On my 1996 E320 the shifter gets stuck in P. I removed everything around the shifter housing (the whole middle console including air vents to the rear seats)
and see that the shifter is blocked in P position by a hook, which is released by a cable, which in turn pulled by the brake pedal. The situation now is the cable is not pulled when the brake pedal is kicked down therefore does not release the hook


My temporary fix is making the hook permanently open by pulling the cable and screwing it tighly, meaning the shifter is now moving freely in all positions until the problem is tackled.

Certainly I have to fix the problem but until then my questions:
1. Does my car has a brake light switch? If yes is the brake light switch the cause that the hook releasing cable is not pulled by the brake pedal or is it a mechanical problem?

2. can I drive (relatively) safely with the hook now always open/disabled? At least for the drive to my Indy. Of course I have to make sure when starting the engine that the shifter is in P.

3. What's the function of the other longer black cable? which pulls a lever in the rear of the shifter housing, in the picture the lever is connected to a spring. What mechanism activates that cable?

Your inputs are greatly appreciated, thanks!

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1996 E320 since 1/16/08, 171K miles as of Feb 2011

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1989 300CE - R.I.P. Dec 29 2007
Other MBs (sold): 1992 300E-24 - 1979 350SLC - 1984 230E - 1990 300CE