CDRCDR

Hello, I have a 2005 S320CDI Long and I have the stuck in park problem. I bought the car like this thinking I could repair the issue in an hours, then sell it. But the car had other plans and refuses to let me part with it. I am DYI man and I believe that 90% of cars can be fixed if you have the patience to deal with it and not just throw them to a mechanic.


I took it home and immediately took out the center console and shifter, it was my first time trying to fix this issue so I was nervous, I was surprised how easy it was to get it out, but this is Mercedes so they use their brains when they build these things.

I took the cover off the shifter and to my surprise the plastic piece inside is not broken, cracked, stressed or anything similar.

I continued to try to get inside the shifter, but the one I have is different from most I see in youtube videos, the parts are welded or clamped together and there is no way that I can see to take it out completely.

So then I tried to see if the solenoid was working, it's strange that with the plastic part not broken it would not work.

I gave a 12volt electrical shock to the solenoid and voila...it worked perfectly, you could shift the gears no problems and so on.

So now I'm wondering where the issue is. It's obvious the solenoid is not getting the signal to release.

How can I check if the signal is coming to the shifter? Could the problem be inside the shifter pcb board? Anyone had a similar issue?


thank you!

CDRCDR

Going to give an update that will make me look like a huge moron, but such is life:

it was the brake light switch, I took apart both of my W220s trying to fix this issue and all I had to do was to change a £10 part. Damn.

wallyp

Thanks for the honesty - you might have saved several of us from making the same mistake!