Tiny Part TOTALLY Disabled This Mercedes! AND it's a Common Problem!
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- Опубліковано 10 січ 2024
- It's absolutely amazing how a small non-engine part totally shutdown this 2009 Mercedes C300! You won't believe what we find and how common it is. Also updates on the 1993 500SL and 2005 E320 from previous videos. ➡️ Don't forget to check out @MrsWizardsWays for great videos there.
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#carrepair #carwizard #carmechanic #autorepairshop #automobile #cars #car #mercedes #mercedesbenz #mercedesc300 #sedancars #luxurycars - Авто та транспорт
It's very rare to find a genius mechanic like that; like engineer-level.
Who do you think Dave is going to sell the place to when he retires?
Engineer level? Really? It's a Engineer that created those POS
Give Grimes a raise.
@@idontknow2293 mercedes does a ton of cost cutting, real engineering is seen in their 90s cars and earlier and they are all straight up tanks
@@idontknow2293 These sort of issues are not 'engineer led' - they are 'bean counter led' - compounded by using very poor quality parts.
Hey 'Wizard', David, you were seriously blessed to get a talented person like Grimes to work in your shop. He is very knowledgeable. Best wishes for another great year of business.
Met him he's a good guy.
Stop it Grimes,you're getting you're raise already! Lol
I will only buy a car when I find mechanics like Mr.Wizard and his colleagues, until then I am not buying anything
Honestly Wizard , Grimes is a goldmine find ! I hope he is well compensated , because I don"t think you"d want this talented technician going anywhere else ! INMHO ❤
I agree - top notch.
Grimes is a smart guy. Love seeing him on the channel and with Jake.
Grimes seems to be a top notch mechanic . Glad to see you got him there so you still work on old cars. Thought it was a big mistake to stop working on old cars
We'vd been conned in Europe by so much stuff on cars having to be coded. It may help with theft prevention on rare occasions but for keeping older cars running it's a disaster for owners
They dont care about owner, only money
I like cheap, new, basic models & ignoring the options list.
Mercedes cares about the original owner, who buys from them and sells the car in a couple of years to buy another one. The whole point of driving a new MB is not to be seen in an old one. So they don't build them to last anymore. They don't care about the poor guy who gets the depreciated old car since he will most likely not buy a new one from them.
This is my opinion as an owner of '07 S65 AMG.
@@romanpolak3239 Mercedes will care about you again when your car is 25 years old and they can sell you on bespoke Mercedes Classic parts that you'll need to keep it on the road.
This is why, after learning many BMW and Mercedes lessons... I drive a Lexus now and have NEVER been back to a Lexus dealership for service... Ever
My Audi A6 had the same kind of issue. It required an entire new steering column, because the small electronics module that failed was not sold individually. Ended up paying $3500 as it also took them half a day to register the new module with the rest of the car.
that is insane, thats the reason why i will never buy a german car unless its brand new and under warranty.
that's why I stay away from European cars, too much unneeded and unreliable complications that will cost an arm and a leg to fix...
I like how Wizard knows the answer already, but lets his technician do the explanation. This is how I lead my PLT.
That's the movie magic.
Easy there high speed
Y'all are a very thorough shop that likes to get to the root of the problem and that's why I watch the videos.....keep up the great work wizard
Grimes knows his cars, a great mechanic and very intelligent man 👌👍👏🙌
When I saw the front wheels on dollies I immediately knew what was going on, I've done tens of these within the 5 years I was working at the Benz dealership. There's absolutely no need to take out the entire steering column, I didn't even take off the steering wheel. Take out the back two bolts and back out the front two bolts as far as possible and leave the column hanging. This gives you more than enough clearance to get in there with a 1/4 ratchet and take the nut off. In cases where the lock was absolutely stuck and we had to drill it out, we had a 1 meter long drill bit that fits into a regular hand drill to easily drill out a hole in the top right corner. This gives you acces to the teeth of the motor engaging the lock in order to unlock it. This way you're not finnicking with getting the steering column out and back in which can be a pain in the ass.
I agree it's absolutely stupid that this little engineering flaw pretty much bricks your entire car and the part is ridiculously expensive however the amount of work needed to fix this is over exagerated in this video. Grimes seems to be an excellent mechanic but I don't understand why he's still taking out the entire steering column if he's experienced with this repair. I probably did these in 45 mins to an hour top and that included vacuuming the car after having to drill out the lock.
This wizard loves to rip his customers off.
@@harrysam100Ya, that's it... 🙄
- not.
hey ! thank you for your amazing comment. i am planning to get a x204 GLK class. i think they are pretty much a raised w204. do they also have this issue? should i just remove this motor and install the emulator when i get the car ? i dont want to get stranded because of this
@@yolbulucu GLK is like you said pretty much a raised 204 and suffer from the same issue. Replacing the module or installing an emulator would be the safest bet. However most of the times the ELV doesn't break right away. You can usually tell months/weeks beforehand when the car has trouble unlocking it or it isn't unlocking as smooth as it once used to.
Company I work for pretty much only repairs immobilizers and ECU's for German cars, it's amazing because we don't even need to advertise heavily to get so many customers lol
GM ECUs are equally pieces of garbage.
It's absolutely criminal to design cars like that.
Absolutely agree, should be a recall.
Three word solution: Toy Oh Tah and your problems go away forever!
Everything is designed this way now. Buckle up!
I consider the criminal aspect to be the use of 'bean counter' led very poor quality parts - with an emphasis on 'poor quality'. If this design feature had been included into the 'tank era' of Mecedes vehicles there would be no module failures.
@@georgebettiol8338 but the “tank era” cars were all wasted. They were designed to run 500k miles w service. Americans tossed them all waaaay before that. Which is first, the chicken or the egg? Are manufacturers building disposable cars because the consumer wants it? What did the consumer do with non disposable products?
Not the old BENZ
BEWARE OLD MAN WINTER RETURNS WITH A VENGEANCE 😢
EVERY w204 knows its always the ESL.
and theres cheap fixes for it, happens to someone on the forums/owner's groups every other day. Mine had it done with the previous owner under CPO warranty
I have two 2009 c-class mercedes and both have experienced this failure in the last two years. I really can't complain though. Based on my experience as the original owner of these cars I don't think it is fair to say that it will fail again in 3-4 years. Before this module failed I enjoyed 12-14 years of flawless service from each of the two cars.
The mechanic said they do fail in 3-4 years because he experienced it in the workshop.
These are great cars and the ESL is pretty much the main failure point to look out for.
Wizard even said that in his video of which Benz to buy and which ones to avoid.
the engine and transmission are very robust and if serviced with 5K mile full synthetic oil changes and 30-40K mile transmission services can go for a VERY long time. The best modern C class.
Avoid all German used cars outside of Germany. Germans need some Japanese input to help them overcome this dire situation.@@8MunchenBayern8
How are the rear subframes doing? I'm interested in this era of C-Class and E-Class but that's been my only concern.
@@performancepass4945 my subframe is totally fine. But I dont live anywhere where its raining constantly.
I would go with a W212 E class. 2014-2016. Best/Most Reliable modern MB. Make sure its made in Germany.
Great video! Kansas City Auto Electric here: I have told my customers for years that these cars are built for the new car buyer only. They have done the science and marketing research to tell them exactly when these things will break. They will run fairly well up to the warranty expiration. At that point the original owner will be trading it in for a new one anyway. They profit from the way overpriced sale of the new car and double dip on the secondary owner in parts and labor. They are well aware that these cars take a dump on resale. It is called "planned obsolescence". This is not your father's Mercedes anymore and has not been in decades. The bean counters are the ones building the cars, not the engineers like they used to be. These cars are specifically designed to make money till the smart ones junk them and cut their losses. I truly beg my customers NOT to buy a used BMW, Mercedes, VW, Porche, Audi, or any make of German descent. Most listen and the ones that do not cry like babies when they get my bill and I do see them regularly.
After the W123 steer clear.
This reminds me of when I was in Italy in 2001. Rented a new C Class and I got some sand stuck inside the gear shifter and it totally blocked the shifter from being able to move out of park. Mercedes now has protection around the gear shifter. Imagine this happened to quite a few people before Mercedes changed the layout of the gear shifter. Had the car towed and spent the rest of my vacation without a car.
I had a few used cars with stuck / sticking shifters (automatic) due to spilled soda and dirt getting in and sticking up the shifter lock solenoid.
@@volvo09 What a mess! I'm not sure what year Mercedes revised their shifter for the better, but I'm confident in saying that it saved people and mechanics from future problems.
how did you get sand into the gear shifter tho?
@@floggyWM1 That’s a good question. My partner and I had just finished enjoying the beach. So beautiful the Italian Riviera. But there was no place to change our bathing suit afterwards. We changed in the car and realized shortly after there had been some sand in our bathing suits. It didn’t seem like a lot of sand but it was enough to jam the shifter. We had to travel back through 5 countries to get home. What an experience it was.
I had great success by tapping the ESL with a small hammer and inserting the key in the EIS.
Once it unlocks, removing the ESL is easy without removing the steering column. Then you can install the emulator if desired.
Good idea, if the motor is stuck or the brushes aren't making contact then it'll certainly help free it up, worth a try.
The ESL is the keeper of the bridge of death (Monty Python). ;-)
Did similar, Astro van,
Fuel pump quit 150 miles from home.
Called my mechanic, he said kick the
Fuel tank, thought he was jackin me,
Did as he said, started, and drove home 🤷🏿♂️🤔
Pretty much anything with a motor may need a little external persuasion in the final stages of its service life.
@@volvo09that’s exactly the mode of failure 99% of the time on these. Motor brushes stick. I do give it some love taps to try and free it before resorting to column removal though
When I saw this video thumbnail and title, I knew exactly what this was 😂 I had bought a 2009 C300 new at the dealer and around 80k miles this exactly scenario happened. Outside of warranty of course. Tow was free to dealer - but repair was $1200 😭
Thats not bad! Very nice of them to take care of the towing and last time I heard an estimate for this job it was $2200
@@Ukiegaming I think I got lucky - sometimes the dealer will goodwill the work or a chunk of the work and put a claim in with MBUSA. Since I had bought it new there and had serviced there, they definitely made it bearable
lol same as my 2009, happened about year 8 of ownership and 90K. Only real issue I had in 10yrs and wish I hadn’t sold it.
Grimes is getting worked hard as the Merc Guy!
You were lucky to add Grimes to the stable!
..."luck is where preparation meets oppotunity"...
My last German car was a VW Rabbit. The radio antenna lead ran under the front fender, exposed to all the road rain and snow and salt. All that stuff would run down the cable and through a rubber grommet, further on down the cable until it reached the low point of the cable, which was directly over them main car fusebox. Total fusebox failure within a few months. Car also had overly small taillight housings that caused the taillights to overheat and burn up. Also the rear brake lines ran inside the car, alongside the driver's door, where snow and salt from your boots corroded away the brake lines. The car still had some aspects of quality German engineering, like the Bosch fuel injection system. Oh, I forgot, on our honeymoon, way out in the Colorado high desert, just after sundown, a almost unreachable alternator hold-in bolt loosened up and the alternator pinged and vibrated itself to death. Some pluses but many minuses!
same thing happenend here with a 2011 E Class, the guy told me he fixed tons and tons and made this repair into his main business and income. MB Dealer charges 1100 euros, this dude does it for 175.. figures.. tnx MB
I've had the same year. Most reliable car I've owned
The module can be repaired for $9.00. The little motor inside can be found on ebay. I've had do do two of these repairs. Replacing the little motor in the module means that repairing the module with the EIS isn't required. But as The Wizard and Grimes have pointed out. It's the labour getting the steering column in and out which is the killer. I didn't need to remove the accelerator pedal though. Be very careful with the clock spring - don't try and move it around.
Is this module for the steering column only for the electronic assist feature where the column automatically retracts?
@@emreconklu3498 The module is called the ESL - Electronic Steering lock. Not to do with the autoretraction system. The issue is. Inside the ESL is a small electric motor which drives a worm gear attached on a shaft. The worm gear turns a pinion gear and this gear closes or opens a contact which sends a signal to the EIS (Electronic ignition switch). The pinion gear also lowers and raises a small arm which locks the steering shaft from turning.
There's lubrication on the worm gear and pinion put in at the factory. Over the years the lubrication drys up and the worm gear and pinion seizes up and hence the electric motor burns out.
Solution to the problem is to remove the ESL, take it apart, install a new motor and worm gear, re lubricate the gears and put it back together. Or just replace the ESL at a great cost or replace the ESL with a bypass unit - (As Grimes and The Wizard mentioned).
W204's in overseas markets came either with electric adjusting steering shafts or not. The non electric adjusting steering shafts are much easier to replace the ESL.
The little electric motor inside the ESL can be boight on abay for as little as $9.00 but there are better quality units for up to $60-$70.
Replacing a ESL from Mercedes will still run you into the lubrication drying out and another failure.
These ESL's often just dont stop working. Many times the unlocking process becomes intermittent - this is a sign of imminent ESL failure.. Replace the ESL straight away.
It's much easier to remove the ESL with the steering in the unlocked position. If the ESL is locked up - it needs to be cut out.
@@lezivanerrol3697 Could extend the wires and mount the ESL somewhere very accessible to make repair a lot easier if it failed again . No steering lock then of course .
True, But that would invalidate your Insurance cover - if you are in a location where this is mandatory. I had one steering lock fail on a car less than 8 years old only only 30,000 miles on it. @@stewatparkpark2933
There's absolutely no need to take out the entire steering column, I didn't even take off the steering wheel. Take out the back two bolts and back out the front two bolts as far as possible and leave the column hanging. This gives you more than enough clearance to get in there with a 1/4 ratchet and take the nut off. In cases where the lock was absolutely stuck and we had to drill it out, we had a 1 meter long drill bit that fits into a regular hand drill to easily drill out a hole in the top right corner. This gives you acces to the teeth of the motor engaging the lock in order to unlock it. This way you're not finnicking with getting the steering column out and back in which can be a pain in the ass.
C5 Corvettes have the same issue. I had 4 C5s-All had it. Solved it with a $120. Bypass.
Just love your unique combination of technical and communication skills. Thank you!!
I'd parked it outside during a lightning storm and the next morning claimed it on Insurance as a lightening strike
9:03 My X204 is 12 years old now, i do a lot of short drives (work is less than 10km away) so it got many starts in the years since i bought it. Meaning that thingy has used it's motor each time twice (to unlock when starting and to lock when stopping) Haven't had that problem so far, so the "it will fail on you again in maybe 3-4 years" sounds a bit over dramatic to me.
Unfortunately, it’s truth. This one had previously been replaced, and I’ve seen new modules fail within two years.
I'm so pleased that Omega has the highly talented Grimes able to work his own type of magic on the cars. You guys are at another level to most mechanics I encounter. Great job! 👏👏👏
You are the best... I have been working on cars for over 50 years and I learn something new eveytime I watch one of your videos... and yes the emulator work around makes 100% sense. I just replaced the CATS in my 2006 Jaguar VDP with the Arnott kit to avoid the unnbelievable expense of the OEM air shocks. Guess what It even drives and handles better and a lot less like a floating road sofa!... sometimes a work-a-round makes perfect sense. Keep up the great videos.
Yup, had this happen on my w204 c350, on the day I was going to sell. I obviously had to cancel it and then the guy didn't reschedule. After that, didn't sell the car until last year. Car lost most of its value by then.
What crap timing!
Mercedes sucks balls kid
Brilliant guys. Kudos.
My best friend is a master tech for Mercedes and the technology and performance from these are amazing.hats off to you guys working on them!
Mr Wizard I have learned a great many things from you, Especially which cars not to purchase! That's the big one for me! Thanks
In the 80's I was a fan of Mercedes I had 4 of them, the last one from 1999. And then, I have now for 10 years, a 15 year old Toyota Yaris, well you can feel the difference, no stress of weird breakdowns that cost a fortune, starts all the time, even at -20 degrees, no brake change every 8-10 months, etc... In short, happiness...
Yeah, but then again... you drive a Yaris! 😂
Indeed, it's much cheaper than having a Bentley, and putting $10,000 into it, every 6 months.@@romanpolak3239
Very common issue on 2000s Nissan Maximas, Altimas, and Muranos as well as Infinities from the same time period
Thankfully, Nissan replaced the ESL on my 2009 370z for free outside of the factory warranty. I pulled the fuse after replacement. No more steering lock, but no more worries.
Kudos to you Grimes! Great knowledge.
Grimes was a good find for you Wizzard. Keep up the great work guys
I wouldn’t be too happy to have all those parts sitting on the upholstery.
I remember dealing with that issue way back with the W202`s 25 years ago, nice to see the Germans still maintaining their legendary build "quality" 😆
I remember in the "olden days" in Southern California knowledgeable fellows like Grimes were a dime a dozen; whether you had a Simca or Opel or Lancia. And all the shops were there to support them. Now it's all gone.
Wizard, awesome video. I like learning about common issues of a certain male and model.You should do more videos on Honda. I love the “buy this, not that” videos…
I think if I was lucky enough to have a garage like you guys and I had it explained to me then it’s emulator for days without a doubt 👍🏻
Or you can research and find out what they are saying is bullshit, since the module can be purchased from Mercedes for around $250-$300, only the owner of the vehicle can order the part since you have to show proof of ownership with title/registration and matching drivers license since this modules is treated the same as ordering a new key from Mercedes. Or if your module is still good but just the motor is gone bad you can repair the original module by replacing the motor inside of it for about $20-$30.
Great video! About 6 months late for my daughter’s car. (Sigh)Her 2011 e350 went dead. No codes. Finally called a locksmith, who reprogrammed it for her. $500.
I’m guessing it was an e350 coupe?
@@GrimesGarage yessir
Wizard I see you are approaching 1 million subscribers. , your at 968I hope you get to 1 million soon enough and I believe you get a plaque or an award from Google UA-cam , hang it proudly on your wall ,you worked for it my friend.
This happened to my 2006 BMW E90 325i. Fortunately it started working again after parking overnight so I could get it home. Pulled the column, removed the module, drilled the rivets or whatever holding it together, regreased & it works again. Then of course I put the emulator on it so I didn't have to worry about it ever again. My 2009 LCI 328i - no problem because it's no longer equipped with column lock from the factory. Phew. Good video Wizard.
We do quite a few of these every year in my shop. I can literally do it blind folded now. We actually sell and pair the emulators in house. Overall not a difficult job. Just time consuming, and annoying. If you have one of these listen to the EZL (ELECTRONIC ZYLINDER LOCK) When you insert the key. If that sound changes, be prepared. It could be the next time you attempt to start it, it wont start. Sometimes you get that warning if you pay attention. Most of the time this will happen when you are in a hurry or have somewhere important to be. Thats when they love to fail.
Um, no. It is a very difficult job which is why it cost so much.
Sounds like a candidate for recall to me. MB should do it just to improve their image of a highly engineered, top of the line vehicle brand.
They've thrown their image under the bus so to speak, they don't care and assume consumers will blindly buy their cars because it is a "Mercedes"
All they have to do to restore their reputation is bring back W123-126 lineup.
Do a show of hands who's faith would be restored if they did a recall.
When hell freezes over@@xMrsmileyfacex
I drive a 1992 ford f 150, Last year it needed an engine ,it made sense instead of buying another truck. I doubt that new trucks will still be providing good service thirty years later.
Thank you for the wonderful video guys. Don’t forget to get some Honda Grey Rat tape to tape up the common areas to help the customer.
Great video, guys. This is just another example of German over-engineering. Yet another reason why these cars aren't worth much on the used market. Keep up the great work.
Mice can reak havoc with many systems and especially with a modern canbus fed system, a tiny wire can mess up a lot of functions. They are so small and can hide so well that it is a full time job to get them out. We had a cat in our garage that was hunting mice among the cars that came in after we found some chewed up wires in one of them. She managed to kill a mouse or two while she was lent to us by one of the guys that had a cat. It was kinda nice to have a resident pet in the shop but she left paw prints on the cars, so we had to wash our customers cars before returnng them. lol
The VW one is annoying too, the lock gets stuck with key inside and you have you break it to get key off anyways unless you get lucky or it fails and you can't insert key in unless you wiggle it and luckily you get it to align but the next time it's over
Thank you Wizard and Grimesy, nice video. To paraphrase the Wizard, “Buy a Toyota/Lexus”.
As said below, where would the Wizzard be without Grimes.?
You can do all the diagnostics that you want, but previous experience is what
helps the most.
Grimes is way beyond the spare part fitters that you find at most main dealers.
...exactly where he was before Grimes...you have the concept backwards...
I don't think so, it was Grimes who knew where to find the fault.@@user-mf4gz3sp1q
I'm a little surprised that you put all those hard plastic pieces on a soft seat. Without any protective covering, it leaves dents, And I would be upset if that was my car.
I love your channel.
Wow! Great vid. Sent that along to my Dad (Merc owner) just in case. Excellent info as usual 😎👍🏼
Grimes is a great asset for your shop......Thanks the Wizards 👍
Old F-4 2 Shoe🇺🇸
Mine hasn't broken in 12 years! 😋
I was cured of Mercedes ownership with my 500SL. It had ignition modules go out every 4 to 5 years. Along with many other expensive repairs.
Then something else was wrong. They dont go out like that.
@@martinsvensson6884agreed, it sounds like something keeps shorting it out
@@martinsvensson6884 yes they do Goober
@@martinsvensson6884German car. They go out like that. They all do. Better then British or Italian still lmao.
@@darklordsauron3415 I've had moisture come in when the car, a 500E, had been standing outside over winter and not driven. When the car was 10-15 years old. Had the cap and rotor replaced. +15 years ago now and its still running.
grimes is an absolute merc guru! Y'all must be very happy to have someone like that in the shop.
Sometimes rocking the steering wheel will cause the ESL to unlock which makes life very easy. ESL will come out with minimal disassembly. There is a tool to open ESL so that PCB can be transferred over to a donor ESL. Obviously, this is the "shade tree" solution which a shop will not want to guarantee. Emulator is more shop friendly.
Did this feature continue to the end of the w204 model production, or did Mercedes actually see it as a problem and revise the module accordingly?
hi wizard Im gonna bring my vr6 swapped VW bug to you one day
I doubt he will want to work on that.
@@markst.germain9286 i have videos of me doing all the work
It's more just like I like the wizard and all his content so I want to show him beacuse he also likes beetles
Probably on the way back from when I cannonball it
I bet that thing is a hoot and a holler
@@GrimesGarage I love it I got some videos on the channel
*TIMESTAMP **04:36* The look on Wizard's face as his eyes scan the disassembled carnage. His eyes say "Holy moly .... " :)
Esp the parts sitting on the passenger seat.
Always great content ❤
Oh my god, when i saw the title i knew it was the immobilizer. These german cars are absolute trash for what they cost.
I had a 2008 W204 C320 CDI 4-matic for years, never had this issue. Maybe they are built different in the US. I heard a lot of them are made in Mexico instead of Germany...
@@Munakas-wq3gpor south Africa
They are not. Especially this W204.
I daily drive this car at 13 years old. Been a great car and have no plans of getting rid of it. The ESL is an annoying issue.
I never experienced this problem but read about it and got it taken out preemptively. Americans calling German cars "absolute trash" the funniest thing ever. Have you guys seen your cars? There's a reason why German cars are everywhere in the US, but if you go to Europe you barely see any American cars.
The euro spec ones don't have those issues, and the warranty covers much more than the American ones. Don't know why, but they do.
@@8MunchenBayern8You won't see many American cars in Europe due to the engine displacements being larger on many of them. Taxed more on larger engines from what I've read.
If you absolutely, positively have drive one these fine Teutonic lead sleds DO NOT BUY ONE! Please for the love of God & your sanity LEASE it. Let the dealership on their own dime deal with the incredibly complex and expensive repairs; make sure your lease agreement provides you with a loaner vehicle( not a 1974 Pinto) for the entire length the car is in the shop. Yes I know a lease is more expensive than buying it but do you really want to shell out thousands of dollars to repair their idiotic design failure?🤔🤔🤔
I have an R class W251 that doesn't have a steering lock (thankfully). But my electronic ignition switch occasionally freaks out and locks down the immobilizer system. Exciting since it normal fails after start when driving down the road--lighting up all the dash lights possible and telling you not to put it in park but go straight to shop. When you do park, it's bricked. Thankfully so far, unplugging the EIS and resetting it that way fixes it for awhile.
Oh that’s a very interesting video you did Mr.Wizard!! I own a 2014 GLK250 (X204) since day one and I am touching wood that I won’t encounter this locking mechanism issue!! Thanks for all your very good videos!
Highly recommend inspecting your rear subframe near the forward control arm mount. There is an issue with them rusting and is under warranty from MB.
@@GrimesGarage I knew about this but thanks for having mentioned it!
LOVE that Grimes is in these episodes. Love ya all, but if Grimes is in it, I'm watching the entire way through. Thank you ALL!!!
Reminds me of the old 90s GMs with the diode "chip" key and how the cars ignition fails. You can actually bypass using an exact Ohm resistance "Resistor" Diode that I litterly bought at Radio Shack that emulates the GM keys resistance and allows the car to start everytime, forever. Thusly bypassing the primative GM security system of the 1990s. Namely on my 1996 Oldsmobile cutlass supreme W body. This isnt a new phenomenon, but an easy fix in the early 2000s when the problem started rearing its head as the roads were covered in said GM sedans.
As a former W204 owner, I knew it was the ESL before I even watched lol.
I've had a similar problem on my Lexus ES350 where the immobiliser ECU and the steering column ECU failed. My car had no lights on the dash but all other electronics worked.
I regret buying a used Mercedes. It's about tracking down one little problem causing chaos.
This absolutely explains why, even 4 years after the covidfraud and crappy car markets, that dealers continue to build new state-of-the-art facilities for $20 million dollars. They get unsuspecting customers to keep their shop humming at $100-250/hr per tech.
Yes this happened on both my prefacelift w204s. I did the labor myself
2024 will bring The Wizards 1,000,000 subscriber!! Fully deserved 😊
Things are way too complicated these day's on automobiles. Smart Man.
Oh hey I fixed one of those modules, except it looked a little different and I didn't have to cut anything to remove it (even though it was stuck locked). I actually opened the module up (not fun, it's held shut with tiny roll pins that need to be pulled out.) and replaced the motor inside, I remember being blown away by how tiny and crappy the motor looked, despite it having such an important function. Repairing the module was time consuming, but still MUCH cheaper than buying a replacement from the local stealership. If I did it again, I'd definitely go for the delete instead.
This is why your business succeeds being honest
For a Nissan Cube & probably others, you can convert the steering lock assembly to function as an emulator by removing the locking motor and zip-tying the switches the motor normally activates. Only cost is labor, no emulator to buy. There is a good UA-cam on this I saw. Mine has been working this way for years. A small ESL light stays on the dashboard when driving but you could pull the bulb.
These guys are great!
Grimes sounds like a great dude! A talent!
I drive a w204 C300 and I had this ESL failure issue, my local German shop quoted $1700 to fix it and another shop quoted $2500. I bought the actual motor bit itself and it was only $5 plus the tools to get to it were maybe $20 and it took me about a day to do. It’s a wild problem and is better to just prevent with an emulator honestly if you plan on having one of these cars for a while.
You can change the $10 motor in the ESL module as preventative maintenance, without removing the steering column. As long as you don't wait for it to fail. Lots of videos here to explain it. If you don't need a functioning steering lock, you can zip tie the module to the column after replacing the motor. Just to make for easier access in the future.
Nice team you have wizard 😊!
Aah the beautiful W204, once had an 320 CDI v6 2008 sedan. Best car i ever had! Drove so smooth, inmense torque, looks, no failures in 6 years and great mileage. Bought with 50k miles and got rear ended with 150k miles. Did a total of 6 dealer service for 300 to 500 euro. The only expensive thing is the government, monthly tax was 180 dollars and insurance was 160 dollars a month. Full tank was about 70 dollars for 600 miles.
Saab and many other German/ American cars had this issue around 2000/ 2009 ish
This is an extremely common issue. It's been known about in the mercedes circle since about 2010. The motor in the steering lock module wears out, and is unable to unlock or lock and ends up not allowing the ignition to activate. I've ended up removing the entire steering column to get to it. If it fails I'm the open position, you're one lucky SOB! And to replace it, it's quite involved with the software and permissions. The emulator is easy. Stay safe!
Two questions... 1. If it left the factory with a steering lock, does removing it affect theft insurance?
2. Surely if you buy a replacement module from MB, it comes pre coded for the car as it will be what Mercedes call a Theft Relevant Part. So the correct part will be plug and play. Yes it might cost $1,500 but that is probably more cost effective than insurance not paying out after it gets stolen because you've bypassed a part of the immobilizer...
The locks still have to be learned / programmed to the car even from the dealer. How is the insurance company ever going to know if you installed an emulator? The emulator is not really bypassing the immobilizer, it's only one part of a system. The EIS (ignition switch) and key/s are the important parts. The fact is, if someone wants to really steal something, they will take it no matter the hurdles.
I agree with you and buying a used car without a warranty is not a good. I have an older car that has electronic parts which have disabed the car and had to find used parts to fix my car. The manufacturers have to provide parts for ten years and that becomes a problem for older cars.
BMW had a similar problem in 1984 with the steering wheel lock; temporary solve back then was to use pliers to turn the key
Geesh, and they say Chevy’s and Dodges suck. A German engineer definitely got his wings on this one.
Back in the old days I had two Mercedes diesels. 77 240D with 4 speed was like driving a 36hp VW Bug. Bought it for $2,250 just after the previous owner spent about $4,500 on the complete balanced engine overhaul by a well known Kansas private Mercedes repair shop when it had about 225K on it. He also spent about $500 on new sheepskin seat covers. Then the blower motor quit and that previous owner said he wasn’t going to pay the $250 or any more repairs so sold the car for probably a little more than any dealer would give him for a trade. That was in 1991. The wife and I ran that car another 200K until it rusted out. It was still averaging about 30 mpg when we sold it. Various repairs over the years but nothing that couldn’t be relatively easily repaired. No computer! I really like driving on someone else’s money. About 1993 or somewhere in there bought a 1979 300SD Turbo diesel. Also bought that one with something over 200K on it not long after the previous owner had rebuilt the engine after he didn’t notice the temperature gauge on a drive to their ranch in western Kansas when the lower radiator hose decided to give up the ghost. Warped the head and did whatever damage excessive heat can do to a cast iron block. Owner bought a new Mercedes head. Sent the bottom to a machine shop in Oklahoma City that specialized in MB diesels. Then put it back together themselves on their farm/ranch shop. I had to pay $5,000 for that one. Still considerably less than I would have had to pay from a dealer for that car with a new engine. It was in excellent shape and I could pass anything I wanted, uphill or down. We ran that one over 200K too with typical old technology MB repairs. Again no computer and driving on someone else’s money. Finally sold the 300SD in 2005 and bought a 1996 Lincoln Town Car with 111K on it. Got that one cheap too. Still driving it with 215K on it now. One thing for sure after Car Wizard detailing all the things that can go wrong with “modern” MB’s you can bet I’ll never buy another one even if I had cash to pay. I’m holding out for a Toyota Avalon built before the 2013 model year which is when Toyota screwed those up.
Grimes is the man, feature him more!!
Had the tiny electric motor in the module crap out on my W204. It was an afternoon of disassembly, open the module to replace the motor, and reassembly. Replacing just the motor makes it so the module doesn’t have to be programmed. It was a PITA in an otherwise super reliable Merc.
Where did you buy the motor?
Had this problem lately on my W212. Was lucky enough that the steering wheel was in 'unlocked position'. Technician installed the emulator pretty fast and cheaply!