Mermaid:
This is, I understand, fairly common to 300E cars. I used to be fairly frustrated, expecting the car to start with just a quick tap of the key. I discovered in the owners manual that the correct way to start the car is to hold the key on the start position until the engine has thoroughly started, and then letting go of the key. No problems since. Hope this helps.

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver