Guys,

Just got up off the floor at the dealership. The retainer on my key broke and allowed the sliding insert to come out and leave the plastic remote part to drop off from the rest of the keys. It's also been acting up and not opening the doors every time despite new batteries so I said: "heck, it's 10 years old, I'll just buy another one".

Well, $154, my driver's license and registration later, I have a new one on order. The girl at the parts counter was very enthusiastic about saying that "The part was superseeded by a new number and it's the cool new chrome one..."

Maybe I should take a picture of it and frame it when it comes in... Moral of the story is: Be carefull with those danged expensive keys!

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Did this a few weeks ago, was $148, and ordered Sat, picked up Thursday thing.

__________________
2000 C230 Kompressor "Frosty"

2007 PT Cruiser
2001 VW TDI Beetle
1999 Landrover Discovery II
1971 Corvette

Gone: 97 Cabrio, 83 240D, 93 VW Eurovan, 95 Volvo 850, 93 Chevy Astro Van, 77 VW Bus, 99 VW Jetta, 74 VW Bus

Yeah thats what they cost now, they wanted $175 for one for an S320.

Don't lose them!

__________________
2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I have removed all but the house keys, I had one that did the same thing during warranty. You can always get one of those E- bay remotes and swap housing, pull out the board (like you are changing the batteries) and put into other housing. The chrome one is nicer!

Only crappy thing about the new key style is that they don't have the metal key portion for the older models (like my 1998). You only get the IR option of unlocking. The new key is shorter, and hence the metal key cannot be cut from the shorter stock.

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Dang, reckon' you're out of luck if the remote battery dies...

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

They are cheaper somewheres else, but I cannot remember where.


There is a battery inside the remote that can be replaced, and its easy to do.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Yeah, I replaced the battery(s) and it didn't help the range of the remote. My main gripe is that the remote part slides off the silver "key" every time I pull it out of my pocket...

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

On some of the smart keys, you have to bend the little metal contacts that slip into the fob part, so they will make contack with the fob, and operate the remote.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

This isn't true in the UK - could be a USA dealer being lazy, but I have an old key and a new key, and both have the metal insert. The new key has a shorter insert which means its a bit tricky to lock the boot, but its definitely there.


To the OP - do you still have the old key? They can be repaired, your fault is most likely cracking on the PCB around the 3 switches. Pull it to bits and go over the track with a soldering iron. I'll eat my trousers if that doesn't fix it.

Wow. Would you eat my skirt too ?

__________________
2007 C 230 Sport.

That depends on how its presented to me.

My new key is in. When I pick it up and make sure it works, I'll goof around with the old one and see if I can improve it's performance.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Be happy, they are much cheaper now than they used to be......

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

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

Same thing happened to me. After I got sick of the plastic key falling off of the metal key (and occaisionally on the ground) I just left it seperate. So now I have my key ring and my car key seperate in my pocket. This system seems to work fine.

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra