C250D W205 “Without changing gear, consult workshop”

[WhiteBeast250AMG]

Hi! My W205 Mercedes C250 cdi 7G-Tronic threw me this today. The car was moving perfectly fine , without anything unusual, I parked the car, locked it left for 20 minutes came back and found this. I can’t switch the gear to any other one, not DRIVE, REVERSE, or NEUTRAL. I have found online how to ‘reset the gearbox’ but that didn’t change anything at all.
The only thing that happened prior and was out of the ordinary, is that when I tried to put it to drive in the morning when I just started it , it didn’t go into gear immediately, and I probably clicked it a few more times after which it went into drive.
The main issue apart from the error is that the car is in a pretty tight parking spot, and the recovery truck can’t take it from there. My mechanic told me he never encountered this error on the 205.
Anyone has any suggestions what could’ve possibly caused this error, or perhaps a possible way to at least to put the car into Neutral so the recovery truck could move it out of the parking.
Appreciate any help!

 

[markjay]

It does not mean that there's a fault with the transmission itself, instead it means that there's a fault with the gear selection lever (or, more precisely, with its electronics).

Also, check all the fuses, in all fuseboxes.... this could be one reason for the messages.

Failing that, the car will need to be scanned with STAR.

 

[WhiteBeast250AMG]

It does not mean that there's a fault with the transmission itself, instead it means that there's a fault with the gear selection lever (or, more precisely, with its electronics).

Also, check all the fuses, in all fuseboxes.... this could be one reason for the messages.

Failing that, the car will need to be scanned with STAR.

Thanks for your reply, and you kind of calmed me down by saying it’s not a fault with the gearbox as I was preparing to give 6k for gearbox replacement.
I will try to bring my mechanic into the parking to check the fuses and check it with STAR

 

[Petrol Pete]

It is unlikely to be a transmission replacement issue , but for clarity when was the transmission last serviced , how many Kilometres on it ?

2015 , It must have had a least one full transmission service by now.

 

[WhiteBeast250AMG]

It is unlikely to be a transmission replacement issue , but for clarity when was the transmission last serviced , how many Kilometres on it ?

2015 , It must have had a least one full transmission service by now.

It has 208k km, and I last serviced it around ~60k km ago (gearbox) when it was required by the service to be done

 

[Petrol Pete]

How long did it take you to do 60K ? Basically how many years since the transmission service.

 

[WhiteBeast250AMG]

How long did it take you to do 60K ? Basically how many years since the transmission service.

A year and half, maximum around 2 years

 

[Mosman40]

I have had same warning issue with my ML/GLE and currently it's with MB dealer to sort out. Have a feeling it's the ISM that needs to be replaced. For mine to get it to move previously when I had the error, I plugged it in and cleared the codes, this allowed the car to reset and gears worked fine. My issue is slightly different in that once the car cools down, the gears work fine, however once it has been driven for an hour or so, the codes come back and the warning comes back and I have to stop and let the car cool down to drive it again. Try checking the fuse to start with, mine had the fuse in the engine compartment for the ISM. It was a 30 AMP Maxi Fuse.

 

[DSM10000]

I have had same warning issue with my ML/GLE and currently it's with MB dealer to sort out. Have a feeling it's the ISM that needs to be replaced. For mine to get it to move previously when I had the error, I plugged it in and cleared the codes, this allowed the car to reset and gears worked fine. My issue is slightly different in that once the car cools down, the gears work fine, however once it has been driven for an hour or so, the codes come back and the warning comes back and I have to stop and let the car cool down to drive it again. Try checking the fuse to start with, mine had the fuse in the engine compartment for the ISM. It was a 30 AMP Maxi Fuse.

Has the fluid level been checked and is the transmission oil cooler free of obstruction?

 

[BlackC55]

View attachment 162487
Hi! My W205 Mercedes C250 cdi 7G-Tronic threw me this today. The car was moving perfectly fine , without anything unusual, I parked the car, locked it left for 20 minutes came back and found this. I can’t switch the gear to any other one, not DRIVE, REVERSE, or NEUTRAL. I have found online how to ‘reset the gearbox’ but that didn’t change anything at all.
The only thing that happened prior and was out of the ordinary, is that when I tried to put it to drive in the morning when I just started it , it didn’t go into gear immediately, and I probably clicked it a few more times after which it went into drive.
The main issue apart from the error is that the car is in a pretty tight parking spot, and the recovery truck can’t take it from there. My mechanic told me he never encountered this error on the 205.
Anyone has any suggestions what could’ve possibly caused this error, or perhaps a possible way to at least to put the car into Neutral so the recovery truck could move it out of the parking.
Appreciate any help!

It is probably a failed selector module. Or there is water ingress on a CAN line.

The gearbox re-set that you found online wont fix anything gearbox related.
It will need to go on a Xentry machine to find the issue.

You may have to drag the car on skids to get it moved.

 

[Mosman40]

Has the fluid level been checked and is the transmission oil cooler free of obstruction?

NO it hasn't. I did have the transmission oil and filter service done by MB about 3 years ago now as part of their service. The car is now with MB dealer to check and see what the problem is. I took it last time and they said it was a software issue and they did an update of the transmission and Engine ECU. However this did not solve the issue. When the message appears it throws codes to do with communication issue with the ISM and other. I have attached the last scan I did.

 

[DSM10000]

That scan was by an Autel device, presumably not at a MB garage?

Star is more accurate.

 

[Mosman40]

That scan was by an Autel device, presumably not at a MB garage?

Star is more accurate.

Hi DSM10000. Yes that scan was from Autel which I use. However the car is in with MB dealer to see what the problem is and since they are dealers, they will use STAR to do the diagnostic. I'm waiting to hear from them. Looking at the scan I took with the Autel, looks like the ISM will need replacing. Holding on to my wallet tightly at the moment and waiting for the call from the dealer to let me know what the problem is.

 

[Mosman40]

Just a quick update. Heard from Mercedes dealer yesterday and they have diagnosed that it's the ISM that needs replacing plus some hose. Total they have quoted me for the job is around £800 for the parts and labour. This does not include the diagnostics as I paid for the last time I took it in for the same issue, so not paying twice.

The jobs should hopefully take a few days and I should have the car back by early next week. Fingers crossed this fixes the issue. Currently I have a courtesy 2024 model Cla Class Phev 250 Amg Line Executive, so don't mind the wait.

@WhiteBeast250AMG Did you get yours sorted?