transmission not shifting from park
 

I have a 2001 S430. Could anyone tell me what might be causing the transmission not to shift out of park. I have had the car for three years and this is the first time it has happened. It will not shift from park with the brake pedal depressed it is just stuck in park. Has any body had this problem or have any solutions?

Did anything get spilled into the shifter? Does the gear indicator in the instrument cluster say "P"? If nothing got into the shifter, and the indicator is working, the brake light switch might be the problem. It's cheap, and easy to replace.

I'll second that. I've only seen that happen on ML's but brake switch like he said could be causing it. take the switch out and pull the plunger out a few clicks and reinstall it and see if that gets it working. if it does, replace it.

Is the switch located on the brake pedal? I unplugged a switch on the pedal and then moved the pedal up and down, plugged it back in and still the same result. Also the P is lit up on the instrument cluster. Thank you for the information.

There should be a procedure, to take the transm. out of Park, in your owners manual.

Your car is kind of new for me to know for sure, but on the older cars it might be the shift interlock cable may be out of adjustment.

Its a common problem for the shifters on those 220 bodies to go bad. Unlike the ML you cannont change a brake switch to cure this problem, you have to replace the shifter.

The W220 doesn’t have an emergency release feature to get the transmission out of “PARK”. This is because the 220’s don’t have a steering column lock. The shifter is actually part of the Drive Authorization System (DAS), and it's the only thing preventing someone from dragging it onto a flatbed and hauling it away.



True, the shifters on 220’s do seem to fail more frequently than on other MB’s, but I’ve resolved many problems like this with simply replacing the brake light switch.

unplugging it wont do it alone, you need to pull the center section out (you will hear it click a few times) and then let the pedal back down on it and reset itself to its normal position.

Is the SL600 the same
 

I went to pull my drive shaft. I removed the exhaust then went to remove the drive shaft and needed to put in into neutral. It would not happen. So I thought maybe I needed to start the car, "M120 no exhaust COOOOOL". Still couldent get it out of park. Then I tried to disconnect the linkage and actuate the transmission only No Good.

All I did to the car was pull the exhaust 4 O2 sensors and some other little cable that goes into the trans, that I have no Idea what it does. I'm going to try to hook that back up next and see what happens.

John Roncallo

OK

I now know what that little cable does. It also has some kind of reset button on it. But all I had to do was reconnect it.

John Roncallo

your doing it all wrong, your suppose to free the plunger of the brake switch if it is stuck not the pedal of your brake, you can check if the brake switch is working or not by using an ohm meter tester. another palce to look of rhte trouble is to go under the transmission (with full safety proceedure) then check if the linkage is aligned accordingly, otherwise, something can be broken inside and you would need to take it to a garage/dealer shifters are mechanical in nature but they have stop points due to electronic problem, use a star diagnosis computer and check for faults.

It's the brake pedal/shift interlock cable.

yeah...kinda important ;)

I've got a a similar issue but with much more kinks...

Friday night the valet brought my 2002 s500 around to the front of the restaurant with no problems. They turned it off and when I was ready to leave, I hopped in, turned it over, nothing. The dash board lights up like a christmas tree giving me a Check Engine light, & ESP, BAS, Airmatic ERROR messages. I turned the automatic headlights off and tried it again, it started. I got it home, started it up the next day, no problem, ABS light on. Went to the grocery store, came out, wont start. And when I say "wont start" I mean won't crank or anything. Its like having your key in the II possition. I tried it a few times and nothing. So I left it there and walk 2 blocks home. I returned later to see if it just need some time to stop hating me and, it started! But wont come out of park.

I replaced the battery, it started, I turned the wheels lock to lock to erase the codes, & then I turned it off. I tried to start it again and nothing. No crank.

It cranks when it wants to and when it does, its stuck in park. Oh and one more thing...the A/C won't work. I noticed that the A/C display was fading on and off that first night on the way home from the restaurant. When the car decides to crank & turn over, the only thing that will get the A/C to do anything is if I hit the REST button. Isn't this only supposed to work when the cars off to push residual hot air off the engine during over heating? -My temp gauge reads normal btw.

SO....with ALL that being said....PLEASE HELP!! My car has been in the Ralph's parking lot for almost a week & no one, not even the dealer can tell me what to do!

Oh, no one will tow it for me because it wont come out of park...????

H.E.L.P.

THANK YOU!