Help S320 auto gearbox stuck in PARK !!

[Chas]

My S320 (2001) is stuck in PARK in my driveway.

I called Merc Mobilo people and they are sending out a MB TECH specialist in 3 days time to try and free the selector.

It seems the 2002 model has a little pin hole that you can free the selector with a pen nib inserted in it.
Unfortunately mine doesnt have this !

Its a bad design fault which can leave you well and truly stuck. Fortunately it happened at home with me.

Any help/comments or a sympathetic ear would be appreciated



thanks folks

 

[panason1c]

My S320 (2001) is stuck in PARK in my driveway.

I called Merc Mobilo people and they are sending out a MB TECH specialist in 3 days time to try and free the selector.

It seems the 2002 model has a little pin hole that you can free the selector with a pen nib inserted in it.
Unfortunately mine doesnt have this !

Its a bad design fault which can leave you well and truly stuck. Fortunately it happened at home with me.

Any help/comments or a sympathetic ear would be appreciated



thanks folks

Stuck in 'park' is probably due to either a faulty brake light switch or a failed 'selector release solenoid'....Check first if the brake lights work..if they dont, check the fuse...otherwise, try changing the brake light switch as this only costs about £10 for the part and is a regular stock item as failure of this component is fairly common, it is located just above the brake pedal and is fairly simple to replace......

 

[Chas]

Thanks mate, I will check this

cheers

Chas

 

[miro]

It is a common failure point.

 

[Chas]

How do you dissengage from PARK (when stuck)

Stuck in 'park' is probably due to either a faulty brake light switch or a failed 'selector release solenoid'....Check first if the brake lights work..if they dont, check the fuse...otherwise, try changing the brake light switch as this only costs about £10 for the part and is a regular stock item as failure of this component is fairly common, it is located just above the brake pedal and is fairly simple to replace......

The brake lights are ok.

The specialist from MB cant come till Saturday, does anyone know how to dissengage out of PARK ?

 

[panason1c]

The brake lights are ok.

The specialist from MB cant come till Saturday, does anyone know how to dissengage out of PARK ?

It could still be a faulty brake light switch...the switch is actually two switches in one....it has two sets of contacts inside that work separate systems on the vehicle so it could still be faulty even though the brake lights still work.
For only £10 it's still worth changing it as the failure rate is fairly high and even if yours isnt faulty at least you wont get problems in the near future if you renew it now.

If the problem is with the solenoid you need to remove the centre console to access the gearshift lever assembly where you will find the release solenoid within, as a temporary measure, you might then possibly be able to manually push the solenoid plunger back in to enable you to move the lever out of park. or even remove the solenoid until a new one is obtained ...but you might prefer to leave this job to the dealer to rectify.

 

[Chas]

Thanks sir,

I will do as you suggest

Chas

 

[Chas]

Hi,
I have the brake light switch (£9.95)

Where exactly does it go? I have looked above the brake pedal, is it behind the black plastic cover above the pedal?
There are a few holes /flaps which might be hiding it?

thanks

 

[panason1c]

Yes, remove the plastic cover above the pedals and you will see the switch just above where your foot would be placed on the pedal....from memory, i think you need to press in a 'release' clip, then turn the switch half a turn and withdraw it.

 

[Chas]

It could still be a faulty brake light switch...the switch is actually two switches in one....it has two sets of contacts inside that work separate systems on the vehicle so it could still be faulty even though the brake lights still work.
For only £10 it's still worth changing it as the failure rate is fairly high and even if yours isnt faulty at least you wont get problems in the near future if you renew it now.

If the problem is with the solenoid you need to remove the centre console to access the gearshift lever assembly where you will find the release solenoid within, as a temporary measure, you might then possibly be able to manually push the solenoid plunger back in to enable you to move the lever out of park. or even remove the solenoid until a new one is obtained ...but you might prefer to leave this job to the dealer to rectify.

Thanks for all your help folks.

Unfortunately it was the cable between the brake pedal and the gear selector solenoid release. Mechanical , not electrical.
The local MB guys MERCEDES OF AYR sent there own technician out to my house and diagnosed the fault, which says a lot for them ***** 5 stars from me.

The bottom line is my pride and joy was recovered by the local recovery "experts". A bit humiliating watching her being manhandled by all those dirty hands, and dragged onto the vehicle!!

Just as an aside the recovery guys had just recovered a brand new 5 series BMW that was STUCK IN CRUISE CONTROL at 75mph . The poor guy could do nothing, not even switch her off, and took a turn into a field rather than negotiate a roundabout at 75 !!
Some thing to do with too much oil or something which causes the cruise to lock up !!

A bottle of wine for me tonight.

 

[dchaddah]

Just as an aside the recovery guys had just recovered a brand new 5 series BMW that was STUCK IN CRUISE CONTROL at 75mph . The poor guy could do nothing, not even switch her off, and took a turn into a field rather than negotiate a roundabout at 75 !!
Some thing to do with too much oil or something which causes the cruise to lock up !!

A bottle of wine for me tonight.

 

[panason1c]

Thanks for all your help folks.

Unfortunately it was the cable between the brake pedal and the gear selector solenoid release. Mechanical , not electrical.

Very glad you got it sorted....
Have to hold my hands up...i didnt know that any 2001 mercs had a mechanical link to operate the gearlever release .....i 'assumed' they were all electrical...Oh well, another learning curve
Sorry if i mis-directed you.

 

[Ian B Walker]

This release connects to the rear of the gearbox and if you disconnect it you can drive away as long as you fabricate some form of plug to seal the box. Found this out when changing a 202 gearbox a couple of months ago.

 

[Chas]

Very glad you got it sorted....
Have to hold my hands up...i didnt know that any 2001 mercs had a mechanical link to operate the gearlever release .....i 'assumed' they were all electrical...Oh well, another learning curve
Sorry if i mis-directed you.

No problem, its a steep learning curve for me, and thanks for your input.

cheers

Chas

 

[Chas]

The car is with MB now and its the Gear selector which is faulty !

£350 , ordered from Germany! (7 days) plus 2 hours labour £150 = £500

thanks for all your help

Chas

 

[pammy]

Glad it's getitng sorted - nothing worse than seeing your pride and joy being towed away

Just as an aside the recovery guys had just recovered a brand new 5 series BMW that was STUCK IN CRUISE CONTROL at 75mph . The poor guy could do nothing, not even switch her off, and took a turn into a field rather than negotiate a roundabout at 75 !!
Some thing to do with too much oil or something which causes the cruise to lock up !!

Does this remond you of a story a while ago about the Chav tearing down the A1? He said his accellerator had stuck iirc - perhapds he wasn't so mad and bad after all - although he didn't have the sense to run off into a field and negotiated roundabouts in excess of 100mph.