Sl55 Drive Selector

[karozza]

The selector(with the start/stop button) is becoming difficult to get out of Park. Once out, everything is smooth.

What's going to fail & will have to be replaced?? Where can I buy it on line & can I personally replace the mechanism or will it have to go to a specialist on STAR for electronics??

Thanks for any feed back.

 

[karozza]

Apparently, after much research on line, most probable cause is a broken plastic lever with the shifter. Normal MB practice is to replace the complete unit costing around € 1000 +!

The plastic lever can actually be bought separate on line or from a company in Australia & be replaced. Hopefully this is the culprit.

 

[karozza]

Gear shifter now taken out of the car & stripped...

 

[karozza]

Cracked broken lever, as shown in the picture pointed out by the screwdriver now removed & waiting for replacement all the way from Aussie land!

 

[DSM10000]

Considering the cost of the car that does not look like a high quality component.

Well done for persevering, I hope it fixes your problem.

 

[WantSL55]

Well done for catching it in time.
Mine broke after being stiff twice and left the car stuck in park
Had to be recovered to specialist was a big problem to get it out and a new part took six weeks to come from Mercedes in Germany and cost £800

 

[karozza]

Did £800 include labour??

 

[karozza]

Part received in 3 days as promised. Now fitted & works perfect. Quite expensive for what it is but with me doing the work & avoiding taking car for repair, at € 138.00 instead of a whopping € 1000 bill, still a much better solution me thinks!

 

[WantSL55]

£800 for the part. About £150 for removal and fitting. Considering they had the car in their garage for six weeks I thought the labour charge was very good.

 

[zoros]

Karozza - can I confirm that the only way to get to this broken lever is to take the gearbox out?????

Is Aussie the only place in this Solar System to obtain said cheap part?

Do any other Merc's have this same part number - if so there are loads lying around in the local scrap yard.

What is the PART NUMBER please?


Ta in advance

Z

 

[zoros]

anyone?

 

[karozza]

Karozza - can I confirm that the only way to get to this broken lever is to take the gearbox out?????

Is Aussie the only place in this Solar System to obtain said cheap part?

Do any other Merc's have this same part number - if so there are loads lying around in the local scrap yard.

What is the PART NUMBER please?


Ta in advance

Z

Hi Zoros, there is no need to take out the gearbox to reach the broken lever within the shifter (ESM). However, you will need to get to under the car & remove the mid section plastic tray (under the gearbox section) to reach/release the linkage to the shifter.

Don't know about the Solar System , but on planet earth, I have also seen the part on Ebay for quite a bit cheaper than I bought it, but postage would take a few weeks & from Aussie, it was in my hands in 3 days.

Not really sure which part number you are referring to but to my knowledge, the SL R230 all use the same shifter & the same lever.

If you are thinking of tackling this, I can show some pictures of what you need to take out to reach the shifter.

Hope this helps.

 

[zoros]

Karozza - most kind, thanks. Yes please I would like the pictures and if possible the link on Ebay for the part.

regards

Z

 

[allenhouse]

Zoros, you don't need to take the gearbox out, but you do need to remove the centre console and the gear selection module itself. If your car is stuck in park, you will not be able to remove the centre console without first hammering the gear lever out of park - when my (out of warranty) R230 had this issue in 2009 I managed to do it all myself by following one of the youtube guides that are out there. It takes confidence and patience, but can be done by a non-mechanic.

I bought my replacement part from Monoglobal in Australia, via Ebay I think. You can have a plastic part or a more sensible metal part as a replacement.

I doubt you will obtain a part number as the 10 pence plastic piece that causes the problem is part of the bigger mechanism, and this is the part which will have a part number...as well as nice big price tag. The whole mechanism if bought new from MB will need to be "tied" electronically to the car, which is why buying a second hand one tends not to be the way to go.

Sometimes the car being stuck in park is not actually caused by this part failing, but by a dodgy brake pedal switch. Hope you get sorted!

 

[karozza]

Karozza - most kind, thanks. Yes please I would like the pictures and if possible the link on Ebay for the part.

regards

Z

OK, here's one on EBay..

Benz W220(new) Automatic Shift Gear Repairing Kit ( Fits 2000+ year) | eBay

Here's the preferred one in aluminium..

00-06 Mercedes Benz Trans ESM GEAR SELECTOR RELEASE LEVER Aluminum 5MM #C146 | eBay

The SL R230 uses the 11mm wide lever.

 

[karozza]

This should really be made a sticky! It is quite common to happen at some point throughout the SL lifetime.

I can only get 3 pictures per post so I'll try my best..

You will need the shifter out of Park to remove the central console. Lift leather boot & unscrew plastic nut under gear knob & VERY IMPORTANT, if you have the START/STOP in the knob, you MUST pull straight up without any twist movement as you will break the two pins in the START/STOP switch!

Insert your finger as shown in the picture to pull out the console trim on each side which are clipped in place.

Then unscrew 3 torx screws on each side so you can lift up the centre console insert by opening centre compartment & pulling it out from the stereo surround. Best to remove cup holder & blank covers exactly under the SAT/NAV.

 

[karozza]

After you remove these parts, you get to the ESM which is a slight PITA to take out

Mercedes, in all their wisdom, secured this in place via 3 Allen screws which have not been placed in the most convenient locations.

One on each side are obstructed by a plastic bar at the top of the ESM & the third forward facing one has protruding pin obstructing it. With patience, it is manageable, apart from easily removing the 2 top philips screws.

In all this procedure, you will have to unplug electric connectors in the console up to the ESM, which has 2 at the front & a cable that allows you to release the key from ignition when the slector is in Park.

 

[karozza]

Finally you get to the linkage which has to be disengaged to remove the ESM.

The pictures show the linkage, that at first I attempted from the console. This proves to be a risk as can lead to braking the fork linked to the ESM.

It is best, as explained earlier, to do this from under the car by removing gearbox tray cover.

If I can be of any further assistance, just ask.

Hope you manage

 

[karozza]

Before you start taking the car apart, as mentioned, it could be a faulty brake switch. So check that first.

On the other hand, there have been rare occasions where the solenoid that pushes the lever, intermittently fails. Check that you hear/feel a slight clicking noise in the gear knob whilst in Park every time you press the brake pedal with the ignition on.

 

[zoros]

all data stored for the eventful day to arrive.

thanks again
Z