Need Help! Car won't start and shifter lockout
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W219 CLS 350 2005/2006
Need Help! Car won't start and shifter lockout
Hi!
I own a 2005/2006 W219/C219 CLS 350 with Airmatic suspension. As far as I know the car shares most parts with the same year E class(W211), so I wasn't sure whether I should post here or in the E class section. English isn't my native language so there might be some mistakes.
The gist of the problem is that the car won't start (It doesn't crank) and it can't be shifted out of park without the manual override.
As far as i know these things might cause the problem:
-Defective SAM unit
-Defective Transmission module
-Defective ESP module
-Defective brake light switch
-Defective steering lock
-Defective key fob insert
I will now detail how the problem started:
It started about 4-5 months ago
After a 1h drive i parked the car and turned it off. After i realised i was in a wrong location i tried to repark it and it wouldn't start. I could change gears but it wouldn't start. After a 5-10min wait it would work normaly until the first snow came a month later.
That day when it snowed i wen't on a parking lot to fool around with my friends. After some time the car worked normaly but refused to shift from N into R until the ignition was cycled. I also couldn't manualy select gear numbers in D.
After that day i didnt fool around much more but noticed that after a 15-20 I couldnt shift from N to R until the ignition was cycled.
Then it would become worse as the car wouldnt start for 5-10min. Each day passed the wait time became longer and longer. A this time a had a suspicion that the car computer was overheating and that this might cause the problem.
I got stuck stuck on a gas station and tried to jumpstart the car with a good battery but nothing happend( i sometimes got low battery warnings on really cold days but the car always started normaly)
Then i went to my mechanic to hook it up to the computer to see what error codes where showing up. There wasnt realy anything special but for one code.
The code was P240C. After googling i found out the code is for when the transmission module fails to read the gear or the change of gear is implausible. He tried to restart the code but it wouldnt do it without cycling the ignition. In fear of not leaving the car stranded i went home that day.
But then a miracle happend. The car worked normaly. But it was really cold a that time so i thought it had something to do with the overheating, but it worked after the weather got warmer.
But it wasnt meant to be and the problems started happening again. A first i could not shift from N to R again and now the car wont even start. Its been a little less than 2 week and it still wont start.
I dissasembled the center console and took the shifter module out. I inspected it for cracks on the solder joints on the light sensing diodes and cleand the contacts with isopropyl alcohol.
I put the shifter back in and wired everything back but still no luck.
The next thing i wanted to do was to change the brake light swich but as the brake lights work normaly i was a little hesitant a first. I am curently waiting for the part to arrive.
The steering lock works fine so that probably isnt the problem
The key fob also works fine except for not starting the car
There was a defective ESP warning some time in between the car working and not but it was quick flash and it didnt appear again after that.
I also got the SBC H not working warning some times when driving but it would go away after 10min and reapear.
The car never went into limp mode and was serviced regulary with frequent oil changes. There are 315000km on the odometer but the engine and transsmision worked fine even with the shifter lockout.
I live in a rural area so most mechanics arent familiar with automatic transsmisions and the closest Mercedes mechanic is about 40km away( i asked him and he didnt have a clue)
I am at loss and dont know what to do next
Any help would be really appreciated.
I own a 2005/2006 W219/C219 CLS 350 with Airmatic suspension. As far as I know the car shares most parts with the same year E class(W211), so I wasn't sure whether I should post here or in the E class section. English isn't my native language so there might be some mistakes.
The gist of the problem is that the car won't start (It doesn't crank) and it can't be shifted out of park without the manual override.
As far as i know these things might cause the problem:
-Defective SAM unit
-Defective Transmission module
-Defective ESP module
-Defective brake light switch
-Defective steering lock
-Defective key fob insert
I will now detail how the problem started:
It started about 4-5 months ago
After a 1h drive i parked the car and turned it off. After i realised i was in a wrong location i tried to repark it and it wouldn't start. I could change gears but it wouldn't start. After a 5-10min wait it would work normaly until the first snow came a month later.
That day when it snowed i wen't on a parking lot to fool around with my friends. After some time the car worked normaly but refused to shift from N into R until the ignition was cycled. I also couldn't manualy select gear numbers in D.
After that day i didnt fool around much more but noticed that after a 15-20 I couldnt shift from N to R until the ignition was cycled.
Then it would become worse as the car wouldnt start for 5-10min. Each day passed the wait time became longer and longer. A this time a had a suspicion that the car computer was overheating and that this might cause the problem.
I got stuck stuck on a gas station and tried to jumpstart the car with a good battery but nothing happend( i sometimes got low battery warnings on really cold days but the car always started normaly)
Then i went to my mechanic to hook it up to the computer to see what error codes where showing up. There wasnt realy anything special but for one code.
The code was P240C. After googling i found out the code is for when the transmission module fails to read the gear or the change of gear is implausible. He tried to restart the code but it wouldnt do it without cycling the ignition. In fear of not leaving the car stranded i went home that day.
But then a miracle happend. The car worked normaly. But it was really cold a that time so i thought it had something to do with the overheating, but it worked after the weather got warmer.
But it wasnt meant to be and the problems started happening again. A first i could not shift from N to R again and now the car wont even start. Its been a little less than 2 week and it still wont start.
I dissasembled the center console and took the shifter module out. I inspected it for cracks on the solder joints on the light sensing diodes and cleand the contacts with isopropyl alcohol.
I put the shifter back in and wired everything back but still no luck.
The next thing i wanted to do was to change the brake light swich but as the brake lights work normaly i was a little hesitant a first. I am curently waiting for the part to arrive.
The steering lock works fine so that probably isnt the problem
The key fob also works fine except for not starting the car
There was a defective ESP warning some time in between the car working and not but it was quick flash and it didnt appear again after that.
I also got the SBC H not working warning some times when driving but it would go away after 10min and reapear.
The car never went into limp mode and was serviced regulary with frequent oil changes. There are 315000km on the odometer but the engine and transsmision worked fine even with the shifter lockout.
I live in a rural area so most mechanics arent familiar with automatic transsmisions and the closest Mercedes mechanic is about 40km away( i asked him and he didnt have a clue)
I am at loss and dont know what to do next
Any help would be really appreciated.
