fatt-dad

Dear Forum,

My wife was driving our 2001 E320 4-matic wagon and spilled some water from the cup in the holder onto the shifter area of the console. As she was driving the dashboard indicated that the car was in "park" and then it went into neutral. All this happened without touching the shifter knob. She pulled over to the side of the road, leaving the car on and in neutral. When I arrived, I turned off the car and it went into park. I then restarted the car and put it into drive and it engaged. However, I couldn't return the shifter above neutral without turning the car off again. On my second restart, I moved slowly through the gears and it engaged into reverse, passed through neutral and into drive. Again, I couldn't get it back to park without turning off the motor.

I called the service guy and indicated that this is a problem with the gear shifter - a problem that happens when they get wet. He also said that it just won't dry out dependably (i.e., you may dry it out, but the residual condensation will cause a chronic problem in the months to come.

This forum has already saved me hundreds of dollars (on my break light switch). Is there a simple solution to this problem? Is this a flaw in the German engineering (i.e., a water sensitive part below the cup holder)? Do I really need a new $500.00 shifter that costs $200.00 to install?

Thanks in advance for any prompt replies. The car was towed to the service shop - possibly for some repairs tomorrow.

fatt-dad

lexrex

Unfortunately your service advisor is right on this one. You may get lucky and not have trouble with residual effects, but the odds are not in your favor.

As much as I don't think these cars should be treated like fast food restaurants, I think Mercedes should be on the hook for this. Liquid fries the transmission control unit because the cupholder failed to securely hold container under normal use. Any class action litigators on this board?

fatt-dad

Thanks (I guess) lexrex! I appreciate your prompt reply, as I'm willing to do simple time/cost saving repairs but leave installation of high-dollar parts (when necessary) to the pros. I appreciate your confirmaiton on the service guys phone diagnosis and figure I need the wagon fixed more than I need another guitar - ha.

Any further insight, however is welcome from others. . . .

fatt-dad
Richmond, Virginia

raymond g-

i fear that if you search using the word "spill water" or some such, you'll see
from others that, worst case scenario is going to be >$1000. and if you're
lucky, after the initial symptoms (since it's water and not soda etc) things
might return to normal. i'd gamble on pulling the battery and popping the
panels to dry off the switches etc w/o subjecting them to any more electron
movement. can you afford trying this hoopjumping?

sosh

From what I understand the odds are that it will cost you about a grand. As so far as drying the water out the odds are very very slim. As so far as MB picking up the tab its not going to happen. Most people never experience this as they do not spill stuff. I am not the neatest person around but I drove my W210 for 4 years with a cup of coffee or a soda in the holder and never had this issue. Explain to your wife why she should be more careful. I did experience this in a Cadillac that I had way prior to my W210 and even then it cost me almost a grand even without the 100 percent electronis controlled transmission.

lexrex

fatt-dad,

I hope that your wife ruining the Mercedes doesn't put a strain on your marriage.

Just kidding. (Oh wait, does "just kidding" mean that I do hope for strain...?)

fatt-dad

So it turns out for a grand I can get the wagon fixed and buy a new guitar from Wal-Mart - ha. I bet that the water spill was likely the straw that broke the preverbial camels back. More than likely there's been some soda/coffee/etc. spilled in the past, I guess. . . . . .

Again, thanks guys.

f-d

ruffrob

So who's gonna pick up the tab for the repairs? Her or you??

lexrex

Well aren't we nosy...

Air Marshall Eldritch

It's not all lost yet. Residual water will evaporate. I assume you can run the A/C for a time if you are in a humid area.
Try letting it dry well and start again. This will cost you nothing and might work.
As I posted previously about this problem, I got in a taxi in Europe (a W210) where the driver was tearing apart his center console because he spilled a 12-oz cup of coffee into it. After drying off the window switches with a rag, then re-assembling, off we went. He may have gotten very very lucky, but coffee with milk in it has got to be riskier than water alone.

Franasia

Why don't you remove the two console wooden pieces around the selector gear shifter and remove the cover that has the W + S program slider switch.

I think that's the circuit board that got affected. You might want to try blowing some air with a hair dryer and probably have your wife drive with cover removed for about a week provided she abstains from her water or any other drink.

Hope it helps.

Cheers.

Richard / E320

Franasia;

Great picture you posted. Can anything be done to prevent liquid-spilled damage? Anyway to protect that area so spilt liquids don't leak on to the board before it happens?

Franasia

Richard,

I think I have come up with a solution for that which began before I even purchased this car, looking to prevent another issue. We have a toy poodle, and if any of you guys in this forum happen to have experience with poodles - of any size - these dogs when left alone in the car keep all their attention focused in their owners as they walk away, they're always vigilant and stare out a window looking in the direction you took when you left the car (this of course is not limited to poodles only). They will also guard the vehicle if they see anything they consider suspicious and will normally jump all over the car as you approach, which translates into turning the center console wood piece into a sort skid pad. Horror of horrors!

I purchased an acrylic bathroom rug – the kind used to cover the toilet bowl and such in a matching color and cut it to fit. I removed the wood piece and made a perfect template of it and came out pretty good. The overall result and looks varies according to the quality of the rug used. I’m planning of cutting one made from an original Mercedes floor mat since the color match would be perfect and there would be no shedding like I get now, even though it’s not that bad.

It’s worked out fantastically. I’ve got used to the looks of it and sometimes on my daily commute I remove it so I enjoy the looks of the beautiful wood - without any scratch in it!

Well, I think by now you might have guessed it – this mat will protect from spills very well. At least it gives you a few seconds to remove it and divert the spill away from the W+S switch which is the area to protect. Other than that I see no other way of making this area somewhat water resistant.

CUP HOLDER

You have to understand the cup holder is something that took Germans years to digest – that is – that Americans drink and eat – and what have you while driving. I don’t think you can get a coffee to go in Germany or most of Europe to this day. It’s just a different culture. Anyway, the point I want to make is this cup holder was designed just to meet this American necessity and by no means should be considered as an optimum design. As you all know it was not designed for the huge ½ a liter coffee mug we’re used to, but to a rather small type of espresso cup or small bottle not really served or available in the US.

This cup holder – an option on worldwide spec cars – is easily removed (it snaps on and off with no tools) and you can fit one large coffee mug or a water bottle that sit low and deep and will stay in place even in most panic stops or sharp turns. On worldwide spec vehicles there is a removable bin instead of the cup holder. Early US spec W202s have it and it’s really neat.

Hope it helps.

Cheers.

raymond g-

LOL....that's ****-tastic!

Air Marshall Eldritch

That is a good solution, but I'm afraid we still must add you to the Bigtire spray-on Bra thread (you'll need to search this)

fatt-dad

Well, it's now too late for the shade tree approach (though I would have given it a try). Great photos and ideas for the future (if it ever gets to that). On the matter of who pays - well it is her car (I immediately got the mini-van - ha).

Just a separate aside, we got breaks all around also - woo Hoo! So I don't even have the budget for the Wal-Mart guitar any more. Anybody have a nice Martin for a man in need?

f-d

zam2000

Ironically, my car is in the shop right now to have that unit replaced too. However, since mine is a 98 (lucky me), so I don't have to replaced the whole unit.

On the post 2000 car, if water get into the shifter unit, you always have to replace the whole unit, cost is anywhere from $700-1000 (part +labor).

On pre-2000 car, if you have a mechanic who really know Benz, you can replace the so called "Range Recognition Unit", it's the electronic component inside the shifter unit. The part cost $80, and about 1-2 hours to swap out.

The Range Recognition unit register gear with the computer. When it goes wrong, sometime the car won't shift out of first gear (putting it back to P and back to D usually fix this problem, while you're driving). You also have the display monitor (and if you turn on the head-light, the gear indicator light) display wrong gear, or no gear at all. That mean while you put the gear in D or R, the mechanicall arm put it in the gear position, but the computer can't register the gear correctly, so you're temporarily in limp mode.

I once awhile got my car can't shift out of first gear, and could never tell why. After I had my trans rebuilt, the mechanic hook up the StarDiag to try out all the gear (and reprogram the adaptation), as we move the gear shifter, sometime we see the computer failed to display correct gear. That's how I found out. I got luckly that the mechanic show me how to order just the switch itself, and save myself a good chunk of money. Searching other Benz forum for that unit also confirm the problem.

For those with similar problem (car can't shift out of first gear sometime, back to P then D fix it), if you call the dealer, they will say such part doesn't exist, and you have to buy the whole shifter unit. Lot of money.

Give them this part number: 2105451332

Too bad that you will have to replace the whole unit in this case. Call Phil to see if you could get some discount.

lexrex

Is that the poodle or the bathroom rug?