cgibson clk430

Having few problems with my 2000 CLK430.
Firstly the ESP, BAS and ABS malfunction warning came on dash as soon as i pressed brake pedal after starting the car. Also the gear lever wouldn't come out of park unless a pen was inserted in the emergency release slot and car wouldn't change gear. After reading the forums i changed the brake pedal switch 2 days ago.
This cured the faults with ESP etc warnings and i can now turn ESP on and off but gear lever was still stuck in park.
This morning i started the car to move it and put the car into drive without the use of pen. the lever wasn't forced. when i tried to select park again the lever wouldnt go past reverse. i put it back to drive then pushed forward and found park in one motion. now the lever doesn't stick in park, will move back and forward freely but there is a funny noise from the lever when it goes into drive almost as if there is an obstruction in the selector slot. i drove the car a few miles and found that the car was still not changing out of 1st gear (limp home mode) also the gear display on instrument cluster is difficult to read and also incorrect. it only shows R or N regardless of what is selected.
has anyone else had a similar problem?
is there anything inside the gear shift mechanism that could break causing this problem/symptoms?
also can the mechanism be taken apart? other threads on this forum suggest that mercedes sell the selector as a complete unit

thanks in advance for any help anyone can give

cgibson clk430

also when i start the car it will only turn over if the selector is half way between N and D. normal operation would be for selector to be in P.

Chappy

Has any liquid been spilled down the shift gate?

cgibson clk430

I've only just bought the car so don't know if anything has been spilled on the selector. there is a little sticky residue under the cup holders when they are removed.
the bit that concerns me the most is the apparent obstruction in the selector path itself.

The Jury

Sounds like they knew what they were doing selling it.

I tend to hurt people over such things.........

andyanderson

I too have eperienced the same problem of the "Stuck Shifter" after spilling coffee (slammed on brakes) all over the console (down into the shifter cavity). What affect does the liquid have and on what compnents/sensors?

Thanks!

MarcusF

The transmission control module may have shorted out. It's about $425 plus labor. This is a photo from another thread -

andyanderson

I hit the brakes hard with an open-lid coffee cup in the holder. Splashed the shifter and locked it in "limp home" mode. Immediately turned the car off (cut power to the shift module). Dried it with a hair dryer for about 20 minutes. Shifter works perfectly again.

LbenzCLK430

Where can I find the module or purchase it from besides Mercedes? Also, how do I remove that piece and clean it?

Whodat

Bump....I have the same question.
Where is the TCU shown in Marcus F's photo above? I want to try the hair dryer thing before i try to have it repaired/swapped. How easy of a job is it?

Whodat

What thread is this photo from Marcus? I need some serious help!