W204 Steering lock mechanical fault diagnosed

[MancMike]

I've got the same model, and it cost me 15 quid to fix. You just had bad people burn you.

All my fords have crumbled into dust and the only Jap car I've owned had an engine that'd blow an apex seal if you looked at it wrong.

All just my experience, of course.

 

[tifomb]

These are for the steering lock failure.

(MB) campaign 2008020003 and TSB LI80.57P051521

 

[alandisney]

Very Upset

A couple of weeks ago my car was removed by tow truck and delivered undriveable to Mercedes. It's a C Class W204 2007 with 63K on the clock. I have spent, at todays value over £200K buying Mercedes cars having had one almost continually since 1977. The car's steering lock has now been repaired at a cost of £670 ($900 US) and is now fine once again. I made a claim to Mercedes asking only for "some financial assistance" but the claim has been rejected. People with similar problems as mine should search the internet for the same problem with Nissan cars who have recalled over 200K cars in 2017 and have repaid those people who had already paid for repairs. Obviously an honest company not like Mercedes.

For me my next car will be electric and undoubtably a TESLA!!!!!

 

[grober]

A couple of threads on the forum recently on how to repair these units- provided they fail in the unlocked position. Its normally a very cheap motor/actuator that fails. Usually folks get a degree of warning that there's a problem but ignore it till its too late.

Normally its the EIS module that fails. Sometimes they can be fixed temporarily by judicious tapping of the steering assembly at the road side to free up the locking pin.

HERE'S THE MOTOR- ther's numerous how-tos on Youtube/ forums on their replacement.

UK Stock ESL/ELV Car Steering Lock Wheel Motor for Mercedes-Benz W204 W207 W212 | eBay

 

[c220cdi2010]

see a thread i started which seems similar to this old revival

mine was down to motor that moves bolt into and out of the steering column

edit1
and that ebay sale is exact thing that was replaced on mine
local garage fixed it, when asked local mb stealer for assistance or guidance, they politely said sod off

edit2
after reading back to the 2017 posts, the codes all indicated was an eis issue, but, they did more self-research and came up with this as the issue

searching is only useful if know right tags/keywords which can cause a thread to be missed.
wish i had seen this one when searching when mine was an issue

 

[Fogey]

Question is, are the £18 - £23 motors available on the Bay of E any more reliable than the originals? . . . . . .

 

[Freeform]

Thought best to add to this long running thread than start another...

My car: 2008 W204 320 cdi, 115k miles
Failed two weeks ago, called AA. The technician got it going and said the steering lock had stuck but it freed on jiggling the steering wheel. At the time I thought it was a foible more than a fault and it reminded me of a similar instance 18 months previous that I got round myself.

Failed again today and this AA technician was familiar with the issue. He released the column adjustment lock, pulled the column outward and then pushed inwards to the dashboard. That freed it, the car started and I have been able to drive home. He said it will become a problem if not attended to. I shall read the whole thread in case someone has posted a permanent diy fix but I expect to book it in to Huxley Mercedes independent in Fleet.

The steering column slide hammer trick is worth a try and I was grateful not to be stranded but it is clearly no solution, and you're unlikely to read this thread until it happens to you!

 

[tifomb]

I've got the same problem again, failed ESL yesterday at Tesco, came back to car, ESL not unlocking, no ignition.

See my post of 21 July last year, this one was repaired in Feb last year and has lasted just over a year and 8k miles.

I'm not a happy chappy ....

 

[MancMike]

That’s crap. My new motor was a cheap one from China.

Still going strong. Fingers crossed, sucks for you. Is it definitely the motor itself?

 

[tifomb]

Yes, the motor again, the bolt is not moving, currently in lock position. I've taken unit out because last year the garage didn't fit it to the steering column, which is now convenient for me and the reason why i didn't chase them.

The repair company apparently gave warranty for ESL/EIS anyway (both have their seal on "warranty void if removed") so it doesn't matter which one now failed. But i suspect they'll say ESL only. Because of the warranty seals the AA guy wouldn't open the ESL to see if he can release any pin etc

 

[ashenfie]

Yes I head that light tapping can free the offending pin within the column. The ELS seams to be the issue and I have seen some online adverts saying they can do same day replacement as the carry spares for the exact issue

 

[tifomb]

Yes I head that light tapping can free the offending pin within the column. The ELS seams to be the issue and I have seen some online adverts saying they can do same day replacement as the carry spares for the exact issue

Didn't work, me before and the AA guy tried this

 

[MancMike]

Failing in the lock position is the worse case scenario as you can’t then remove it from the column.

Mine failed in the open position luckily so I was able to remove it, open it and replace just the motor, so no coding required.

 

[tifomb]

this time mine failed outside of the steering column because wasnt fitted to it last year, bolt just opened and closed.

 

[190]

this time mine failed outside of the steering column because wasnt fitted to it last year, bolt just opened and closed.

Must be very disappointing that it failed when under no mechanical load due to not actually locking the column. You would have thought that would extend it's life.

I have a vague recollection that there are emulators available which substitute for the ELS. I presume they do away with lock and just send a signal back to the ECU to enable the car to start. At least there would be no motor to fail.

 

[tifomb]

Must be very disappointing that it failed when under no mechanical load due to not actually locking the column. You would have thought that would extend it's life.

I have a vague recollection that there are emulators available which substitute for the ELS. I presume they do away with lock and just send a signal back to the ECU to enable the car to start. At least there would be no motor to fail.

It's very disappointing that the refurbished unit has failed, what kind of "higher than original" quality is it? I paid nearly £400 last year plus the cost of the unit and fitting. All 3 from separate places.

I'm thinking they didn't replace the motor, just reprogrammed the unit for my car so its the original motor thats failed. Though they said they did.

 

[MancMike]

If it’s outside of the column, just buy a new motor for £15 on eBay and replace it yourself. That’s what I did.

I think you’re right, they fitted a working 2nd hand unit with the original motor in it.

 

[tifomb]

If it’s outside of the column, just buy a new motor for £15 on eBay and replace it yourself. That’s what I did.

I think you’re right, they fitted a working 2nd hand unit with the original motor in it.

I'm not confident enough (yet) to open and change the motor. It looks easy on youtube but then nothing is easy first time.

Plus if i'm sending ESL to the repair company the EIS also needs to be taken out by removing the steering wheel and I'm also not confident enough (yet) to do that. Can't find anybody to do it.

I supplied the replacement ESL which i got from a Merc scrap yard in Oldham from a 2010 car. They repair company had to reprogram this for my car but were also meant to replace the motor, which seems unlikely now.

The ESL and EIS has their warranty seal so my problem is, same as AA guy wouldn't do it, if I open the unit and can't get it working they won't repair it within warranty.

 

[MancMike]

If you buy a brand new motor, and replace the failed one in the ESL, there's basically zero chance it won't work.

It's daunting, but I managed it. I'll see if I can find the thread I wrote about it, it's got pictures and info that might prove useful if you do want to do it yourself.

 

[tifomb]

If you buy a brand new motor, and replace the failed one in the ESL, there's basically zero chance it won't work.

Because i've got warranty for the repair from last year, with me it's the worry that if I don't replace the motor properly then the company will say their seal is broken and not repair it again, for free. This is why the AA guy wouldn't open it.

It's daunting, but I managed it. I'll see if I can find the thread I wrote about it, it's got pictures and info that might prove useful if you do want to do it yourself.

That might be helpful just in case, thanks.