transmission gear indicator - What gear am I am?

[ck42]

This seems a little odd and need to see if this is actually normal.

At night, when I have the headlights on, the gear shift is lit-up as normal. BUT, I have no visual indication of what gear I'm in. Other cars I've driven will do something like make the gear you're in a different color on the shifter or something.

Is this normal?

[Holson Adi]

I need to check on that, I'm not sure..
I think it's just brighter (the light for the gear that you're in)

I'll let ya know

[MikeTangas]

Sounds normal compared to the 560 I have. My 4.5 does have a red indicator however (column shift).

[hedpe]

On my W126, like your car, it has no indicator of what gear I am in also. I don't think anything is wrong with your car, i just think that feature wasn't implemented until later on. In my 1992 500E, the gear i am in is light up, and the others are dim, i think the W126 just didn't come with that.

[ck42]

Wow.....that's really bizarre. It's not like it's some kinda expensive feature or rocket science to have the gear indicated....
It's sort of annoying in the dark to have to think about how to manuever the gear shift for something other than Park.

I guess after a while you just memorize the pattern...

[hedpe]

It is lit up though right? Just all of the gears are lit? I never had a problem with it, driving it for two years, it just flows into place.

[jylee]

The llight is bgighter on the late model. just count if you can't see it....

jack

[ck42]

Ja, it's lit up (all the gears are).

like I said, I'll just have to get used to it.....it's just that it's kinda annoying not having something to inidicate.

[yambrovich]

You'll get to know which gear you're in by the sound of the symphony coming from under the hood!!
My '89 300-E and my wifes' '92 190-E is the same way as your car. The entire gear range is lit (most of the time - that's the subject of an upcoming posting of my own) without any indication of what gear selection you've made.
For example, when I'm going 65 mph in D my car is turning around 3000 rpm. If I downshift to 3 (heading 'over the hill' for example) at 65 mph, it jumps up to around 3800-4000 rpm and just SINGS (don't quote me exactly on the rpms but it's darned close)!!! What a SWEET sound.