[Fschmieder]

Hello, I am a newbie to this site and any help would be appreciated. I replaced the battery on my 2001 E320 this past week and of course the radio will not work until I put in the security code. Unfortunately The head unit was replaced before I owned the car while it was under warranty and the radio's serial number was never updated in the repair records. I am being told by Mercedes that the only way to get the new code is to bring it into the shop and they will remove the radio and get me the new code. (All for a fee of course.) Honestly I cant afford to take a half a day off from work to get my radio fixed. I looked to see if I could get the serial number of the radio myself but although mechanically inclined I cant figure out how to get the radio out to accomplish this task. Can anyone give me any suggestions?

 

[Matt L]

Welcome to the forum. Please take a moment to complete your user profile ("User CP" link) with your location and vehicle information.

The dealer may indeed remove your radio without charging you anything, especially if you have a prior relationship. If not, you can simply remove it yourself and take it in to the counter. I'm pretty sure that none of them charge you to find the code for a radio that is already out of the car. You can get the keys to remove the radio at the dealer, Ebay, Crutchfield and many other places, and it is so easy to pull and replace that you could easily yank it out in the dealer's parking lot.

 

[Fschmieder]

Thanks Matt. I will look for the keys.

 

[raymond-]

f-
if you're in a hurry, you may be able to MacGyver your own keys

then, if you have radio serial # in hand, try this before you head to the dealer

www.radio-code.lt

 

[fabbrisd1]

the fact is if the radio was indeed replaced under warranty, it was the dealer's obligation at that time to both update the MBUSA service recordss on the car to reflect the proper head unit serial #, and update the owner's manual pack with the new radio code.

If it's the same dealer that you are talking to know, you should jam them up on this one if they did the replacement.

If you have to go the longer route, I don't know your area, but Harbor Freight has a less than $5 kit that has radio keys, and other dash/instrument removal tools in case you ever need them:

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

With the serial# in hand, you still might have to smooze the dealer a bit.

Good luck !

 

[torchtamer57]

I have a 1998 sl500, the dealer gave me the code but I do not know how to enter it,ie, does the radio have to be on or off,does the car have to be running do you have to press and hold the keys or any other keys, can anyone help. Thanks,Torchtamer57

 

[pvel]

fschmieder: in my e320 you have to turn the radio on. it then says 'code' in the display. you then enter the code. paul

 

[torchtamer57]

Thanks, I should have been a little more thorough. Myradio when turned on says wait on the face. What do you do to clear it?

 

[Matt L]

Sorry to hear it, Torch. You can only clear the "wait" state by waiting, with the power on.

 

[torchtamer57]

Thanks Matt, Like I said in my intro, I did not get a owners manual and just purchased one on E-bay awaiting its arrival. So how long usually do you have to leave the radio on before the wait signal clears? When it does clear what does the display say and is it just regular radio settings or can I enter the radio code?which also brings to question is their a sequence to entering the code ?