The electronic steering lock mechanism on these vehicles appear to fail with alarming frequency. If the failure was to occur any distance from a dealer, a motorist would be stranded, perhaps in a dangerous situation. I was lucky - the failure occurred in my home town, but the nearest dealer is 1 hours away - and they are the only ones who can fix it. This situation is dangerous and the failure to address it (by Mercedes Benz) is irresponsible.

There are several potential fixes on the internet, but most still require to have the part programmed. Mercedes is making a killing off their customers. Average cost $1600.00 to $2000.00 on a well known issue. The NHTSA has been trying to get Mercedes to issue a recall. Mercedes says it is not a safety issue?

Without know all of this prior to the failure, I had the car towed to a private shop. They can't even buy the Electronic Steering Lock. It is a Mercedes only / Mercedes installed and programmed part... BS.