98 ML320 Tranny Stuck in Gear
 

Hello. On Saturday after I filled up for $2.49 a gallon :( I hopped back in and couldnt get out of first gear. I crawled through the mountains of Tennessee for about 20 miles before calling AAA and having it towed home.

I've heard of trannys getting stuck in gear from fluid being spilled through the shifter and frying the control module but nothing has been spilled to my knowledge.

I just had it serviced so Im assuming im full of tranny fluid, but without a dipstick, I cant tell for sure.

Any thoughts?

Thank you -
Roy Andrade

After shutting off and restarting is it still stuck..... in "Limp Home" mode?

I imagine that you are stuck because the trans has registered a fault. Probably hits into D and R a lot harder than usual also. Both are the fall back conditions of an electronic trans that is confused. Often they will reset on ignition cycling. Even if they reset the fault is registered and readable with an appropriate tool. It could be as simple as a brake light switch or selector switch. I had one once that had a break in the CAN circuit leave it confused. It was confused because it couldn't receive the necessary info from other controllers through CAN (controller area network).

The first step is to read the fault codes.