Into neutral? They helped me at a car wash today, but it wasn’t obvious.

 

You lift the shift stalk a little instead of lifting all the way, just a quick tug instead of a push like you normally do to go from Park to Drive or Drive to Park.

Another way is, I am not sure if it still does it on a W206 but if you have the transmission in drive, and don't put it in Park but shut off the engine (and don't open the door) it should jump to neutral.

 

That pretty much doesn't work anymore since the FL W205. Shutting off the engine now puts the transmission in P even before opening the door. As said above, you push the stalk only half way up if you are in D or half way down if you are in R to put it N. There's a point of resistance. If you push it past that, then it skips N.

 

Interesting, thanks for confirming, why the change?

 

I'm guessing it's to prevent the car from inadvertently rolling away if the driver takes the foot off the brakes. The transmission doesn't just go into P the moment the engine is turned off, but it also automatically engages the parking brake. The electronic gear selectors have been problematic. Remember the case of Anton Yelchin, the former actor, who got out of his Jeep with electronic gear selector, not realizing the transmission wasn't in P and then got crushed to death by it as he was checking his mail? This happened in 2016, so I'm guessing that had something to do with the changes automakers made. His parents sued Jeep and eventually settled.

 

I see but then the car also puts the parking brake on though. I guess it is safer to have a second line defense if the parking brake fails.

 

There really isn't a great deal of use for neutral other than an automatic car wash.
Better to go into Car Wash mode which puts the transmission in neutral, closes the windows and sunroof, turns off the rain-sensitive wipers and parking sensors, and folds in the outside mirrors.
One-button does it all.

 

Car Wash Mode does not put the car in N. That needs to be done manually. The reason behind this? Not all car washes have conveyor systems - for some of them you put the vehicle in P and the wash mechanism is what moves.

 

Got the same issue with my '24 GLC. Struggle to get it into Neutral but I manage. Next problem is getting into Drive on exiting the carwash. It doesn't seen to want to into D unless I step on the brake which ain't a comfortable idea with cars exiting behind you.

 

Yep, you can't engage D or R unless you are stationary with foot on the brake pedal. You basically have to let the car roll out under its own momentum until you can safely stop and put it in gear. I don't use these conveyer automatic car washes. Partly because not all of them safely accommodate low profile wide tires. I had to use a few while doing European Delivery and I had to seek out the ones that wouldn't destroy my wheels, but at least one of them I used squeezed my wide rear tires and it made an uncomfortable noise the entire way. I only use touchless car washes where the equipment moves and the car remains stationary.

 

Thanks. Unfortunately in our Galveston climate, an undercarriage wash is as important as the rest of the car. Our automatic wash specifically has that. They also use a big brush dipped in a 55 gallon drum of soapy water to scrub the front of the car. I won't let them do that, because another part of our climate is sand everywhere. So it sticks to the brush and not all is removed when it gets dunked. Got the hood of my wife's ML "sanded" the first time I took it to a different carwash. So far no evidence of finish damage after multiple visits.

 

The touchless car wash near my house has an underbody wash as well. It washes the underside as I drive into the car wash. Also has prewash jets that spray the side of the car as I drive in. I do live in a very mild climate, so my cars don't get very dirty, but yes dirt collecting on the brushes is another reason why I only use touchless. The once I used in Europe were way more meticulous about cleaning the brushes nightly, and even advertised it and I usually went first thing in the morning when the brushes were still clean.

 

We went to a car wash where the equipment moved and not the car. May go back there to avoid the neutral conundrum.