Can’t get the car out of park! Stuck at a stop light in the middle lane.

Background. It rained like heck last night, reminants of the toronadoes. Car started fine but within half a mile the ABS, ESP, cruise inoperative (5 warnings in total).

2006 E320 CDI.

Shifted into park and restarted in the hope of resetting the codes and I couldn’t get it out of park. Cars were wizzing by at 50mph, not a good place to be.

I tried restarting dozens of times till it finally shifted and we were able to continue to Jacksonville Florida, visiting the Amelia Island Concourse de Elegance this week. Did not turn off or put in park for food or fueling, kept it running in drive or neutral.

It seams that something got wet in the driving heavy rain while parked overnight. I recall others with car wash problems.

My icarsoft scanner is at home...bummer.

Any recommendations for an indie in Jacksonville, Savannah or Charleston wher
We will be visiting on the way home.

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1999 Mercedes E300TD daily driver sold at 238K miles 106K miles were mine, rust worm got it :-(
2006 Mercedes CDI new daily driver! 56,000 miles May 2016 now 85,625 Apr 2018 and Apr 2019 101,000 miles Apr 2020 109,875. March 2024 135,250, Dec 2024 145,000 miles

Wild ass guess from someone with no w211 experience: Could possibly be something as simple as the brake light switch.

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Current rolling stock:
2001 E55 183,000+ Newest member of the fleet.
2002 E320 83,000 - The "cream-puff"!
1992 500E 217,000+
1995 E300D 412,000+
1998 E300D 155,000+
2001 E320 227,000+
2001 E320 Wagon, 177,000+

Prior MBZ’s:
1952 220 Cab A
1966 300SE
1971 280SE
1973 350SLC (euro)
1980 450SLC
1980 450SLC (#2)
1978 450SLC 5.0
1984 300D ~243,000 & fondly remembered
1993 500E - sorely missed.
1975 VW Scirocco w/ slightly de-tuned Super-Vee engine - Sold after 30+ years.

I think you can slide a pencil under the shifter somewhere,and there's a release.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

I'm about 90 miles out of Savannah off I16 if you want to swing by the shop on the way home. Just let me know. I suspect you must have lost power to something.

Miguel (the world traveler from peachparts) is down there this weekend? If you want I can send you a phone # for him and he may have some contacts at the show that can help out.

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Jim

Don't know if that vehicle has it but maybe a SNAFU of the interlock cable system between the ignition/shifter/brake pedal?

Usually there is some small disguised opening in or around the shifter with a cover that can be popped off and a screwdriver or some similar tool can be reached down to physically override that interlock and allow the shifter to be moved even when the battery is dead or out. This is how a tow guy gets a vehicle out of park when the electric system is dead or not functioning.

If you've got the owner's manual it should say something about that feature if one is available on the vehicle.

Thanks for your thoughts on the problem.
I have to feel that it is water related and has to do with abs sensors. As preventative maintenance I remove and clean the “fuzz” off of them every couple of years. I don’t have my log with but recall doing it last summer.

All lights off this AM and all operating normal.

Got 6.0 litres / 100km
47.08 mpg imperial gallon
39.3 mpg US gallon. I likely would have done better if the cruise control was working.

When and assuming I get home at month end I will soak each wheel well and sensors one at a time to see if I can reproduce the problem. The car was parked during the rain with the passenger side slightly lower. Front right is my first suspect. I may use a dielectric grease on the connections depending on your opinions.

Thanks engatwork it could be back to normal but with a “water sensitive” will see how it goes.

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1999 Mercedes E300TD daily driver sold at 238K miles 106K miles were mine, rust worm got it :-(
2006 Mercedes CDI new daily driver! 56,000 miles May 2016 now 85,625 Apr 2018 and Apr 2019 101,000 miles Apr 2020 109,875. March 2024 135,250, Dec 2024 145,000 miles

The exact thing has happened to me in a flash flood, luckily I was not on the street but on highway when all the lights lit up & car still running in limp mode I was able to exit and parked, after eating, came back NO start, tried to shift into neutral & it won't move (iSoft did not help) checked in to Motel. Once things dried out overnight everything went back to normal.

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06 MB E320 CDI 123k miles
14 Sienna (wife's DD) 36k miles
11 GL350 Bluetec 136k (Sold)
96 E300; 292k+ miles (Donated)
11 Sprinter 22K+ miles (Sold)

found the details of the famous MB roadside assistance program....they may be able to help.

Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance - Eligibility and Coverage

Reason #88 to rent a car for long trips. Be sure and rent from a major name rental agency, i.e. Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, etc.... If the rental car craps out mid-trip, they get you into another car PRONTO. No muss, no fuss.....I have taken my family on several thousand mile plus trips using a rental car and I'll say this; my blood pressure remained nice and low during the trip.....

Well...this brings up story time.

Years ago, I was vacationing in California...driving a rental from San Diego up to Joshua Tree. I don't remember the exact spot, but somewhere on the 15 north of Escondido, the tread separated from the tire on my front driver's side tire. Tore gashes in the front quarter-panel in the process.

I pulled off on the side of the freeway to change the tire, got all my luggage out of the back, and discovered that the spare tire was missing. Called Enterprise, and they dispatched a tow truck...which arrived an hour later. The tow truck towed me to the nearest Pep Boys or equivalent. It was mid-day on a Saturday, so I proceeded to spend the entire rest of the day sitting around waiting for a new tire. When the car was finally fixed, Enterprise "graciously" offered to let me drive it back to San Diego and exchange it for an undamaged car. So there went another two+ hours of my life. I finally made it to my motel near midnight, having lost an entire day of vacation thanks to Enterprise's poorly maintained and poorly equipped car.

The cherry on the sundae is that a couple months later, Enterprise sent me a bill for some huge amount of money (I think over $1000) for damage I did to their car. Never mind that the car was poorly aligned and pulling hard to one side, which almost certainly caused the blowout in the first place. Fortunately, I had comprehensive coverage on my own vehicle that covered the damage, so I was just out of pocket the minimal deductible.

All this to say that (1) there's no guarantee a rental car company will take care of you if something happens to the car you rent from them and (2) you may be much better off with your own car that you know is properly maintained and equipped rather than taking the gamble that a rental company is going to give you a pristine car.

(Obviously part of this sad tale may stem from Enterprise being one step above a rent-a-wreck shop, and I've never rented them again. And I was also foolish because I felt the pull in the car as soon as I drove it away from the rental lot, but I ignored it because I was eager to get on with my vacation and was young and dumb and didn't want to have to go through the hassle of trying to convince them to give me a different car. But if you drive your own car, you don't have to think about any of that - you know if you have it in proper working order or not.)

I don't know what I was thinking when I said rent from Hertz, Avis or Enterprise. I've had my own personal bad experiences with Enterprise, you are correct, they are a problem waiting to happen.

Plus, they are known to order cars direct from the factory with safety systems disabled so they can save money. Only car rental company in the world I know of that has done that. Crazy.

Tires rarely just come apart without warning.


A " bad alignment " didn't cause the tire to blow out. You continuing to drive the car with it pulling was an early warning sign that the tire was starting to fail. RE: The body damage is your fault.


Did you read the rental contract before signing it? Rental companies specifically exclude tire damage from any coverage they provide, I know that U Haul does. You might have been able to get around the tire damage issue if they were made aware of the problem immediately after you left the lot.


So you admit to ignoring the pull but still blame the rental company? What sort of logic is that?

If the car can't make it 500 miles..... you haven't taken care of it very well. Sure, something can happen on any car but if you have a MB in good condition you have the RIGHT to take it on as long of a trip as you want. If it breaks down along the way, so be it.

There's something to be said for rental cars, that's for sure, but if you're afraid to drive your Mercedes on a 500 mile trip, you should sell the car.

Who said anything about renting a car?

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission - engine spun a rod bearing

1979 300SD, ~90k original miles, all stock

Who's on first?