When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
2002 c230 key stuck and trans will not shift to park
The problem with my 2002 C230 coupe that for an entire day it would not allow me to shift into park or reverse. The car would drive fine and shifts from N to D and vice versa without hesitation and There is gear position shown in the cluster. Only problems were that it will not go back to park and as a result I was not remove the key. There is no CEL, no liquids have been spilled on the shifter, and does not look to have any debris caught inside. Is there to determine if the shifter module is failed w/o Star Diagnostic?
In the evening, I went to retrieve the car and since there were no other symptoms of transmission failure I pushed the car out of its parking space (as mentioned earlier the gear selector would not move to neither P nor N). I then proceeded to drive the car as normal trying to observe any oddities but found none. I even threw in a few hard launches and high speed runs on the highway and nothing was out of the ordinary. Finally I drove it 20 miles home and as I pulled into the garage and pushed the stick it slipped all the way back into P smooth as silk. I thought maybe this is a fluke so move the selector from P-R-N-D-R-P and each time noticing the change as the gear engaged or disengaged. I honestly don't know what to think. I was leaning toward some type of foreign debris stuck inside the shifter module but I didn't do anything to remove it and all of a sudden everything is working. I am stumped! Is this a faulty shift module or bad linkage to transmission?
Spend 20-40 bucks for Star diagnosis and it will instantly tell you if the module has failed. Mine was working randomly like yours but then gave up completely one day.
There is also slight chance that the linkage bushing has failed, would be easiest to check underneath the car. See my diy thread of the failed module.
Thank you CVX, I will definitely slide under the car and have a look at the linkage as well as pull up the ESM to check both end bushings. Then give the shifter module a once over before biting the bullet and picking up a used one. All your photos are great and easy step by step instructions. I will be attempting this over the weekend.
BTW, are they all the shifter modules interchangeable on W203 coupes? The part on my car is A 2032672724, but I ran across a 2004 with A 2032675424. Will this part work?
Last edited by KompressorKid; 12-19-2014 at 12:48 AM.
The module has been re-designed 6 times on W203's and at some point it has become theft relevant part (guessing facelifts). You have to check which parts will work. Of course the easy way is to get same part
Easiest way to check parts is by signing in to MBs Electronic Parts Catalog (EPC) and finding your car by vin-number. Then you can access ALL of the parts and numbers of your car, good for later DIY stuff
Problem solved, turned out to be a small piece of plastic wedged under the pivoting shift mechanism. Could not see it from above, but using CVX's instructions I pulled the shifter module out of the car. Removed the cover and turned it upside down. That's when I heard a small rattle and it fell out. While I had the shifter out I did change the bushings on both ends. At only $3.60 a piece might as well. Thanks a bunch CVX!
C230 Sport Coup + 2006 W164 ML350 + 99 Ford Escort (What the heck, it gets 38 mpg!)
After just finishing a bunch of work on the car, now the shifter is getting sticky trying to get it from D to P.
I've already replaced the shifter twice, due to the electronics module, AND I have a spare, so
if I have to I"ll swap it again, maybe put the electronics module from the sticky one
onto the mechanical part of one that had the module fail.
12-17-2014, 10:01 AM
