A friend of mine at work just bought a 2002 E320. He asked me if the battery on the key goes dead will the car still run once he uses the metal key to get in and puts the key in the ignition. Doesn't the car continuously looks for a reponse code from they key to make sure it is the right one? Also he doesn't think that the dash is real leather. Is it?

1. Tell him to read the owner's manual, front to back, back to front, and then one more time for luck. It's all explained in there about how the keys work. The SmartKey needs no internal power to start the car. Look at the flat key. No battery.

2. No real leather on the dash, unless it's been changed since 1998. I think the W211 might have some, and the R230 has tons.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

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The batteries in the smartkey is only for the remote/central locking/unlocking feature and the convenience feature. As long as the car battery is OK, it will work fine.
Gilly
ps John S., I don't believe the 2002 has the "flat" key any longer.

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Really? I think it's a GREAT feature. Fits nice in my wallet, and provides peace of mind.

The newer SmartKey is a little smaller, but not enough to carry a spare in your wallet.

Too bad...

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

Hi all: i've got a 98 E320 that has refused to start since yesterday. i bought the car brand new, and it's still on its first oem battery. Today, there was not a hint of power at all from the battery. I had driven it out of the garage after a 12 day hiatus, and the outside temperature was reaching 90 degrees. I placed the E320 under the tree to cool it down, and washed it for 2 hours. Afterwards, when i try to start it, there was barely any indication of power from the instruments. The car cranked once.. or attempted to crank once.. and dies.

I took out the backseat cushion today, took a look at the battery, and found there's virtually no water at all inside. I filled up all six cells with water and then tried jumping directly into the dead battery... No go at all. When the jumping cables are connected, i get the instrument lighting, and all the windows and door locks work. But when i crank it, all i hear is a loud and sudden "Click", as if the engine attempted to crank.. but got hold back at the last minute by some invisible hand. Just one sound, and then nothing.

i'm wondering if i should continue to charge the dead battery over night with the jumping cable connected to my other car, and hopefully get the car to start tomorrow. But i'm also worried if my problem might be more than just a dead battery, since the car should have started with of without a good battery, as long as i have the jumping cable connected to a good battery in a running car.

any ideas? i'm thinking that i should just have AAA come tomorrow and tow my car to the dealer. Sigh!!

Maruzo,

Is your car still under the original 4 year/50,000 mile warranty? If so, call the Mercedes toll free road side assitance number. The battery should be replaced for free since that is covered under the factory warranty with no pro-ration.

Last November my 1998 E320 wouldn't start after I made a quick trip into a grocery store. It had almost a year left on the warranty and the road side assitance MB tech brought a new battery along. It was replaced on the spot with no charge. I was pleasantly surprised.

Hi Bob:

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, mine has already gone out of warranty by about 6mth/ 10,000 miles. On my next benz i'll remember to purchase the extended warranty. hehee. On another note, i did call the AAA this morning, and the tow guy came in, heard my sob story about the failed charging, and told me that the reason my jump starting didn't work was because the cars are too "NEW". The computers inside each car sees each other when i connected the jump cables, and refuses to jump each other. (no puns intended. ) Apparently this is a safety precaution built inside these newer cars (mine is a 98 E320 and a 2002 Lexus SUV ) that forbids one car from receiving jump start from another.

Another reason might just be that my suv didn't have enough juice to start that massive Mercedes battery.

who knows? i was completely flabberghasted when i heard his take on the situation. But sure enough, he connected my mb battery to his chevy pickup, and the car fires up at first attempt!

hehee. i'm gonna drive it to work now. i'll get the battery checked on the way over, to make sure it still got some life left in it.