Gentlemen - Have a 05 Limited Coupe and another electrical problem. Yesterday the car started and ran fine. Washed the care and opened the doors to check that water was draining OK from door bottom. Took a small stiff wire and poked the drain holes to be sure. When doing the drivers door, the alarm went off. Finally got that stopped. but the lights were flashing. Started the car to pull it back into the garage. Everything still OK. Today. I backed it outside to apply tire dressing. Went to pull it back in and it won't start and the ignition key will not come out of the ignition switch. The key turns to the start position, but nothing happens. When turning it back to remove it, it turns back to that position but will not come out of the switch.

Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated. I've search, as best as I could, on the forum but can't find a similar problem. Plenty about sticky switch's but not like I have. I'm suspecting it's something to do with the alarm system since that went off yesterday.

Again, any ideas or possible solutions will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim
jpmlholian@aol.com

 

 

180 - Yes - the car was in park. Good thought, though. You never know!

Jim

 

180 - You got me to thinking. So I went out and checked and the gear shift lever was in park. For the heck of it, I moved it all the way down to drive and then back to park. WALLA - now everything works as it should. I can't explain that one. Maybe I didn't have it all the way into park, but I thought I did. Or else it's some other little gremlin that I hope does not come back again.

Thanks for getting me thinking. It worked, I think!

Jim

 

More likely there is enough play in the linkage not to have gone all the way into Park..Key can only be removed in Park so was a clue.

 

Thanks Guy's. Thank goodness I learn something new everyday, particularly on this great website.

Jim

 

 

No cable onehundred but there is a bushing on the linkage where it connects to the transmission, and it should be replaced every 50 to 75000 miles . Mattmiami has them and he will be at the dragon.

 

This is the cable, not a linkage. If you fix the sticky ignition you take it off the ignition switch.

 

Gentlemen - Thanks again. This is something I will keep in my hard copy files for the Crossfire.

Jim

 

this cable is (on auto only) it is to ,,when you push the brake ,it releases the shifter so you can get the tranny out of park, it also lets the key turn,,, it has nothing to do with no going fully into park, so you can remove your key .

 

 

You are right and I am right, in our shop J S Benz and matt's shop we have had over 100 mercedes with 4 of those being crossfire's (key would not remove when in park) , replaced the bushing on the linkage,,,fixed.
quote: you can push the brake pedal on autos and take the tranny out of park, you cannot. end quote:
when key is in on position you can and only then so yes the cable does release the shifter,, a worn out bushing will (sometimes ) not let the transmission be in the gear showing on the dash , so we are both right.

 

 

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