'01 E430 transmission issue
 

Hey guys, I got a scare tonight when I reversed out of my driveway. The shift to R was pretty harsh ... backed out and put it in D. The tranny would not shift out of 1st and I noticed the gear display showed N even though I was in D. The check engine light came on and I immediately stopped.

I could not move the gear lever any higher than N and I could not remove the smart key from ignition. :confused:

Went and got my code reader and pulled these:

P0300
P0303
P0304
P0705

I know the 1st 3 are misfires but the 705 (Transmission Range Sensor Circuit malfunction [PRNDL Input]) has me worried. No unusual sounds coming from the tranny.

I cleared the codes and everything returned to normal, but I'm playing it safe and not driving it until I figure this out.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

This happened to me once, several months ago. It seemed like the computer got confused, possibly the theft system was confused. I disconnected the battery to clear codes and have a fresh start, and there was never an issue after that. I hope yours is also a one-time glitch.

Hey Dennis, thanks for the reply! Yeah, it seems all is back to normal after I cleared the codes and driving it to the store and back ... but man oh man did it scare the hell outta me. ;)

These later 722.6's don't have a gear selector switch, only the TCM under the hood. If the TCM is heading south it's good to know Ebay has a few for cheap.

I'll hold my breath ...

Cheers

Check the engine harness connection to the the trans for fluid contamination wicking up the wiring sheath to the TCM.

On that car and all MB's starting in 2000, the shifter is a computer.

Diagnosis is done thru a MB laptop.

As that is a theft revelent part & requires coding on that model.....a dealer is the only answer.