Clicking/Chattering in W210 Shifter
 

Car is '97 E320. When I pull away from a stop with the car in "drive", there is a brief period of clicking/chattering in what appears to be the shifter.

The problem is more pronounced if I am headed up a grade and the car is under more of a load. I find that if I pull back the shifter slightly to its stop, the noise does not occur. The shifter handle does not appear to be loose in any direction and works as designed. Any ideas? Thanks.

It is most likely the shifter bushing
 

I had the same condition you describe and also noticed a rattling during higher RPM deceleration.

Dealer said my bushing was actually missing.

New one in, no problems since.

Aloha

How Many Shifter Bushings?
 

I read some other posts about replacing the shifter bushings in '97 E320 and they seemed to indicate there were two - one reachable inside the console and on reachable from underneath. is this correct?