Steve,

Thanks for the input. There ain't nothing better than a good mechanic and there ain't nothing worse than a bad one.....

A question -

I am looking at the gearshift assembly inside the car. On the passenger side, down on the base is a little round-ish opening. Is this where you are saying I can adjust the shifter? I tried every torque bit I have and nothing seems to grab onto something. Am I in the right place? What kind of bit do I need to turn it?

I am also going to install the new battery. You never know - it just might have something to do with the whole mess. My VW was having a multitude of problems and I noticed the dipstick was missing. I replace it and voila! all my problems were fixed.

So - onward...

Thanks,
Ted

I've never actually done the repair, but just make sure if it is a torx bolt, that it isn't one that has the pin lock centers. I think they have a special name (may be set screw) but I can't remember what they are called. The torx bit head has a center hole. Shine a light in the hole and see if you could see the bolt head, you would be able to distinguish the difference.

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Steve32

I replaced the battery today. At least the car starts up good. Now the sunroof doesn't work. I still have the same problem with the transmission. It still won't shift out of first.

Need some help on Steve's suggestion to adjust the shift knob. Anybody out there?

Thanks for all your help.

Take about 10 minutes out of your day and look at every fuse in the fuse box, both under the hood and inside the cabin.

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Steve32

yeah, i tried that once- had a few fuses out but nothing crucial. i'll recheck again. the shop foreman in MB houston said fuses wouldn't have anything to do with it, but who knows? i think what i'm down to is the shiftlever adjustment, a possible tcm malfunction, or an rpm indicator. battery starts the car fine now, but the sunroof doesn't work on "one touch" anymore. i think i'll narrow it down some more, then possibly take it to a mechanic, that way they're not "searching" the answer for 80 bucks an hour. no dedicated dealership in my area, and the local car repair franchise doesn't have the mercedes obd equipment, which resulted in the bad egr valve/cps diagnosis last time- gee you think if i had bought the egr theory that they would have refunded my money when it didn't work???

there is nothing better than a good mechanic, and nothing worse than a bad one....my car sat at a mb dealership in illinois one time for 6 weeks. i called a mb foreman in houston, he called them, and the problem was fixed the very next day....

also the ML has been sitting for a while, as well.....

thanks!

replaced all blown fuses, new battery installed. still won't show what gear it's in, and is still stuck in 1st. new development is that when i put it in drive it sometimes won't accelerate like it's stuck in neutral. i understand thru this forum that you have to read the codes thru the tcm, but when i called the local aamco tranmission he said they couldn't do that. it also takes a hard turn forward on the ignition to start and the key gets stuck in the ignition when you turn the motor off. any ideas? i just can't take it to the local dealer not real smart and they're not a dedicated dealer- sell subaru's etc.. help! took my 300e to a non dedicated dealer and it sat there for 6 weeks one time.

YOU need to take the truck to some one that has a dedicated scanner for MB!

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
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Round one: Your stop lamp switch plays a part in releasing your shifter from park.

Round two: If you cannot see the gear position on your instrument cluster, then your shifter is bad.

Round three: Did you try to renormalize the sunroof after battery replacement?

Round four: Your ignition is linked to your shifter via that cable on the front part of your shifter (at the bottom), if your key is hanging up when trying to come out of the ignition, then, again, your shifter may be playing a part in this.

Don't be afraid, the dealer will charge you the initial 1 hour labor to diagnose, just tell them that my shifter sometimes will not come out of park, and the gear position does not show up in the display, this will let the tech (i hope you get a good one, and not the shop apprentice) know that this is where to look, and the first short test with the SDS unit, should let him know that the shifter is bad.

Happy motoring!!

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www.theworkshopmercedesbenz.com
Nahum:1.7

Thanks for the info. I don't have any problems getting the gearshift out of park - I can't put it into park from another gear.

Could this be as simple as unplugging the TCM and "rebooting" it?

Also, there was absolutely no problems with the shifter at all until I had to replace the battery. Is this a problem that can just start without warning?

Thanks again for all your help.

Shifter or the shift release cable that goes to your ignition. Quite possibly a shifter.

Happy Motoring!

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Nahum:1.7