Just out of curiosity:
The manual of the E350 W212 says to avoid putting the transmission into Park as it my damage the transmission. It's a no-brainer, but there is always that remote possibility that someone (driver or passenger) accidentally bumps the Park button during a normal drive.
Shouldn't the engine control software be programmed to not put the transmission into park at speed, even if the button is pressed? If yes, why the stupid warning?

I can't say with any great authority for the W212 but I can say for earlier transmissions there's a hydraulic lock out mechanism that stops you from moving the lever past "N" when the forward road speed is detected to be above about 10 kph. I'd expect it to be the same or similar for your transmission.

So in summary it probably won't always do what you tell it to do - unless the road speed is pretty low. The warning is probably applicable for the over enthusiastic / mega impatient who slam on the brakes - slam it into park and simultaneously jump out of the car with a base ball bat to twat someone over the head...

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

With the traditional transmission control lever, the chance of someone knocking it into Park is pretty small due to the long travel/effort required to go from D to P, but with the new electronic control, it's just a button that can be easily pushed by accident.

FYI - On my 126, I was going 50 mph and my dog pushed the shift lever into 2nd gear - nothing happened - it stayed in high gear.

My dog now rides in the back!

Wise decision, Elektri :-)

By the way, this is the answer I got from Mercedes: "If the Park button is pressed while the vehicle is moving (above approximately 10 mph), Park does not engage and a warning message will appear in the instrument cluster."

I don't call it a stupid warning.

Even though nothing will happen at speed, it will engage at a lower speed causing the wheels to suddenly lock / stressing the parking system. The warning is to prevent someone from pre selecting park while coasting into a parking spot. This will cause eventual damage. I see too many generic cars being parked by slamming into park while the car is still rolling ( and not applying the parking brake either.)

Also, on a straight mechanical system, selecting park over say 10 MPH will net a horrible pawl jumping over parking sprocket ratcheting sound that actually is less damaging than the below 10 MPH slam engagement.

Those with an auto trans truck and manual shifting 4wd transfer case have experienced this when trying to go from high to low and are bumping the trans shifter to get gears to turn.

Well good to know - test it on a hire car!

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!