SL350 stuck in park

[ro6ertj]

Hi.
Have searched all over and cannot find a thread for this, so sorry if there is one.

I have a SL350 with a 53 plate.
It is now stuck in 'Park'

Any ideas how to alleviate this problem?

Also many people refer to these cars by model? number not SL350, how do I find out what mine is?

If the gear selector problem needs fixing properly or if the little plastic part that seems to be the problem needs removing are there any garages or mobile mechanics around the Romford Essex area that members here could recommend?

Cheers.

 

[Spin_bowler]

Can't help with your problem but you have an R230 if you're looking for the series number.

 

[MicB]

There was a Thread on the MBO Forum on just this problem very recently. I do not know what the outcome was.

Mic

 

[danandgerry]

Stick a pen biro down in left hand/bottom corner by your gear stick and you can move change gear

 

[BlackC55]

Not on a 230 you can't.

Remove the gear selector trim and tap the selector module with a small hammer at the same time pulling on the gear lever. This makes a pin jump allowing it to come out of park.

You will probably need a new selector module to fix it.

 

[danandgerry]

Good old mercedes why keep it simple.

 

[ro6ertj]

Cheers for the replies, would the Brake Light Switch be relevant to my car?

 

[Gkinghorn]

If its the brake light switch I think that's intermittent.


The hammer technique alluded to above is impractical if you have keyless go though...

Fwiw I had to buy a new gear shift when I had the same problem n my r230 .... Painful stuff... But the issue , if not brake switch , is a plastic plate inside the gear shift (designed to stop you moving the gear shift without your foot on the brake initially) and if you are at all handy there is a guy down in Oz who can supply the part , in metal , to replace the plastic bit that's broke ... Will be considerably cheaper than a Merc replacement ..mine was £850!

Just be glad you weren't like me .. Parked 3 floors up n a multi story and came back to it at 10pm at night .... Pushing an R230 on 'skates' down through a multi story isn't for the faint hearted....

Best of luck and I hope it's brake light switch!

 

[BlackC55]

Yes, but unlikely.

It will probably be the selector at fault. Common failure

 

[allenhouse]

As per other comments, it's likely to be either the brake switch under the brake - the cheaper fix - or the plastic part in the gear select mechanism that has broken.
I had this issue in my R230, and it wasn't the brake switch. Thankfully the car was parked in my garage, and I had some "forewarning" a week before as the the gear lever would struggle to come out of park, but did eventually, and I parked it up while I looked at the forum.
Although scary, if you don't want to pay a fortune to MB to replace the complete gear select module, you can have a go at the repair yourself. The plastic part is available for a lot less than the complete unit, and there are videos online to show how to get at it. It takes time, but it is possible. I have keyless go and had to be careful not to damage the contact when whacking the gear lever with a rubber hammer. I am no mechanic, but I did manage to fix it, and 3 years later I look back with satisfaction on saving circa £1K to replace a 30 pence piece of plastic - although you will pay more than 30 pence to source the particular lever you need.

 

[gilbert121262]

I had this problem on my w220 S class. The tapping with a mallet on top of the gear selector worked for me. Had to have a new selector fitted, it is a security item if I remember rightly and I had show ID to merc to get the part, think it had to be coded to the car aswell. Another trick I found while I was waiting for the part, was put it into park very gently, do not take your foot off brake, turn car off and take out key then take foot off brake. This seemed to stop it locking in place. When you start next time do the reverse, foot on brake key in start car and it always came out of park, hope this helps.