Tetra98

I have looked everywhere for direct information on this but I can't seem to find anything!

I have suddenly run into a problem with my W202 C180 2000 model. It will not come out of park unless I bypass it using the access point under the 'D' and when this happens, the car will clunk harshly into drive but will remain in 2nd gear or 'limp mode'. On the instrument cluster, it will not show what gear I am in, (D, R, N, P) It has the 722.6 5 speed automatic and shows no CEL, any help would be much appreciated!!

Car has 133000kms and is in impeccable condition, was just parked for a period of 6 hours then started and this problem has occurred, could it be the shift lock solenoid??

Russell Ormerod

do a short test! any ESP faults?

Tetra98

No CEL is present

Russell Ormerod

cel means nothing! do a short test first

Tetra98

okay, will do! Thank you!

Russell Ormerod

does it display P on the instrument cluster?

Tetra98

No it does not, where do I check for shorts?

Russell Ormerod

check power supply to gear selector. did u maybe not spill and drink down the gearshift

Tetra98

No I have not done that, I will be sure to look into the power supply. Can a defective brake switch or shift lock solenoid cause the P not to be displayed on the dashboard?

Russell Ormerod

no. it sounds like the selector module has failed or has no power supply. hence why it does not respond to brake pedal press. its also not sending CAN data to the cluster that's why it's not showing Gear position. also the EGS does not receive gear data causing it to bang into gear..

Tetra98

okay that makes a lot of sense, thank you! It is at the mechanic now so we will see what he says tomorrow.

Tetra98

Do you know if the w202 shifter module is the same as the w208? Are they interchangeable?

Russell Ormerod

208 should work there.

Tetra98

Fantastic, because mine is the 2000 model with tiptronic it is very rare in the w202 but common in the w208 so I can just put a w208 shifter in mine!! Thank you!

Russell Ormerod

yep. if they both tiptronic it will work

Tetra98

UPDATE! Problem fixed, with a CLK430 Avantgarde shift module, shifts better, no limp mode, no clunk into gear and has made the car feel much happier overall!! Thanks for everyones help and I hope that this helps someone. I believe that the previous owner spilt coffee on the centre console........All up $450 for the part plus self installation! Pretty good seeing as the part is $1950 from Mercedes Benz. Russell Ormerod you're a legend!!

Russell Ormerod

well done! glad u came right.. you won't believe how often I repair those units from coffee spills.. seems it happens all over the world.

ptcruiser

$1950.00....You can buy a whole car for that.