E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

Stuck in park

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Old Dec 9, 2022 | 08:48 AM
  #1  
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Stuck in park

Hello guys

I have a 2007 w211 facelift, and can’t get the shifter to release from park. I have a second car I use for work so i don’t often drive the w211 in the weekdays.

I drove the car home on last sunday and there was no problems. On Wednesday I was going to drive it after work, and I couldn’t get it out of park. I let it be and tried again today, but still no success.

No warning messages, and the brake lights are working. I’ve tried to push the brake a few times before trying to change gears, and I’ve tried to hold the brake pedal for a while.
I also tried pushing the manual release button under the center panel, but it didn’t work. It’s completely stuck.

Any suggestions? Thank you
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Old Dec 9, 2022 | 01:28 PM
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The brake light switch has two switches in it. One for the brake lights and the other to release the transmission shifter lever. 10 minutes to change it and only a few dollars so this is one time I'd recommend throwing parts and money at the car since they're so small of an investment. If that doesn't do it you're going to have to put it on a diagnostic system.

Last edited by bbirdwell; Dec 9, 2022 at 06:14 PM.
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Old Dec 9, 2022 | 01:40 PM
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thank you for the reply!

Is the brake light switch the black little box you can access behind the cover under the steering wheel?

Even though the brake light switch is faulty, would this still mean I can’t release the gear stick with the manual release button inside the center console?
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Old Dec 9, 2022 | 02:11 PM
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2006 E280
Originally Posted by thomasxmb
Even though the brake light switch is faulty, would this still mean I can’t release the gear stick with the manual release button inside the center console?
My car was electrically fully dead at one point, and I could still release the shifter from the override button.
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Old Dec 9, 2022 | 02:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Heguli
My car was electrically fully dead at one point, and I could still release the shifter from the override button.
Hmm right. That’s the hard part I find very weird myself. All the symptoms people have online don’t match up to mine, but still they are able to release it by the button.

The other most common problem I have read about is spillage on top of the gear stick, but then the symptoms are that the gear indicator in the dashboard is gone. But it’s still there for me.

I can move the stick from the normal position to the right, but not downwords to change. It stops.
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Old Dec 9, 2022 | 03:26 PM
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https://www.mercedesmedic.com/merced...er-stuck-park/
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Old Dec 16, 2022 | 01:58 PM
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The gear linkage under the car that goes between the gearstick and gearbox was frozen. I put a heater under the car for about an hour, and greased up the bearings

Problem fixed
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