Hello,
A couple of months ago I had a problem putting my car in Park. I would sit for a minute or 2 and then it would work. I had some unrelated work done to the car sway bar links and front axels replaced and I didn't have any shifter problems untiul now. Yesterday the first two times I went to shut car off I couldn't get into park. I sat for a minute or two and it worked. The third time was when I got home and I sat for awhile and it wouldn't move. I put my emergency brake on and shut the car off.
This morning I started it fine and it moves from neutral to drive and the dashboard displays the correct position. I removed the shifter cover and pressed the yellow lever but still couldn't move it. Is there anything else I can do to troubleshoot what is the problem? Thanks so much in advance.

 

Pressing the yellow safety release should allow the lever to move unless some part of the release mechanism (normally electrically released or mechanically in the yellow handles case) is intermittently jamming the mechanism as in a broken piece or distorted part. Or the yellow release mechanism has failed, pretty unusual ??..in addition to the P release handle parts. Or the 2 are related maybe. Sorry no clear cut answer from me...usually its the shifter plate/board with failed circuit..meaning electrical.

 

Would I need to replace the shifter assembly?

 

How is the yellow switch supposed to be in there? When I press mine it is kinda loose and it goes down very easily but just a little bit. I think of a release mechanism as tight and pressing down you would feel it release. That is not the case with mine. I hope I am explaining that in a way that makes sense to you. Also when I tried to shift to reverse it makes a click noise as if something is stopping it from moving.

 

I personally never dealth with this issue so im not sure. researching a bit it could be the brake pedal switch or the shifter assembly. I read where someone scanned there car and it came up with a few codes pointing to the shifter fault. May want to have it scanned to check.

Heres the post I was just reading, not for your specific car but never know if it leads you in the right direction for ideas.

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...tuck-park.html

 

Thanks for the link. I just read through it but my car is behaving a bit differently. I still can't move out of N with the emergency brake on.

 

The slop you mentioned with the manual yellow release switch is abnormal....should be a firm definite "click". You should be able to shift from N to D or R with the car running or off, and without depressing brake pedal ( you mean " brake pedal "not " Ebrake" , right ?).... if stuck in N the shifter plate mechanism is jammed/broken or the linkage under the car next to the PS side of the transmission ( a metal rod(s) and bell arms) are jammed from a foreign object or bent from a road strike. No where near the repair work done mentioned. Have you try to "persuade" the shift lever (always stuck in N now, right ) with more pressure and jiggling ? When the problem happened going into P in the past, did the shifter go from D to R and then balk into P, or did it hang up in N and finally go thru R to P ?


.

 

When it happened in the past it was the same thing. I was stuck in N and couldn't go into R or P. But after sitting for a couple of minutes and lifting my foot off the brake and pressing it again it would eventually move into Park. This time though it just won't move. I tried jiggling it and moving it around trying to find a way to move it but it clicks like something is blocking it. I also noticed when I go into drive the idle is rough. Tmrw I am going to take a pic of my yellow switch. How hard do you have to press it? I am not using much force and it doesn't go down very far. No click. Thanks so much for your response and the pic!

 

My friend just came by and scanned the car. The only codes were P0410 and a misfire. He jiggled the shifter and it went into Park. It seems to be working now but I still need to fix the problem as I don't want to get stuck somewhere.

 

Yellow switch ...like pressure needed to flick a light switch with snap or click at bottom. So you can go from N to D, not R and P now. Foot on brake does not affect shifter going from N to R or D, that is with or without depressed brake pedal, makes no difference. You can actually jam it in P while still rolling, foot off brake...not too good for the tranny's health.

N and D light up on dash , shifter console ?...probably Yes. As you suspect, it seems to point towards a electromechanically blocked shifter mechanism. A faulty brake pedal switch will prevent you from shifting out of P but not into P or R for that matter obviously. A rough idle in D usually throws a CEL...how does she drive at speed..fairly normal and able to manually shift gears kicking shifter lt/rt ?...again probably yes. It is either a failing ESM (Electronic Shift Module) or loose connecter associated with it. The fact that your shifter is out of P means the Yellow switch is of no purpose here and is not "clicked" into it's P related position where it will act like it's doing something when pressed, probably feels "loose" now as you mentioned.

The TCU/ECM scan will probably show a ECM problem code...An Indy shop needs a scanner capable of reading MB transmission codes which your MB dealer will have. If the ESM module is at fault, not sure if the new one needs to be paired to your Benz after replacement..some say No, others Yes. If No, a used unit will save some $$$ but used electronic parts are a gamble.

Good news..you can at least drive her !! ( park so you don't need Reverse) She should at least roll backwards in N if need be. BTW, how many miles on your C300 ?

I think you should invest in a scan which will clarify the problem...seems to be good advice in general when it comes to MB problems unless the cause is obvious.

Good luck. Wrote this before your "fixed for now" post. Your friend's scanner ..can it read TCU codes ?

 

I can't speak to a 2008 car, but my 2004 SL500 had a sifter problem. There is lever that prevents moving the shifter out of Park without applying the brake. The lever is plastic. It breaks. The dealer will want to replace the whole mechanism ($$$).

I am NOT sure this is your problem, but I eventually replaced the broken piece with an aluminum aftermarket piece like this one:
You will need to do some more investigating to determine if this even applies to your year and model. The interim "fix" back then was to smack the side of the shift lever pretty hard.

 

Or you may need a new shift lever assembly.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...677624#fitment

 

This will show the problem I was talking about. AGAIN, not necessarily your car. Skip in the video to about 2:20.

 

I looked around for how exactly that yellow tab works. Im not sure how or even if it works with the brake, seems to work with the ignition.


Parts diagram for 204.081. Did not know the vin so posted mine.




Shifter assembly showing the yellow tab.




View of shifter assembly showing cable pull shifting lock. Part# 90 on diagram.

Cable pull. Plunger end goes into shifter.


Other end of cable goes into ignition. Must work the cable when you turn the key.

 

Keep us updated on what the fix is, I like trying to figure things out in case it ever happens in my car. I came across a few posts in other models dealing with shifting issues where symptoms are not shifting into certain gears, gear not showing on dash, key cannot be removed for example.

Most were able to pull up a code or two leading to the shifter fault. I know you said the car was scanned but make sure its a scanner capable of reading Mercedes specific codes. I have a Foxwell scanner with Mercedes specific software, it can give detailed info for my car but when I used it on a friends Jeep it only read the generic codes and I would have to get the Jeep specific software to go into further detail.

I came across this which was interesting:




Not sure how common it is since I never heard about it before until now, but then again I wasnt exactly searching around for it.

I came across a thread with a shifting issue in a W211, and when I look at photos of the shifter they do look similar with the W204, at least on the outside with the emergency tab and the cable pull location. They seem to say there's an issue with the circuit board, broken solder joints. This seems to line up with the ad for shifter repair above. Here's the thread if you want to read thru it:

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...al-repair.html

From that thread it is said that no coding is needed with replacing the shifter. So I'm thinking if there is an issue with your shifter you should be able to replace it yourself. The price for a new shifter is crazy, I would try a used from ebay if it were me. I'm not sure your exact part # but in general I'm finding them for anywhere from $45-$100+.