Got stuck last night...Would not shift out of P
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 640
Likes: 5
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
2005 C240 4MATIC, 2020 GLC300 4MATIC
Before I authorized the repair I chatted with RM European and with AutohausAZ. Both listed 203-267-89-24 as unavailable for them to order, dealer only. I called a couple of my other contacts on the east coast and got a consistent price of close to $800 for the floor shifter mechanism, which includes the ESM module. You can't get it separately.
Dealer charged me $600 for it before labor. I'm not going to complain. The parts manager there also routinely gives me 20% off of parts when I buy them myself, sometimes beating some of the online retailers. I haven't paid full price for anything for a couple of years.
And sometimes, a loaner is worth spending another $100-200. Me not being available where i need to be on a given day can cost me more than that on some occasions.
LILBENZ230 I'm not offended or anything. I respect members like you and Glyn on here. We're all here to help each other, and I appreciate all of your knowledge and experience. I'd have to be taking things WAY to seriously on here to get offended over a difference of preferences or opinion. You're right, my car is fixed and it works, and I spent less than what I was originally expecting, so I'm happy. Is there a cheaper way to do it? Sure. Absolutely. Unfortunately for me, I just don't have the time right now to fix this sort of problem myself. I do my own brakes and other items, and setting aside that time on the weekends is sometimes hard for me. This time, I just needed to get it fixed and make sure I could meet my work schedule without worrying about it.
Dealer charged me $600 for it before labor. I'm not going to complain. The parts manager there also routinely gives me 20% off of parts when I buy them myself, sometimes beating some of the online retailers. I haven't paid full price for anything for a couple of years.
And sometimes, a loaner is worth spending another $100-200. Me not being available where i need to be on a given day can cost me more than that on some occasions.
LILBENZ230 I'm not offended or anything. I respect members like you and Glyn on here. We're all here to help each other, and I appreciate all of your knowledge and experience. I'd have to be taking things WAY to seriously on here to get offended over a difference of preferences or opinion. You're right, my car is fixed and it works, and I spent less than what I was originally expecting, so I'm happy. Is there a cheaper way to do it? Sure. Absolutely. Unfortunately for me, I just don't have the time right now to fix this sort of problem myself. I do my own brakes and other items, and setting aside that time on the weekends is sometimes hard for me. This time, I just needed to get it fixed and make sure I could meet my work schedule without worrying about it.
Last edited by ChrisBrown; Feb 9, 2012 at 10:22 AM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 8,384
Likes: 800
2019 G70 6MT & 2022 Ford Maverick XL
The unfortunate fact is, the so called technicians at dealerships, dont have a clue on how mercedes benz electronics actually are designed to function. there are probably a handfull worldwide that have the know how and passion to fix these weird problems. You need to have grown up with these cars like from when the W140 was produced, to understand how the electronics have developed. secondly it takes time to diagnose electronics and i mean lots of time, so the dealer reckons we make more money just replacing that actually diagnosing, at the end of the day the customer pays and the technician learns nothing.
It's sad that this is the state of things. But it's not just Mercedes, pretty much all dealers are this way. There is little excuse for outright lying, though. If something has to be STAR coded or not is something they know.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,212
Likes: 8
From: Pasadena, CA
2002 C230K, 2013 BMW 328, 2015 BMW X5
Way back when my car would get stuck in Park and in Drive, this was unkown ground for the W203. My solutions resulted in a number of people scratching their heads and wondering why this happened. I have the feeling that the odd shifter just magnetically goes wonky. Meaning, the pin gets stuck for whatever reason. I don't know the internal workings of why, be it a solenoid, magnetics or what. But I'd love to get your old shifter to see if it shifts freely.
Not trying to say anything other than I'd like to replicate the problem. Mind calling your SA and asking for the old part back? I'd send you a box, with a return label in it.
Again, I went down this EXACT road and was quite clueless on how to fix it for a number of days. Then, when unpowering and unmounting my shifter box, viola, it started working.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 640
Likes: 5
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
2005 C240 4MATIC, 2020 GLC300 4MATIC
SeaCoupe I will make a call. I read your thread on this over the weekend. It seems to be a very rare problem for the w203. The r230 doesn't seem to be as lucky
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2
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2002 CLK 55 AMG
So, assuming the ESM's are not VIN specific, can anyone tell me what the part number would be for a 2002 CLK 55 AMG, and where I might purchase it? It's possible I may be able to save mine, but my wife spilled coke on it while driving last night and experienced the myriad of issues I've read about, from loss of drive, no display of gear, stuck in park, and finally today, at least out of park, but in limp mode and no getting it back to park without turning the key off. Anticipating I'll need to replace it.
BTW, for all the genius of German engineering, what idiot puts a cup holder virtually on top of electronics like the ESM. Probably some old school dude who resisted them ever putting cup holders in to begin with.
BTW, for all the genius of German engineering, what idiot puts a cup holder virtually on top of electronics like the ESM. Probably some old school dude who resisted them ever putting cup holders in to begin with.
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Member
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 85
Likes: 5
Mercedes C32
So, assuming the ESM's are not VIN specific, can anyone tell me what the part number would be for a 2002 CLK 55 AMG, and where I might purchase it? It's possible I may be able to save mine, but my wife spilled coke on it while driving last night and experienced the myriad of issues I've read about, from loss of drive, no display of gear, stuck in park, and finally today, at least out of park, but in limp mode and no getting it back to park without turning the key off. Anticipating I'll need to replace it.
BTW, for all the genius of German engineering, what idiot puts a cup holder virtually on top of electronics like the ESM. Probably some old school dude who resisted them ever putting cup holders in to begin with.
BTW, for all the genius of German engineering, what idiot puts a cup holder virtually on top of electronics like the ESM. Probably some old school dude who resisted them ever putting cup holders in to begin with.
Member
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 139
Likes: 4
From: Finland, Europe
W203 C200CDI
So, assuming the ESM's are not VIN specific, can anyone tell me what the part number would be for a 2002 CLK 55 AMG, and where I might purchase it? It's possible I may be able to save mine, but my wife spilled coke on it while driving last night and experienced the myriad of issues I've read about, from loss of drive, no display of gear, stuck in park, and finally today, at least out of park, but in limp mode and no getting it back to park without turning the key off. Anticipating I'll need to replace it.
BTW, for all the genius of German engineering, what idiot puts a cup holder virtually on top of electronics like the ESM. Probably some old school dude who resisted them ever putting cup holders in to begin with.
BTW, for all the genius of German engineering, what idiot puts a cup holder virtually on top of electronics like the ESM. Probably some old school dude who resisted them ever putting cup holders in to begin with.
You can look for part numbers via Mercedes Electronic Parts Catalog EPC (free for North America) @ http://epc.startekinfo.com/epc/
I also made DIY thread about changing the broken shifter, I guess it is quite similar job for the CLK. Mine used ESM cost about $130 from german ebay
