SL500 2003 Stuck in park

[Callan Ferguson]

Hello, I pulled in to my drive and the car in to park and when I went to leave again later I couldn't get the car out of park. I have read that it is most likely the little plastic piece in the shifter box but I cannot remove it because there is a pin over the front hex bolt. I believe the car has to be out of park to retract this pin but we cant move it out of park because of the I believe broken plastic inside the shifter box. Would it be safe to cut the pin to remove the sifter box and do I need to insert another plastic piece or can I leave it without it. I think I have ruled out the brake light switch because the brake lights work and if I listen I hear a click of what I believe to be the solenoid inside the shifter box when pressing the brake. This is the pin I am talking about, pic is not my car but from google.

 

[John Laidlaw]

The Plastic bit just locks it in gear, so short term you could do without.
I wouldn't discount the brake light switch though , it's a cheap fix which might yet work...

 

[Callan Ferguson]

Thanks for your reply. Is there away to test the brake light switch, the brake light come on but i've heard that it still could be bad. When I push the brake I think I here a click from the shifter solenoid so I think its working but i'll have a look and see if I can get one.
My next problem if that doesn't work is there is a pin over the front bolt that would be retracted in drive but since I can't move it from park is it safe to cut the pin of.

 

[Uncle Benz]

I don’t recommend trying to cut the pin. As you suspect it only withdraws when out of park. Have you tried the towel trick of removing the gearknob, towel over the top, grasp the lever and tension it back, strike the top with a hammer. Sometimes gets them out. If not it is possible to knock a ball ended 5mm allen key socket into the bolt with the pin there. It is tight and requires a bit of angle to get it in, but it can be done. I’ve done half a dozen or so this way

 

[Uncle Benz]

You can open the unit and remove the locking part. The car will operate fine without it. Just bear in mind the car can be removed from park at any time after. Using the parking brake routinely would be a good idea

 

[Callan Ferguson]

Hey, no the using a towel and hitting it or just hitting did not work and I can't get the wood of the console off to get at the bolt because it has to be out of park to have enough room to pull off. I have removed the shifter know but still not any room so I think i'm going to cut the selector rod off and weld it back on after. The keyless start feature has never worked so I'm not worried about it unless it stops the car from starting after cutting it. Any better ideas?
Thanks

 

[lordgaz]

Thanks for your reply. Is there away to test the brake light switch, the brake light come on but i've heard that it still could be bad. When I push the brake I think I here a click from the shifter solenoid so I think its working but i'll have a look and see if I can get one.
My next problem if that doesn't work is there is a pin over the front bolt that would be retracted in drive but since I can't move it from park is it safe to cut the pin of.

I had this issue some time ago, and found normal allen keys impossible to get in, but the solution was ball ended allen keys - (like this set https://tinyurl.com/Ball-Allen-Keys ) - By moving the gear selector a little, and/or pushing the pin in at the same time, a ball allen key could get into the bolt - And then as you undo it, you lift the selector unit up (and make it the last bolt you undo, and the first you tighten on re-assembly

 

[lordgaz]

Ps - If you attempt any kind of removal of the shifter, ensure the ignition is off (leave the keys in the house!) - Turning it on can create a fault code if powered up and cables disconnected.

 

[RhodieBill]

Try this - it works!

Or this, he shows the fix in another Video.

 

[Timeandleisure]

Ouch!

 

[ajlsl600]

That bit of benz engineering is another joke .its well known but maker did ba about it.I always made sure I was very gentle with shifter. But being stuck and likely getting a significant recovery bill for that part,repair is quite laughable on an 80k car.and someone without the resources of benz resolved the crxx design ! Sorry bud .hope you get sorted without much of a dent in yr wallet ,an aussi guys sells a mt part that solves this. A google search will find it.it was posted on here a while back and I think I saw it on flea bay.

 

[RhodieBill]

That bit of benz engineering is another joke .its well known but maker did ba about it.I always made sure I was very gentle with shifter. But being stuck and likely getting a significant recovery bill for that part,repair is quite laughable on an 80k car.and someone without the resources of benz resolved the crxx design ! Sorry bud .hope you get sorted without much of a dent in yr wallet ,an aussi guys sells a mt part that solves this. A google search will find it.it was posted on here a while back and I think I saw it on flea bay.

Most people just remove the offending little part. But there is a aluminium A/M replacement you can get. The original is Plastic..

 

[RhodieBill]

The CLK is a much easier solution............... (I use a pen/pencil).

 

[ajlsl600]

Go a/m solve the shxxe design