I have a 99 E320 4matic with 80k miles. This was my parents car so I know the history, all maintenance has been done at the dealer and the car has been driven lightly, garage kept and has been problems free and runs great. Today while driving, it felt like the gears were slipping so I pulled over and stopped. I pulled back out onto the street and it felt like the car was automatically shifting between first gear and neutral, a minute later the gears would not engage at all. I could run the shifter from park all the way down to first and all the way back up and there was no gear engagement at all. About a half an hour later I was able to put the car in gear and drive. It would drive fine, but it would not shift out of first gear. And waited and later the car was driving fine again for a few minutes and then started slipping we’re not engaging. It’s going to be several days before I can get it to my mechanic, and in the meantime I’ve been trying to research different scenarios. My mechanic said from the description the transmission is definitely blown.

My question is, is it possible for a well-maintained lightly used car with 80k miles to just lose the trans out of the blue or are there other more probable problems causing this?

Also, the only other bit of information is that several hours before, I spilled about an ounce of water on the center consul. I was cleaning the interior and a very small bit of water, no more than an ounce spilled right on the shifter. Is it possible that the water could be causing some sort of internal problem? I would assume that the transmission shifting mechanism is mostly mechanical my guess is the water was just coincidental, but I am a newbie and not very mechanically oriented.

Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated and if it is the transmission, would it be best to purchase one from a junkyard or a rebuilt trans or a new trans? I am way out of my element on this one. Thanks again.

 

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The water damage is high probability and a well know weak point on the w210. If you're very lucky, you park the car and remove as much of the paneling in the center console and try to dry it out with lots of moving air. Worse case scenario is about $1000 in replacement parts.

The electrical switches surrounding the shifter may need to be flushed with contact cleaner

https://www.benzworld.org/threads/0-...order.1720154/
scroll down to "Spilled liquid onto center console / shift lever"

Your transmission is in MB designed damage control mode called LIMP MODE. No, it's not 'just mechanical' but more likely electrical and electronics. Don't try to drive it hoping it'll heal itself (though it may....but so is winning a lottery ticket in terms of likely odds)

 

You spilled water on gear shifter unit.
You have probably shorted out the electronics and now you have gear shift problems.
Open the center console and see how much fluid there is inside?
Maybe you can use a hair dryer to remove fluid?

Sourcing a new shifter unit will be expensive try finding a cheap one at your local junkyard.

 

You are right it is most likely you damaged the selector. Try finding a used one at a junkyard or on eBay and replacing it. I had a similar problem and that completely cured it.
Also avoid using the cup holder in the center one hard braking maneuver and you will be here again.

 

Even if you are able to clean and dry out the shifter electronics, you will also need a Mercedes capable code reader to reset the transmission code.

 

So from what I am understanding, the erratic shifting could be caused by a disruption in the circuitry due to the introduction of water. And the car not shifting out the first means it is in limp mode. Is that correct? If that’s the case, will there be error codes that a mechanic will be able to find? Also, how do you get the car out of limp mode? Thanks so much for all of the feedback, it makes me feel a little bit better that I won’t be out a few thousand for a new transmission.

 

I was one of the fortunate ones. When I brought the 2000 E320 to an auto detailer, they spritz stuff around the cabin
and likely spilled some around the shifter. When I picked up the car, it was in limp mode and the gear indicator on
the instrument panel displayed Klingon type symbols.

I drove 3 miles home and opened up the console. I turned on and directed multiple fans in the cabin overnight. Still,
it took another 2 days of fan blowing and the symptoms disappeared. I used the ballpoint pen trick to unlock the
shifter and drove around carefully and by day 4, the car returned to normal, i.e. no transmission error code reset needed.

i was stupid super lucky

 

Well we are all guessing that the issue is due the spilled water because experience has shown that liquid spilled in this area can disable the transmission and put it in limp mode. And yes not shifting out of low gear is limp mode. It is possible that there are other problems, but the only way to diagnose is with a Mercedes capable code reader. This type of reader will give error codes and be able to reset them and get the car out of limp mode once the error conditions are corrected.

Your best bet is to find an independent Mercedes repair shop in your area. There is a forum on this website that lists recommended repair shops or you could list your general area and someone might offer a suggestion.

 

I'm glad for your finances that you were so lucky. With that kind of luck, you should play the lottery, lol.

 

The water scenario is so highly likely because the car was not exhibiting any symptoms before the water was spilled. I hope you wind up being as lucky as raymond g but you might want to prepare your finances.