Hello All,

Just bought the Crossfire 12/2015 and am having what appears to be a common problem. Turning the ignition key and I have to play with it and the steering wheel at the same time. I'm hoping to get a lot of feedback here as I've seen fixes that are fuse related to taking out the pin in the housing. A local mechanic just replaced the fuel pump relay, says he can't fix the key issue but says to take it to a MB dealer. Called the MB dealer and they won't work on it, says to call Chrysler. They quoted the tumbler at $287, housing at $545 and of course a new key at $207.85. When I turn the key it gets "stopped" so I'm guessing it's that pin. If I was at home I'd do this myself, but I'm in Clearwater Fl for a bit and can't do it. So I'm looking for any suggestions, help. Thanks!

 

Read this and do it yourself for nothing. If the car works, wait until you get home.
This is for the 2004 to 2006 models only, they fixed the part at the factory after that.
If the steering is a turned a little, on a camber etc it can be hard to turn anyway. If turning the steering wheel fixes it then it may not be the sticky ignition problem.

 

Thanks for the pdf

 

Contact Chuk over in Orlando, he can help you.
( chuk_138 )

 

Do the sticky key fix for free.
BTW The lock cylinder is $14.14 over on Amazon.

 

We all know that dealers are clueless - but WHY a new key?

As I (we?) say, "Take the car to a dealer, and have a BAD day...."

 

You have very good advice from onehundred80. I just followed his pdf last week and did my car before I had any
sign of a problem. Since your car is exhibiting symptoms you should do this yourself before it
locks up completely. The fix after that becomes much more difficult. I followed the pdf to the letter and
it took me about 4 hours. The cost of the fix was zero. If chuk_138 is able to help you the two of you
can knock it out in probably 2 hours. Again - it's all labor, no parts required (and not many tools, either.)

 

Have you ever noticed dealers quote a new tumbler and a new key for this issue but ignore the door tumbler rendering key entry useless?

 

Thanks to all. Mackel, mine looks just like yours, black and cedar interior.

 

The pdf doesn't go into much detail about actually opening the ignition switch housing and removing
the spring and pin.
Here's a piece on You Tube from Paul in Canada showing that process.
(This is actually the easiest part of the whole job.)

 

Thanks, Mackel

 

If doing this fix yourself is totally out of the question for some reason, I'd check with some of
the repair shops in St. Pete specializing in German cars or Mercedes (not Mercedes dealer and not
Chrysler dealer). This problem is also common to Mercedes of the era. The ignition is pure Mercedes.
I'd print the pdf and take it to them to see if they'll do this for you. At least they could take the ignition
housing out of the car, give it to you to take home and modify, then return to them to re-install.
Again, it's all labor. Don't know what they'd charge you to take the thing out and put it back.
You may even be showing them a modification they aren't aware of.

Good luck either way.

 

Dealer replaced ours under fact. ex. warranty. waited weeks for new part. (Sep/2010, when we discovered this wonderful forum). when done, they wanted to charge us for new key (not covered since it was not necessary!) we called Corp. & they told dealer to back off & keep their new key. (which was useless to them anyway.) never went back.

 

What I find interesting is with the Crossfire "sticky key" we are able to reuse the tumblers. I don't recall ever seeing a post from someone who had the sticky key, removed the pin and spring and had to also replace the tumblers. This indicates to me this video will not resolve the Crossfire MB part but may fix other MB branded car problems with "sticky key."

I would stick to the known fix for the Crossfire and not mess with tumblers. I have actually done two sticky key mods without removing the tumblers as the PDF states to do. My fear is messing up the tumblers then I would be forced to re-key when it's not needed for the fix.

Removing tumblers also seems to be a struggling point for several who have tried the sticky key mod. If others had trouble removing them I didn't want the trouble so I discovered a way around the contentious removing of the tumblers.

 

What he is saying is that the tumblers are not responsible for what we on this forum call "the sticky key" - it is the redundant lock mechanism that is causing the lockup.

My second Crossfire locked up at a gas station right after I bought it - did the forum "Sticky Key" mod and all was well, until the car was lost in a wreck last summer. I"ve modded 5 or 6 cars since as a pre-emtive measure for fellow owners.

 

To KDW4Him,

You were able to remove the pin and spring without taking the tumbler out of the dash?
Thanks

 

The tumbler is part of the entire assembly. The entire assembly is removed from the car per the Sticky Key PDF. The tumblers are what allow the mechanics of the switch to turn when the proper key is inserted. Have you read over the Sticky Key PDF document? It has very good pictures.

In this picture you can see the FOB sticking in the tumblers at the bottom of the assy. At the point where the vice grips are holding the assy you can see the spring and pin that are removed when doing the mod. The cover has been removed from the assy to reveal the spring and pin at this point of the job.

 

Here is the cylinder that others have said is correct. I have not purchased one. I have the tumblers separate so I will just swap the tumblers if the ledge gets rounded. The top of the tumbler is not the issue when they are up above the shear line, its the "ledge" that contacts the key. Grinding/leveling the top is not correcting the problem.







BTW there are 10 spaces with only 5 depths on our key. Usually the first 2 or 3 are the only ones that get worn because of the "sawing" action of the key near the beginning of the keyway. you can remove a tumbler from the rear (1,2,3,4,or 5 depth) and swap with one in the front that is worn with the same depth tumbler and leave out the one in the rear. Once you understand the depth system is pretty easy to cut a code key by eye. This is our code series 3501-6700.

 

onehundred80,
I'm reviewing the pdf for tackling tomorrow. Is it absolutely necessary to take out the tumbler as you describe in $10? KDW4Him sent me pics and the tumbler and key are still in the assembly when removing the pin and spring. Can you clarify? Thanks!

 

I meant #10 in the pdf not $10