W210 'Display Defective' Fix
 

Believe it or not, the washer bottle level sensor or coolant level sensor will cause a 'display defective' message on the W210. They are wired in series and work on a voltage coded system read by the instrument cluster. If the voltages are not within its parameters it displays this message "DISPLAY DEFECTIVE" - it is more commonplace to find the washer level sensor at fault.

HTH...:)

It seems that all CAN bus cars have those kinds of issues. Battery voltage is an issue for the W210. Less than about 12v and electrical 'gremlins' begin to appear.

I don't think the W210 cars got the Can bus until 1998.

My brother has been driving his 2002 E320 for almost 10 months now...close to 13k miles....no issues or problems at all other than a couple ESP/ABS error alerts that went away the next time he started the car, likely needs a new brake light switch.

They seem to be quite reliable cars. My dad has had a 2001 for about 2 months now...no issues.

From a working-on-them perspective....I actually prefer the W210 to the W123.

I'm on my second E430. The first one was totaled by the insurance company because of a very minor accident.

They have been the most trouble free Mercedes I've ever owned.

Good to know, thanks for the info.
My 97 diesel is can bus. I can access all the powertrain, body and chassis trouble codes through the climate control unit without any special tools. It makes diagnostics a breeze.

I've seen references to CAN bus on MB models starting in 1992 but not sure when it was implemented on E-Class.

Yeah, you're right. Turns out, it looks like all W210s have a CanBUS

The W124 has a hydraulic box and no box ECU. It doesn't have CanBUS

To clarify the CAN bus confusion, MB has been using CAN networking on the engine since the early 90's. The interior CAN was introduced in 1998. They run at different speeds and use the EIS as a gateway to allow information to be used by both systems.

I just got this warning after accidentally running the battery down by leaving the lights on. I would be surprised if the sensor actually failed at the same time but I can't seem to get the warning to quit. I may need to disconnect the battery for a while to reset something.

Got my new washer sensor today and swapped in. "Display Defective" warning gone! $20!

All cars from the mid nineties with concentrated electronic controllers require a good battery.
Even the W202 Class was stipulated with a DIN85L +
W210's with DIN95L +

Even the W124's with their cruder KE injection system should not use a battery under DIN66