R129 stuck in park. Starts ok. Key won’t come out when off

[rocketfixer]

Hello, please help.

I accidentally turned off my 1999 SL500 whilst it was in D. I shifted to P and got out of the car.

I find that the car starts, but the shifter is stuck firmly in P. I also note that I can't remove the key from the ignition.

Could this be because the car still thinks it's in Drive? Or is it likely to be some other form of interlock holding it in P?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[rayhennig]

Could this be because the car still thinks it's in Drive?

Very likely. There is a cable (at least on my W124, is a 1999 car similar?) between the gear lever and the ignition lock. Maybe that's adrift or something.

You need to get to the ignition lock and below the gear lever to inspect and rectify. 129 experts will know more than I.

RayH

 

[rocketfixer]

Very likely. There is a cable (at least on my W124, is a 1999 car similar?) between the gear lever and the ignition lock. Maybe that's adrift or something.

You need to get to the ignition lock and below the gear lever to inspect and rectify. 129 experts will know more than I.

RayH

Thanks for your reply. I read about this.. and seems
to be the place to start. Will update.

 

[rocketfixer]

Yep. Pushed cable further into ign switch.. all works good. Now to find out why it’s 1/8 inch sloppy.
Thanks again.

 

[mioba]

Now to find out why it’s 1/8 inch sloppy.
Thanks again.

Viagra

 

[R129Azzure]

Yep. Pushed cable further into ign switch.. all works good. Now to find out why it’s 1/8 inch sloppy.
Thanks again.

Hi Rocketfixer, I had the same issue. I only removed the carpeted cover underneath the steering wheel. The cable that was seemingly going from the gears to the ignition was one with a sleeve (pretty much like a brake or gear cable on a bike) ending with a locking nut at the ignition. The nut can be twisted by hand and disconnected completely. The problem seemingly was that the there was plastic housing where the sleeve ended - by the locking nut and somehow that bit was sliding back through the backend of the nut and thus the inner wire was going a few mm back, preventing it to make contact with the ignition. I couldn't figure out why this was happening - whether it is wear and tear on those components or someone has fiddled with it previously. Surely this could be fixed by just squeezing the end of the locking nut with pliers or duck taping the end of it, but I assume that would just be a temporary fix. What are your findings?

 

[R129Azzure]

Very likely. There is a cable (at least on my W124, is a 1999 car similar?) between the gear lever and the ignition lock. Maybe that's adrift or something.

You need to get to the ignition lock and below the gear lever to inspect and rectify. 129 experts will know more than I.

RayH

@rayhennig I had the same issue. I only removed the carpeted cover underneath the steering wheel. The cable that was seemingly going from the gears to the ignition was one with a sleeve (pretty much like a brake or gear cable on a bike) ending with a locking nut at the ignition. The nut can be twisted by hand and disconnected completely. The problem seemingly was that the there was plastic housing where the sleeve ended - by the locking nut and somehow that bit was sliding back through the backend of the nut and thus the inner wire was going a few mm back, preventing it to make contact with the ignition. I couldn't figure out why this was happening - whether it is wear and tear on those components or someone has fiddled with it previously. Surely this could be fixed by just squeezing the end of the locking nut with pliers or duck taping the end of it, but I assume that would just be a temporary fix. What are your thoughts?

 

[rayhennig]

What are your thoughts?

Hmmm. It doesn't sound exactly like mine. On mine, there are 2 cables; one from the grar lever to the ignition and the other from the gear lever to the brake pedal. They are pretty robust. Both are installed but the one to the brake pedal is not actuating. The pedal looks as if it would actuate (lock the lever) if the pedal were to come a little further back. And I couldn't make it do that. I'll try again when I'm with my son.

Sorry not to be much use.

R