Parktronic Help Please

[Watto]

Hi,

Had my 05 CLS for 3 days now and one thing is really baffling me.

When I first get in the car and reverse out the drive etc the parktronic works fine and the little yellow lights guide me away from danger.

However sometimes during driving if I come to a stop at lights or a junction I get 4 red lights and an audible warning on the front parktronic indicator. I cant see anything that would set this off and if I ignore it the lights go off but the little red indicator on the button near the gear lever comes on to say parktronic has been disabled. I press it to re-enable and the 4 red light warning comes back on. I have no idea why its doing it or if Im doing something wrong. But obviously it stops the parktronic from working at the end of the journey when I do want to use it Ive read the manual but it doesnt seem to mention it. Anyone got any ideas, its driving me potty.

 

[richard]

That 4 red thing is the 'i'm broken' signal - and it needs a dealer to plug Star into it to find out whats wrong. Which could be a failed sensor, or a loose connection, it sounds like it may be heat related (i.e engine heat heating something up then it fails, which is then picked up next time it enables itself as you stop)

I dont know where the wiring loom goes on the CLS, but there is a connector between the body wiring and the front bumper wiring, could be worth checking that it looks OK.

R

 

[Watto]

Oh

Good job I got warranty with it then

No other way round it?

 

[richard]

Sadly not - at least you have a warranty !!

R

 

[C240Sport97]

I have had the same sort of problem on my 96P E230 Estate .. it was worse when it was cold and the roads grimy.

It improved when I cleaned the sensors and when the weather warmed up.

It's working fine now .. fingers crossed!

 

[Watto]

Will give the sensors a clean then and see if it helps (I assume you just mean the visible ones on the bumpers?). I drove 200 miles home in it on Wednesday no problems at all then first thing thursday it started doing the red warning thing. Maybe its covered in flies

 

[Watto]

Well Ive been driving a bit over the weekend trying to see if I can find when the 4 red error lights come on. Is seems to happen when I brake hard to a standstill. If Im very gentle it doesnt happen. And now it seems to be sometimes correcting itself again so that it works when I need it at the end of the journey. Im wondering therefore if its likely something has come loose on the system meaning its not getting full contact when I brake hard but then slipping back into place when I move again?

 

[mr. shr]

I'm getting exactly the same problem with my recently purchased S211.
Did you get to the bottom of it?

 

[Watto]

No, as usual apathy got the better of me and it still does it sporadically.

Some days its absolutely fine, others it beeps as soon as I put it into gear and release the foot brake. Cant seem to find any sort of pattern that triggers it nor why it fixes itself. I'll get it looked at when it needs a service/MOT. Sods law it normally does it when I have a passenger so my cars looks faulty

 

[andy_k]

No, as usual apathy got the better of me and it still does it sporadically.

mine too

seems worse in the winter (it's not done it for a few weeks now) or when the sensors are dirty.

It does however seem to be brake related as I only get the four lights when i press the brake pedal

I'm planning to have a look at it next time it starts playing silly buggers so I'll post any findings

 

[Watto]

Cleaning the sensors didnt seem to make any difference for me. It only happens when I come to a stop or before setting off but I assume thats because the parktronic only comes on when you are under 10mph. Sometimes it brings up the fault warning and I accelerate above 10mph and its fine for the remainder of the day. I'll get it looked at eventually but I just see it as part of the cars personality, like its badly balanced wheels which I will also get round to that some point

Oddly enough mine seems to be doing it less now the weather is warming up. Maybe its some kind of temperature based fault like somebody suggested on here.

 

[Brian WH]

Get it fixed, why put up with a niggling fault when it is under warranty.

They may do it whilst you wait anyway.

 

[Watto]

Mainly because it doesnt bother me enough to make a special journey and secondly because Im at work most of the time and the nearest Merc dealer isnt that local to me.

Thanks for your concern though

 

[Brian WH]

Mainly because it doesnt bother me enough to make a special journey and secondly because Im at work most of the time and the nearest Merc dealer isnt that local to me.

Thanks for your concern though

They will collect and return you know.

 

[Watto]

I take it yove never seen a mechanic get the chance to drive a high powered car on their own for a good few miles. I have, its not something Id recommend to anyone who likes their engine/clutch

 

[Druk]

Mine had exactly the same symptoms. Star said "outside and inside right rear sensors duff". Tried cleaning/WD40/scraping paint off....same same. Replaced both @ £40 each. Problem gone. :bannana:

 

[mr. shr]

Mine had exactly the same symptoms. Star said "outside and inside right rear sensors duff". Tried cleaning/WD40/scraping paint off....same same. Replaced both @ £40 each. Problem gone. :bannana:

You had two fail at once? That's unlucky.
Did you replace them yourself?

Should hopefully get mine looked at tomorrow.

 

[Druk]

You had two fail at once? That's unlucky.
Did you replace them yourself?

Should hopefully get mine looked at tomorrow.

Yeh...did just that, however in the rear bumper of a 211 estate they are easy got at.

 

[mr. shr]

Turns out one of my sensors is out too.
Rear outter left.

Can you order them pre painted?

 

[mr. shr]

Anyone know if you can order these painted to the colour of your car, or do you have to paint them yourselves?
How much are these sensors?