My mother passed away, so we moved her car to my house. It was easiest to have the car towed. We did not have the keys to the car (at the time), so the flatbed driver popped the wood from center console, and seemed to do something underneath, which (I believe) allowed him to get the car into neutral, and hence , loaded / unloaded from the flatbed.

Now that the car is at my house, we need to move the car. We have the keys to the car, but the battery in the car is dead (will not hold a charge, or jump start). We only need to roll the car a few feet. I put the key in the ignition, moved the gear shifter into neutral, but the car does not seem to want to move (seems like it is still in park).

Does anyone know what the flatbed operator may have done? I do not see anything obvious under the wood console. I do not believe the emergency brake is frozen. FWIW, in my W210, there is a small spot in the center console which allows a pen (etc) to be inserted, to allow the gear shifter to be moved, when there is no battery ... but this is not the case in the 1995 C220 (W202).

I looked through the owners manual ... but nothing jumps out at me. Any thoughts? I can't imagine the car will only roll if there is a working battery ... am I wrong?

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- 2006 C230WZ Sport sedan, 6 speed, Black/Charcoal
- 2003 S500V4 Sport, Black/Charcoal
- 2002 E320 4Matic, Wedgewood Blue
- 1995 C220, Emerald Green, 95K miles
- 1991 300CE, Smoke Silver, 79K miles
- 1989 300E, Black Pearl / Grey, 136K miles *** STOLEN 3/2012 ***
- 2001 Corvette, Torch Red, 18K miles

Maybe the brakes have seized up a little, just try pushing the car a bit harder, got a neighbor who can help? They'll do that if they sit too long.

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Ooooo, unless he disconnected the shift rod, but that I think would be tougher to do than it would be worth....

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Once he popped up the wood, he was done within a minute or so ... I can see the shift handle going down into the boot (not sure if that's what you are talking about). The gear shift handle seems a little sloppy ... not sure if that means anything, or just that I am not used to the feel of that car. I guess, I am not sure what he could have done (for the most part, I see wiring harnesses) ... unless he was THINKING there was an over-ride, or bypass ... like there is on my 2002 E320 (which has the small opening / door in the shifter area). Is there a way he could have moved the shifter from PARK to NEUTRAL, by doing something underneath the wood? I do not see the ability to do anything to linkage. I do not recall if he would have returned the car to its previous condition.

So, does anyone know if a W202 looses battery power ... can the car still be shifted into neutral with key in the ignition, and turned to ON? Like I said, it seems like if this happened on my 2002 E320, the car could not be put into neutral (or roll), unless I engage the bypass.

If the shift lever is moving in to neutral, you should be in neutral and it should roll. The override thing is for cars like your 2002, where it has smartkey (electronic ignition switch).
As a test put it in reverse and see if the backup lights come on.
When the tow driver moved it, I think he flipped a catch which would keep the shifter from moving without the key being turned in the ignition.
My suggestion would be to put a battery in it and go from there. Or at least jump start it and see if it will go under it's own power.

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I think you are onto something there ... "flipping the catch" sounds logical ... now if I can only figure out what he did. I will try to figure out who towed the car, and ask for their input. In the interim, I will grab a donor battery to see if the back-up lights work ... which would suggest the car would be in proper gear. If that is the case, the brakes may be frozen ... but I didn't think that would be the case (but I've been wrong before)!

Thanks for your time and assistance.

I would still welcome other input.

Going from memory on my 95 W124, I only recall a cable-operated brake interlock going to the shifter. Either way, you can see from under the car if the linkage is disconnected - when moving the shifter, a shift rod should connect to the shifting shaft on the transmission.

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