All,

First, a thank you for the many days' worth of material I read leading up to my purchase of a 2003 CL 500 last year. The quality and sheer volume of information on this forum were my most valuable resource. Truly, thanks.

To start paying it forward, I'm opening this thread to post progress in the first gremlin I've encountered during ownership...the infamous "stuck in park thing".

Having performed the various tests (brake lights turn on when pedal is pressed, EGS solenoid can be heard activating when pedal is pressed, all fuses ok) to determine the source of the issue, process of elimination leads me to believe the root cause is that troublesome plastic bit in the EGS, aka the Shifter Lever Selector.

Tomorrow AM, I'll pull the EGS and remove the plastic selector. I've opted for this route as I have no small children and am not positive as to which size of aluminum replacement to order.

For the time being, the hammer trick has worked like a charm to unstick the shifter, which typically occurs when I'm in a rush to get somewhere. If you're new to this situation, here's the procedure:

• Unscrew the plastic ("chrome" colored) collar at the base of the knob 1/4 turn counterclockwise until it "unsnaps"
• Pull straight up on the knob to expose the metal shift lever - makes no difference if you have keyless go or not - mine does
• Start engine, foot on brake
• Cover the top of the metal shift lever with a wooden block (or anything to dampen the shock of striking with a hammer) - or just use a rubber mallet, and give it a firm strike as you shift into gear normally
• Replace knob on shift lever - be careful here if you have keyless go, as the switch atop the knob plugs into the lever via two pins - take care as to not bend nor break these pins
• Tighten plastic/chrome collar 1/4 turn clockwise
• Rejoice as necessary

FWIW - if you're having a similar issue and have already removed/replaced the plastic bit with no joy, I also had an issue with the car, while in park and running, indicating on the dash display that it was still in drive. It would neither let me turn the key (thinking it was still in gear), nor shift out of park. After having it towed to the local indy (still running), it was determined that the keyless go card/ chip key was losing its signal and causing confusion with the ignition system. Basically, the card would work to unlock and start the car, but occasionally it wasn't recognized/sensed. This apparently caused the car to think foul play was afoot and lock down the shifter. Removing the battery from the chip key solved the issue - and without having to replace the EGS as was originally suggested by the SA. Flash forward to now, and I'm ordering replacement keys and another chip key to avoid further issues should my original smart key start to go bad as well.


Hope this helps someone out there - I'll update with progress after the procedure tomorrow.


Cheers.

 

thanks

 

PP 220 267 319 has been removed and all is well (images attached).

As has been mentioned, it's not a matter of if, but when with these, so if you're planning to do any work that requires the removal of your console, highly recommend this be either removed or replaced to save future headaches.

Here's a seller on ebay who ships all 3 sizes of Al replacement (mine happens to be the 11mm) in case any of you are hesitant about removing the selector to first determine size, leaving you without your car until the replacement arrives:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-W220-W215-W230-Shifter-Lever-Selector-Repair-Kits-Aluminum-3PCS-RK06-/120997167305?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c2bfe40c9&vxp=mtr
That wraps up this repair- best of luck to everyone who has yet to undertake it!