BOB might come too. Back to the topic - I will be using my keyless go several times then.
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Old Jul 10, 2006 | 12:11 AM
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From: 40*-55'-44" N / 73*-24'-07" W
'98 C43/55 AMG Speedybenz Susp. & MBenzNL On Board -- '88 560SL -- '09 JCW MINI -- '97 Jeep TJ Sport
Originally Posted by JokerzWld
...IM in a moderate panic and steve finds a flight from Detroit to Chicago leaving at 2100 and I had my daughter fly to O'Hare and briing me the spare key...
EeeK! That's not a minor thing!

I never liked the idea. The inlaws have it. I'm going to mention this to them.
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Old Jul 10, 2006 | 01:07 AM
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It did get very stressful there but overall, I'm glad it worked out at the end. I'm just glad I was able to help, even if it was just to lend a car. Just remember, as you described in your scenario above, it could have been worst. Good luck with your future mods. And again, it was a pleasure seeing you again.
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Old Jul 10, 2006 | 10:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Grumpy666
tick . . . . . tick . . . . . tick . . . . .

It was a dark and stormy night . . .
It gets neither dark nor stormy in San Diego. Also, that is what all of the SOS, etc. buttons are for. In this case, the tech may have been told to scat, but I have had the MB "rescue" loan me a car before. MB won't leave you out in the storm as you all want to imagine. Booo!
Also, you may want to get that tick looked at. Autoimmune issues can really come into play with old age.
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