tjcMBE55AMG

2002 W210 - after about 5-7,000 miles the radio started *not recognizing* the CD changer. The message on the radio is "No CD Changer" as if it didn't exist. This has happened 3 separate times and I'm now on my 4th radio which just developed the same problem (again).

Anybody else have this problem? Going out of warranty in 2005 ....


TJC

corgiman

I had this problem with my Cl - but it would clear if I turned the car off an on again (rebooted).

MBenzNL

It is NOT a radio problem...it is a CD changer problem (at least...9 out of 10 times the non recognising problem is a CDc problem)...

greetingz,

tjcMBE55AMG

That's helpful to know - thanks. I don't know why they keep changing the radio out (#3 or #4 - I've lost count). And it DOES go away after restarting the engine .... but re-occurs more frequently over time.


TJC

Marcus Frost

I had the same problem tjc, just was never able to duplicate it much for the dealer. It was also on a '02 E55.

-m

BenH

I have an 02 as well and every once in awhile the changer is not recognized, I have had it changed out 3 times already. still no resolution.

tjcMBE55AMG

Ben - The changer or the radio?


TJC

BenH

the changer is not recognized, when I try to play a cd, the changer is not found.

tjcMBE55AMG

Ben - which did you change out 3 times - the radio or CD player?


TJC

carole

My radio volume went crazy last Feb 2004, dealer reluctantly replaced radio. After grandstanding and getting "SPECIAL PERMISSION" from MBUSA to replace, under warranty. Last month Dec 2004, I reported radio operated intermittently and noticed "NO CD CHANGER" when I attempted to play any CDs.

Dealer offered to diagnose problem for $350, plus the cost to replace radio and possibly CD.

A local auto stereo shop, CALIFORNIA CAR SOUNDS, INC 408 378 0409, looked at the car. They pulled the CD and tested it in another car, works OK. Tested fiber optic cable, works OK. Tested radio==defective. Raymond and his team at CALIFORNIA CAR SOUNDS rock. Smythe European sucks, basically they refuse to stand behind MB factory equipment.

I bought the car at Van Housen in Sacramento, when I lived in Folsom. Somehow, I cannot help but feel that Van Housen would have offered some sort of after warranty assistance as I am a local, delership-oriented maintenance conscience customer. I will NEVER recommend Smythe European for either MB/Volvo purchase or service. Further, I will move all of my auto warranty work to another MB dealer.

BenH

I had the changer changed out twice and the radio once, still having the problem though.

scorchie

Just had a member here drop by with a similar problem... sometimes "NO CD CHANGER" error, sometimes drop outs and noise, and sometimes works for a while. After changing the changer and still experiencing the problem... we found that the fibre optic cable might be bad. Trying out another one solved the problem.

-s-

Ted Baldwin

..............This is a common problem. I had my CD changer replaced 4 days ago, and my friend did not need her Dcd changer replaced, but just needed the CD changer re-recognized. The fastes fix is to have the dealeer re-recognize the Cd changer via STAR. This works most of the time and prevents yoy from having to replace anything, especially if your car is no longer under warranty.

.................second issue is that those with the old startac phones seem to have this problem more often. The dealers explanation is the if the handset fails to sync properly, it will trigger a fatal error that prevents the radio from communicationg with whatever is connected to it. This is apparently what happened to my friends car. Her radio, Cd changer or cables did not need to be replaced.

Ted

tjcMBE55AMG

Thanks, Ted. It's intermittent now ... but usually gets worse around the time for an A or B service. I'll pass your comments along to the service advisor - thanks again.


TJC

TMans

I've had this same problem in my '03 CLK500 for awhile and finally got to take it in yesterday. At the time, the service advisor said it could be bad fiber optics, cd changer, or needs a "flash update" with the software. Picked up the car today and was told that it was a bad cd changer, which was replaced. After driving for a couple hours, switched from radio to cd, and bam...problem came up again. I'm thinking it could be the fiber optic?

On another note, I had another problem which occurs at/or around the same times...after washing and drying the car, I would usually listen to the radio while the car is off. Every now and then, the volume would just jump to MAX or down to low by itself. Any others have this problem? Not meaning to hijack the thread, just wondering.

Ted Baldwin

I've had this same problem in my '03 CLK500 for awhile and finally got to take it in yesterday. At the time, the service advisor said it could be bad fiber optics, cd changer, or needs a "flash update" with the software. Picked up the car today and was told that it was a bad cd changer, which was replaced. After driving for a couple hours, switched from radio to cd, and bam...problem came up again. I'm thinking it could be the fiber optic?


.......you have to understand that these days there are really no mechanics or technicians for MB vehicles. What they simply do is to replace things. They hook the car up to a computer and replace whatever it is that the computer says is wrong. This works fine when your car is under warranty, but is very annoying when your warranty is over. I doubt very much that so many CD changers could suddenly go bad in Mb vehicles. You experience clearly shows that the CD changer is not likely to be the problem. The problem you have is that no body at an Mb dealership is going to know how to find out the problem. They will keep replacing things until they stumble at the answer by accident.

Ted

Renault78law

Bringing up an old thread...

I just got the NO CDC error for the first time last night. When I started my car this morning, it worked just fine. Anyone ever come up with a solution?

zoink

Take it apart (I really mean it.... open until you see all the circuit boards in the changer)..... and put all parts back on again... it worked for me Not sure whether you want to do this.... at least somehow it fixed the problem or made it occur less frequently.

I think the culprit is the CD retrieval parts (which pulls the CD from and put the CD back to the magazine).

At least if it doesn't fix your problem, you know why it kept giving you that error messages...... outside, it says "MERCEDES BENZ".... inside it says "MADE IN CHINA"

tjcMBE55AMG

The CW is that it is the Changer, not the radio. That's why MB has put 3 radios in my E55

If you pull over, switch of the ignition then on again it goes away.


TJC

lturner9

I had the same problem in my 02 E55 last year. My dealership fixed it by replacing the main communication module in the trunk. I forget the name of the module. My car is put away for the winter with the paperwork in the glove box. I'll check with the dealer tomorrow if I get some free time and post exactly what they did. I'm happy to say that I'm thoroughly pleased with my dealership. After making a couple of failed attempts to find the problem, they asked if they could keep the car overnight and gave me a loaner to drive until they figured it out. I remember swinging by the next day and they had the liner in the trunk taken out and were testing all kinds of modules. They fixed the problem without having to replace the radio or CD changer.

mainroman

Is it possible to install some aftermarket CD changer and not replacing MB radio or Comand?? Cos it seems like factory changers are constant trouble.

I have 02 E55 too and I have Comand and no CD changer. Was thinking about getting Cdchngr cos cd's keep being stuck on the eject and you have to grab them with fingers and pull them out ;-)
Anyone knows how to fix this?

516mbtek

Becker makes a better changer that is a direct replacement. "plug and play"

lturner9

I checked with my dealer this morning and they replaced the "Portable phone interface comand system module" to resolve my problem. For 211 E55s, they mentioned that another problem with the same symptoms is the slide out tray for the CD changer. They found that the tray may not always align itself correctly and may need to be readjusted.

Hope this helps.

Air Marshall Eldritch

I have this problen on a W210 once in a while. What I have to do is turn off the car so the changer 'open' button lights up, pop the cartridge out and then back in, then restart the car. This clears the problem for a few months.