96 E320 stuck in park
 

My 96 E320 wont shift out of park and the key cant be removed from the ignition. THe engine starts and runs normally without a check engine light. I replaced the brake electrical switch. Any ideas how to fix the problem?

Sounds like the trans cable ON the shifter needs adjustment.
Wood trim around shifter has to be removed & then you can access the cable adjustment.

I have the same problem...did it ever get solved and how was it solved?
 

Yes, I have the same model 1996 E320 4 Door with 128,000 miles on it. The key is stuck in the ignition, she will start, but cannot shift out of Park. I have replaced the brake relay switch under the dash.

On a side note, the car has a Check Engine light and I'm guessing it is the MAF sensor. Also, the brake lining light came on about a week or two before the key got stuck so I know a brake job is coming up.

I even have all the faults codes I pulled off yesterday. Please see below.

Here are the current error codes:

P0125 Insufficient Coolant Temperature for Closed Loop Fuel Control
P0196 Engine Oil Temperature Sensor Range/Performance
P0234 Engine Overboost Condition
P0299 Turbo Under Boost
P0357 Ignition Coil G Primary/Secondary Circuit Malfunction
P0443 Evaporative Emission Control System Purge Control Valve Circuit Malfunction
P0455 Evaporative Emission Control System Leak Detected (gross leak)
P0736 Reverse incorrect gear ratio
P1143 couldn't really find a Mercedes Benz one....P1143 Heated Oxygen Sensor 1 Lean Shift Monitoring Bank 1???
U0001
U0101
U0106

Looking at these codes, I'm guessing the problem lies in P0357. Any ideas on what I need to do? Or where to start?

And I woke up this morning and remembered I haven't gone through the fuses one by one to double check. So I'll be doing that as well.

The 1996 has the old cable operated release for the shifter like the W124 E320 had. Pop the wooden trim from the console and see what is not letting go. it also will have another cable leading to the ignition switch which releases the tumbler to go to full release position to extract the key.


http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/316922-help-shifter-stuck-park-2.html

You can see some pictures of the problem in the link above.

Does you shifter have a rocker switch marked W S ?

If so, it might have a cable running from the ignition switch to brake peddle then to the left rear of trans. ( The R 129 with 722,6 electronic shift trans has this )

When you push on the brake peddle with the key turned, it pulls a cable than unlocks the shifter at the trans. There is also an interlock that prevents the key from turning fully off if you are pressing the brake peddle.

If you don't have the W S rocker, there still should be some sort of cable running from the brake peddle.

The electrical solenoid is a reverse lock out.