E-320 question
 

Hi all,

I've been reading posts on this great site for a couple of weeks and gained some important info, thanks.
I am now a new member and also a happy owner of a 98-E320. However, I have a question/observation that I hope any 210 owner can help me with:

- The E-320 seems to have all the gadgets from power everything to brake, oil, light sensor etc.. Somehow I never see a warning about the door ajar or door open. I can practically drive with my door half way closed or completely opened

Could my door ajar sensor be broken? Could it be that Mercedes E-320 doesn't have this feature?

Thanks in advance

Jeffrey P

Nope, there are no "door open" sensors, or bells or whistles on Mercedes-Benz cars. I have been told that M.B. engineers consider them just plain tacky and useless.

At least in Euro models, when you lock you car, all locks will lower fully when all doors are properly closed. If a door is ajar, the lock will refuse to lower.

This is about the only way to tell if a M.B. car door is not properly closed.

Oh, wait, also the dome light refuses to go off unless all doors are properly closed.

similar to first post - I was very surprised when I bought my wagon 5 years ago that the are no child proof door locks on the back doors. I was told the reason was MB wants everone to have the option of opening the door in the event of an emergency.

1. If you can't tell that a door is open either through it banging in the wind or the dome light being on, then the car is not the problem.

2. I taught my daughter to keep her seatbelt on, stay in her booster seat at all times, not to wind the window down (don't need the window lock out switch) and not to open her door while we're driving. It's not a police car, and she's not a prisoner. In the Subie and Mazda, we have "child lock out" switches, and we don't use them.

My daughter slams the door HARD because she believes they are so heavy that she won't close them effectively. Fortunately the German cars in our family (including the Bug) can take it.

I worry if and when she does that in her friends' cars! :eek:

Thanks for your insightful response Mr. A. Rosich

To: Mr. Shellenberb

I am new here but I don't appreciate your response #1. It could be daytime and the little dome light is not very visible. The child/even adult in the back may not have the strength to close the door totally. Before you realize it, you could be already traveling a few miles. I don't believe you can tell all adults to put their seat belts on in the back seat either.
Why would the door ajar sensor feature be a hassle (to me it's an important safety feature) when everything else which maybe much less important has one(in a Mercedes)? Thanks to Mr. Rosich, now I know there isn't one.
Not trying to stir any problem, I just want you to see other's point of view.

Regards,

Didn't mean to sound rude, honestly. Just that it's not a feature to replace diligence. My own child has a difficult time closing the stiff MB doors, and so I ensure that all doors are closed prior to "take-off."

Children ride in the back, and under 100lbs ride in booster seats or other appropriate child seats.

Even with adults getting into my car, I am the last to board. I make sure that everyone made their way in, and has no trouble closing their door or putting on their seatbelt. Sometimes elderly people have trouble stretching the belt around themselves and finding the latch, so I may need to lend a hand. Once everyone is in/secure/happy, then I hop in, start the car, and we're off. It sounds complicated, but only takes a few extra seconds. It also gives me the chance to get one more out-the-car eye-ball behind the car as I have to back out across the sidewalk when coming out the garage.

As an aside, all the dash functions and the various warning lights are covered with clarity in the owner's manual. Some of the warning lights are a little cryptic, so that's the best place to find the info.

You're very welcome Mr. Jeffrey P.

In regard to Mr. dtf comment about child safety locks on the back doors of M.B.s:

Hmmm.... It definitely has te be a legal issue on the U.S. market, because ALL of Mercedes-Benz cars I have owned and seen around here (most of them are Euro versions) have rear child-safety door locks.

They are actually kind of ackward to engage, not as easy as say engaging the childsafety locks on a Japanese car where you just flip a leveler. In the Mercs you have to stick a pen or something similar through a small hole to move a miniature hatch and engage the lock.

This very small hole is located just above the door lock mechanism, and I have seen it here in all types of M.B.s, W123/124/126/201/140/220/etc,etc,etc...

Thanks for the tip on the safety locks. It wouldn't be the first time a service advisor didn't know what he was talking about. I'll look on my car and see if I have it and send out a reply. I hope I do as my 3 year old girl's nickname is 'wild thing' and is capable of almost anything.

I am supprized that your 99 E300 does not have child proof door locks. My 98 E320 has child proof door locks on the back doors. They are activated by the switch located between the left side window switches on the center console. Double check your owners manual to verify if you have child proof door locks.

On my C230, that switch is to lock out the rear window switches. Are you sure it disables the inside door handles?

It seems that Mr. A. Rosich is right. I have a small oblong hole right above the rear door latch that I can see a small mechanism. This must be the child proof lock. There is no mention of child proof locks in my owners manual. I think the button on the center console controls windows only. My kids never have the option of having their windows powered but they can open the door so I would think it only affects the windows.

Yes, that oblong hole that you are referring to is the child safety lock for the inside handle. If you introduce a sharp pointy object (like a pen) and move the miniature latch visible in the hole in the oppossite direction you should be able to deactivate the inside door opener.

As in any other car, you will be only able to open the rear doors from the outside, regardless of the position of the lock mechanism.

Funny tha manual does not mention it, as it does in the manual on my cars. But again, my cars are Euro versions.

Oh, the window safety switch on the front ONLY blocks the operation of the rear power windows, it does not desable the door openers. One interesting detail: if you turn on the child safety window lock with the headlights on, the lights on the rear door window switches will go off (clearly stating that the rear windows have been disabled).

Perhaps I should read the owners manual. I stand corrected, the switch between the window switches is to lock out the rear windows.

The slot to enable the rear child safety door locks is similar to my Honda Accord except that Honda provides a lever to actuate the child safety door lock where with Mercedes you must use a tool to actuate the child safety door lock. Mercedes method does have one advantage: the child can't deactivate the safety door lock themselves. When my kids were small they figured out that by sliding the small lever that they could open the door themselves and they would on occasion slide the lever as they were getting into the car. Mercedes method does have one disadvantage: they do not mention the child safety door lock in the manual.