My only smart key was stolen from my floormat last night. (stupidly left it there and forgot after working on my car; no clue why the person only took the key) Called dealer and asked what I needed to get a replacement and was told the car needed to be physically identified with VIN at dealer before a key could be made. Told him that it was my only key and unless it could be towed that MB would have to send out a service rep to my home to do the verification for $50 of course.

Hoofed it to the dealer with title in hand and ordered a replacement and told parts guy to delete old key since I'm concerned the thief will return tonight with larger ambitions..

Anyhow my questions are:

1. When is the stolen key de-activated? When the new one is made overnight or when the guy arrives tomorrow with my new key and inspects my car?

2. When did these new key replacement procedures go into effect? In the past I had to show proof of registration and my driver license. You'd think that the title with the VIN clearly printed would suffice.

Do these charges look reasonable?

qty1 212-766-41-06-9999 KEY $226.80
212-760-19-06 Master Key $5.67
SERVICE CHARGE $50.00

Grand Total w/tax $305.78


Thanks for any advice!

__________________
-Paul-
'01 E430, Sport 72,000 mi
'98 C280, 126,500 mi

Guessing the service fee is for a tech to appear with a laptop and disable the orig key using SDS. Its got to be deleted from the ECu's memory somehow; its not like its constantly communicating to MB Hqtrs and can be turned off online with a key stroke......

The replacement key procedures have been in effect for probably 10 years.

The cost looks about right to me. I've paid more......

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

shop around, Paul. dealers have a little latitude to charge a bit more/less than
the other. dealer cost is about < 1/2 that. small handful of us were lucky
enough couple of yrs ago to get the chrome Smartkey for $60. then MB found
out what we were doing and put the kabosh on the whole group deal thing,
then jacked up the price, and informed the dealers not to allow us to purchase
in such fashion anymore.

i've seen a few folks report low $200s so it's worth calling around to the
different dealers.

__________________
-- raymond~
47º 34'N 122º 18'W

Actually the service fee was for roadside assistance to come out and physically verify the VIN on the car. He said it was a brand new security procedure just implemented (at least here in Houston) to prevent theft.

In the past when I ordered a replacement, all I had to show was proof of ownership and my driver's license at the parts counter. Now you need to bring the original title to order the key and then the dealers want to physically see the car whether it's brought to them or if they have to send out a roadside tech to view it. The guy showed up earlier, wrote down the VIN, took my signature and handed me the key. We had a long talk and he was telling me how this new policy is going to be a nightmare for everyone involved.

Thanks for the advice Raymond. In the future I'll definitely shop around for a better price. In fact I'll probably do that soon to get a spare so I don't have to go through this mess again.

__________________
-Paul-
'01 E430, Sport 72,000 mi
'98 C280, 126,500 mi

Now you've got to get to the dealer and have the other key disabled. Be ready to cough up another $150.

My new chrome key was about $160.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Yeah, that's what the service manager at my local dealer told me. Ugh!

__________________
-Paul-
'01 E430, Sport 72,000 mi
'98 C280, 126,500 mi

MB put out a vary stringent bulletin about keys, making the parts guy certify ownership. I know everyone very well at my local dealership, the car was in for sevice and he still took a copy of my registration.
The Smart keys can be ordered as an additional which will just add it, or a replacement which will void the first one. They also can remove the lost key with the shop computer but it is permanent and cant be undone.

Okay I have a R230, I received a key low battery light, I changed both key's batteries, now the smart start will not work anymore. The doors open, and the keys when inserted will start the car. Does anyone have a solution?

The key probably needs resynced with the car.

For the older systems, pressing the unlock button on the key twice followed by inserting key in the ignition and turning to run worked. This confirmed that the remote trying to unlock the car actually belonged to the car.

There should be something in the owner manual.

Also, even with a bad battery, the key will start the car as it is a separate system from remote functions..

( I pressed the unlock button on the smart key twice followed by inserting the smart key in the ignition and turning to run)
I tried this several times but I am still getting the "no key detected message" when I press the smart go button. The manual states hold the lock and unlock button down at the same time ( Simultaneously) for 6 seconds this will return the car to factory settings. I tried this several times and it still do not work.
The keys worked fine before I change the batteries.
Any more suggestions?