I'm going to add this to the stickies list.... :thumbsup:

 

If you're going to do that, maybe I can take a photo tonight of the old assembly to show a little more detail...

All done....thanks

jeff

 

nice!

 

What did you end up paying for a new cylinder? My son and I just removed the assembly from my wifes Crossfire. Thanks for the info...It helped the pain!

 

I honestly don't remember, but if you actually read the post, it's in there<LOL>!!1

jeff

 

Does anybody know if the ignition unit shown in the picture is similar to a 1997 e420?

 

good ! must bookmarked

 

Help - Chrysler Crossfire Victim

Hello dear Mercedes (lucky) owners...

Can anyone just answer a quick question for me if you know please? I have searched everywhere on the internet with no avail. I cannot find any reference to the crossfire's Ignition set: (Ignition lock housing & ignition lock cover). The only thing I know is that it is a mercedes part, AND it looks exactly like the one on the picture attached to this thread! Can anyone point me in the right direction. I'm about to purchase this part from auto-parts-warehouse, but I just want to find out if you guys know if it is the same part as on my Chrysler Crossfire??:surrender:

Thank you so MUCH for anyone that even attempts on giving me a kind hand!:thumbsup:

 

Jeff - thanks for the instructions, I'm in the same exact situation , I'm gonna give it a go tomorow but need some further advice. I was wondering why u did not just replace the ignition lock cylinder for 36 - 60 USD, instead of entire housing with the lock cover? I presume this part is not covered under warranty if over 150k miles.

 

I responded to his PM but decided others might need to know the answer to his question too. The reason I replaced the entire assembly was that I CUT the steering lock out to gain access to the cylinder. It is the only way if you can't turn the cylinder anymore.

Cutting the lock out is easier then it sounds. Basically, you are just grinding down a pin/ball that sticks through the assembly....once grinded down, it slips right off!

jeff

 

Jeff,

Did you have any indications that the ignition tumbler was going bad? We are currently experiencing a delicate balancing act of trying to get the key to easily turn without moving the steering wheel back and forth. The steering wheel seems to have to lock into position before the key will turn. Do you think this is a sign it is going bad?

 

I recently replaced my lock assembly. I could still turn my key but it had a sticky spot at one point and I thought it would be a good time to change it. After I got the old assembly out I pulled the lock cylinder off the steering lock and it was fine. All the tumblers fully retracted. The hard spot was in the steering lock itself.

 

The steering lock is where I think we are having the same problem. We have to play around with the steering wheel at times to get the ignition to turn. The steering wheel has to pretty much lock before the ignition will turn and even then the wheel has to be inched left or right to get it to turn.

Do you know if there are any instructions out there on how to remove and replace? Is it hard to remove the lock cylinder? I am clueless when it comes to this kind of work. Please help...thanks!

 

I used Jeff Kushner's method as in this thread. Is it hard to do? It's a pain to remove the paneling to get at it but not so terribly hard. The biggest hang-up is twisting the lock assembly out of the tube on the steering column. There's just not an awful lot of room in there. If you have not done much mechanical work in the past, you may want to find an independent Mercedes mechanic and have him do the work.

 

Jeff's method is if your ignition will not turn and my ignition is still turning. I don't really need to grind anything out. Do you know how the ignition switch comes out if it is still turning?

 

If you are able to turn your key to position 2 you just push in the plunger that Jeff had to grind. Otherwise his instructions are a big help.

 

When you order a new lock/barrel/cylinder/whatever does it come with new keys? If so what type of keys do they supply, and are they cut the same as the original or would I still need the old key to open the boot manually?

Thanks
Colin

 

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r170-slk-class/1660397-how-do-i-exchange-ignition-key.html
Above is link to my post.

The dealer replaced my lock barrel, and steering lock. They included a key that fit my doors etc., like the original key. My dealer would not sell the ignition parts due to security concerns.

Here is an excerpt from the link above.:
When I took my car to the dealer, I spoke with the mechanic. He agreed that the key cylinder/barrel/tumbler probably caused my problem. He confirmed that the special tool does slide around the cylinder, twists through several positions to remove the cylinder. After he removed the cylinder, he found that its housing/the steering loc was damaged by metal fragments. So, he replaced the tumbler ($67.20) and steering loc ($154.07); labor ($408).

I could not find anyone who would sell the lock barrel with a key matched to my original key.

 

Hi guys,

I'm glad to hear that this inst sheet has been helping you guys. To the question about the new key, NO, when you buy the cylinder from your dealer, he will need to see your title, registration and ID then will have the new cylinder key-matched to your car!

Also, if you can still turn your key, replace the cylinder while you still have a choice! To replace just the cylinder takes about 10 seconds verses 3 hours!

Good luck guys,

jeff

 

I just did mine yesterday. The worst happened: the key suddenly would not turn. No advance warning, except a single instance of the key being a little sticky when turning it. Didn't seem noticeable enough to look it up.
Bad news! I took the assembly out and decided to avoid replacing the entire thing if possible.

I used a Dremel-type tool with a couple of cutoff wheels to detach the black shield over the lock cylinder as seen in photo--I had already begun cutting at the base. Once that detached, there was access to the cylinder and tumblers. It still provided no way to turn and release it, so used a drill down the center of the keyway. Moved to a larger bit until I could start to extract the tumbler wafers with needlenose pliers.

While the assembly looks damaged in the photo, it's cosmetic only.
Now I'll find a new cylinder/key and reinstall. The old black cylindrical housing that was cut off will be refitted with some double-sided foam tape. It won't be as impervious to theft, but will still be very hard to access. And no thief will know that.

Meanwhile, I reassembled everything. I use the key for its transponder, but start the car with a flat head screwdriver. My other car is broken, so I'm using this as a daily driver. It's ugly, but should only be couple of days until the new cylinder arrives.

 

Crank the Wheel to the Right!

My wife has a 2003 SLK230. Her ignition is increasingly getting hard to turn the ignition. In fact, it will only turn if you crank the wheel all the way to the right until the steering column engages the ignition mechanism allowing the ignition to turn freely. Is this normal or is there an adjustment that can be made to free the ignition mechanism?

 

After having had the assembly apart, I would doubt the steering lock is the problem--it is a fairly simple mechanism. Rather, it's the lock cylinder itself, which is historically weak and prone to failure. I spent hours yesterday researching this. If there is ANY resistance turning the key at all, assume it's failing.

There's a simple way to remove the cylinder itself as long as the key still turns. Once it stops turning, you are in a world of trouble, as is evidenced by what I went through yesterday.

By the way, I ordered a new cylinder with a key on Ebay for $22 shipped. I will evaluate and report in a few days. Note: the key is the coded blade only, NOT with the fob or transponder. I will continue using the existing fob/transponder but with an ignition key added. Not ideal, but considering the $ difference, I'll endure an extra key for a while.

 

Pretty much finished.
The new key cylinder is OEM Mercedes, and came with a regular key.
I installed it in about 20 seconds--just insert and turn.
The RFID chip is a challenge. It has to be very close to the receiver to work.
I disassembled the key fob enough to remove the RFID chip, then snapped it back together.
I will make a hole or slot in the black plastic bezel by the RFID receiver and glue the chip in.
I have temporarily glued and taped the rfid chip to the new key, and it works great.
Total cost was $22, but a lot of trial and error. Now I will look for some place that will duplicate the Mercedes key. The local Ace hardware says they can do it, but need a blank.

 

Just did this on my car ...

I had this problem for a while and kinda ignored it for a few month , but it started to get worse and when I did some research I new that my "turning key" days are numbered. I ordered the locking cylinder through the mercedes diller with the original key and it turned out to be cheeper then if I were to do it online. They delivered it next day too.
Removing the locking cylinder was easy once key was turned to position one. I was able to just turn it 90 degrees by hand without any special tool. The trick was to try to turn it while slightly jiggling the key around #1 position.
Unfortunately , after I put the brand new lock cylinder and pulled out the key it stopped to turn on me at all. This is where real trouble started... I had to replace the ignition housing without getting it to turn to #1 position.

I was following various links including this post and pdf writeup with pictures in post 189:
Sticky Ignition Key Fix!! - Page 10 - CrossfireForum.org
I used a grind stone with dremel to cut down the pin and pull out the housing as recommended here. When I took out the ignition housing I had my new lock cylinder still inside , so I needed to take it out somehow. Since I had new housing already I just used the method described here http://www.justanswer.com/mercedes/4xmwy-mercedes-benz-slk-230-unlock-steering-lock.html and cut the housing in two pieces. The key turned right away and I pulled out the cylinder and the cup. When I installed the new housing there was a bit of a scare when I tried to start the car first time. It would turn and then shut down with "start error". This was fixed with just locking and unlocking the car using remote. The engine started right away on the second time.

 

I've been there too and I solved the issue by taking the car to the dealer and then he replaced all necessary parts. Around 200 euros for the job... I don't recall exactly as it's been a while...

 

I'm not sure where to put this - but this seemed like a good spot.
Is this our RFID>ECU "scanner"? Does this sit on the column somewhere?
Mercedes SLK 320 R170 ECU Keyfob AND Immobiliser BOX | eBay

 

steering lock pin

Jeff, how did you get access to steering lock pin? It looks like it is behind the steering wheel.

 

If you are reading this, you are at a bad place, a very bad place. If you are one of the lucky ones and can turn your key to the first position, consider yourself very lucky and get your butt to the dealer, shell out your 140 bucks and replace the lock tumbler/cylinder before you get in worse.

For those that are here (can't turn the key at all), I'm going to teach you what I learned so you won't have to reinvent the wheel. First, before you go any further are you SURE that you can't get that key to turn just one more time? Really sure? Have you tried touching the key with a sander or other vibrating machine? Some guys have a lot of luck with that...go ahead, steal your wife's or GF toy, it's for a good cause...yes, it will be so easy to just change the cylinder if you can turn it to the 1st position....10 minutes vs 4 hours.

If you're still here you're as screwed as I was...first things first...go to the dealer and order your keyed tumbler/cylinder...it'll take a couple days to get so you can get the other work done while you wait...next, check out auto-parts-warehouse for a new ignition lock cover(pn#w0133-1716605) and the Ignition lock housing(pn#w0133-1607413). Both will run about 117 bucks with free shipping. Cheapest place I could find for genuine parts...I didn't want any piece of crap that would be different...I wanted exact parts. Trust me, call the dealer for the cost of those two parts<ROTFLMAO>. After you regain your composure we'll move on......

OK, basically, we're going to remove the entire ignition/steeringlock assembly and replace it all with the new parts that you just ordered. I just finished mine and you can't even tell that anything was ever done to it. Relax, the only special tool that you'll need is a dremal tool with a pointed or cone-shaped grinding stone...you can get by with a 1/4" drill but it would be really clumsey to use right next to finished, exposed parts that you don't want to scratch.

Gather a selection of screwdrivers, 10mm wrench, a couple of nut drivers 9small 14" or 5-6 mm?) and remember to look through everything before you do it..this is neither complicated or difficult but remember that you don't want to break anything so take your time.

Remove the left side vent...I use a jewelers screwdriver to pry out one side then the other...lay it on the passenger floor, nect remove the housing for it and the headlight switch..it's one piece that comes out with a single screw to the top of the housing. Also, remove the transponder from the panel, I used a small plastic wedge to pry it off of the ignition lock. Once you use a small screwdriver to pull the rubber "flange" out, it the transponder will pop right off...careful, it's connected by a coaxial cable so gently let it hang, it has 6-8 inches of play in the cable.

Next, loosen and remove all of the screws securing the lower instrument panel..there's a few of them so get them all, including the one way up in the little hole on the righthand side on the panel in the foam bolster. Also remove the center screw securing the under-steering column cover and take it out. Don't worry about the diagnostics point or the hood release..we'll get those in a minute. Gently lower the lower panel and now get to the cpu tie-in and the hood release...I removed the cable from the hood release since it was easier for me to do it. After you remove the two screws for the diagnostics connector, lower the connection and slide the back of it with the provided grooves, the back of the cover slides about an inch, letting you now remove the electrical plug, pull it through the panel and take the panel out of the car...you don't want to break it while you work.

Okay, now remove the gear engagment cable (arrow #2) by squeezing the two prongs together and pulling the piece out from the ignition housing, next is the small two pin key-in-ignition warning buzzer connector(arrow #1). Next, get your dremal tool and grind down the locking pin on the steering lock. It's about 1/8" thick pin of very shiny metal, but it's not case-hardened and will be nice and flat in about 2 minutes( see the circle in the attached picture). You need to be able to slide the entire assembly out and once you look at it, you'll understand what I mean. OK, now get that 10mm wrench and loosen the clamp and remove the bolt....now gently rotate the assembly and remove it.

Ta Da, now if you try your key, it will probably turn to the first position...........just kidding, mine didn't either.....once you get your parts, lube up the new cylinder, slide it in and turn it to position one, slide the new black cap on and you'll see how the pin that you grounded down pops out into place when you remove the key. You will have to relocate the "key in ignition" buzzer to the new lock housing but first you have to remove it. Careful here, I used a piece of very strong and thin spring metal (you could use a paperclip) with a small L bent into the end of it to get behind the extended button in my old housing so I could slide the switch up and out...don't force it, look at the picture and you'll see how the switches pops into the column lock arm....see on your new one how depressing the lock will push out the button? Thats what you have to make happen with the paperclip. The hardest part of reassembly was gently prying on the upper panel to get the assembly to rotate into position while the key (that came with the new cylinder) was in the 1st position so the pop-out pin would retract and therefore slide onto the steering column. Once you have it into place properly, just reassemble and you're done.....

Couple of tips.... remove the neg cable to the battery before you begin(you will have to have your radio code handy when you reconnect it)

You will have your BAS/ESP lights on when you are done, turn off the car, turn the steering wheel full lock to lock...then restart your car...lights all gone and the sensors recalibrated.(that was a scary one not to know going into it, thought I'd broken something)

OK, not that big a deal....260 bucks and the car looks and acts like new...of course I could have paid a dealer the 1600 that he would have charged me...MINIMUM!!

Your choice?

This is the very FIRST thing that has broken on this car in the three years that I've owned it other then a couple warranty items when I first bought it.....it's been extremely reliable and even this was my own fault since i used to keep 20 keys hanging on my ring....I knew it when it started to ruin the ignition but it was too late...that was two years ago and it finally gave up the ghost....not too shabby if you ask me....

Jeff

Thank you so much for this. what kinda lube do you you use?hahhah no seriously