My automatic transmission stick shifter is stuck in drive or neutral and will not move back to reverse or park, here are the details.
2005 Roadster limited with 104000 mi.
Hope you can follow me on this and be of help.

Key will not come out because it will not go to park. The key will turn and start the car. the problem seems intermittent. For no reason related to any action that I can tell it may become unstuck and go back to park.
From park key starts car, shift to reverse, goes in gear, shift to neutral ok, shift to drive ok, back to neutral ok, try to go back to reverse and park and stick will not move forward but will go back to neutral and drive.
It only locks up if I go into drive not neutral, it will go back to reverse and park if I don't go to drive. Hot or cold, emergency brake on or off, foot on break or off, car on or off changes nothing. The hidden shift release does nothing. Fluid level ok, black indicator box on dash display is ok. Sticky key? I don't think so the key turns fine, the key is stuck but if it will shift back to park it comes out. Everything else on the car seems to work fine, when driving the transmission shifts as it should along with the paddle shifter. I have searched here read the sticky key stuff and videos. My next step will be to inspect and do the sticky key fix, i don't know if has been done we bought the car at 60,000 miles, remove the center console and inspect the shifter. I did remove the drink holder a while back before this problem, it just seems to be with the shifter and not the ignition. Maybe the parking interlock connector? I hope you all can help you usually do.
Thanks!

 

Bump

So I assume everybody is stumped on this one 60 views and nothing.

I got a few ideas on the Mercedes side and the 722.6 tranny. Some point to the shifter module rebuild or replace, looks like most of the console has to come out. Jacked the car up yesterday there is some fluid around the module harness plug which I replaced about 30000 miles ago but not a heavy leak. I was also able to reach the shifter rod and same thing it will move back and forth from N to D but not to R or P. Disconnected the battery for awhile reconnected no help. At first the problem was intermittent but now its not. Found a youtube video guy said the rod coming out the side on shifter module can lock up and need lube, can it be that simple? That's where if going next before I rip out the console. I love this car but sometimes…….

 

Sounds to me like your SLA (shift lever assembly) is mechanically faulty. I suppose the park/lock cable that goes to the ignition switch could be involved in this, but again, this is a mechanical issue in the SLA.
I do not own or drive vehicles with automatic transmissions - but I'm certain there is no physical linkage from the SLA to transmission, it is all electrical.

Yank the console out and get into the SLA and I think you will find a mechanical failure.

 

Sometimes I cannot get the key out when I have just put it in PARK, so I put it in NEUTRAL and remove the key and then put it in PARK.
I think it is the little cable from the auto box to the ignition key needing adjusting. A few years ago I would have fixed it the first time it happened, but now who knows when I will get to it.

 

BUt have you ever had the issue this person has? Where the shift wo'nt go from Park to drive and back?

 

Hi Mommasride,
There are two mechanical interlocks in the SLA - a cable from the ignition switch and one operated by a solenoid deep in the guts of the SLA - you only get to the solenoid after removing most of the SLA parts. There are also spring-loaded paws that might bind if debris gets in them. I think the cable interlock only prevents you from moving out of park (but I might be wrong). Your issue sounds more like the solenoid is starting to have some problems. If you do decide to remove the SLA, before you go all the way, after you have removed/moved aside the upper console, disconnect the mechanical linkage from the ignition (it's on the front slide of the SLA (towards the engine), biased towards the passenger side, takes half a turn to disconnect) and see if the issue persists. If the issue goes away, it's probably an adjustment like 180 said. If not, maybe it's the solenoid.
-Jerry

 

Great! I'm going dive in tomorrow if I can. Mommas other ride, not an Xfire, has a chirpy serpentine belt that Ive been chasing and she's not happy, so there's that.

Maybe this should be a new thread but while Ive got the dash torn out I'm going to do the sticky key fix and the blower POT, do you all have any other suggestions for maintenance or mods to do while I'm in there?

Thank you gentlemen I will update my progress or lack of.

 

With the upper console trim out, it's pretty easy to do the HVAC control mods - replace the pot, remove some plastic so the circuit boards sit better together, clean the contacts. (Search on this forum for the HVAC control mods).
-Jerry

 

Progress. I removed the rear center console and was able to see more of the back end of the SLA, with out removing it I can see a solenoid which might be the shift interlock solenoid. The whole area was dirty, dusty, and hairy so I blew it out and sprayed what I could with contact cleaner. When I put my finger on the solenoid plunger I discovered that I could shift out of neutral into reverse then park and remove the key. I tried to go through the motions again and I could see the plunger going up and down as I shifted from P to R to N to D back to N but then it acted as before not going back to R unless I assist the plunger. Now that I have a better idea of what it is, whats the fix? A new Crossfire or Mercedes SLA, used junkyard or ebay, ugh. Is the solenoid ok and just getting the wrong signal? It looks like Im going to have to pull the SLA now regardless and go from there.

 

If you get a Mercedes SLA, I believe the lights at night will be amber instead of green. Keep that in mind.

 

Maybe before you pull the SLA, apply a small amount of machine oil to the plunger of the solenoid, and work it back and forth. Who knows, you might get another couple of years of life out of it.
PS. I posted pictures of the inside of an SLA a couple of months ago on this site.

 

Thank Guy's. I will try the oil on the noid. I saw Jerry"s SLA pics earlier very helpful. It just seems like a contact issue between N to R.
Is the car designed to start with your foot off the brake because mine will?

 

Mine starts without stepping on the brake.

 

Update.
I removed the SLA, took the outer cover off, cleaned it up good, inspected thoroughly, nothing looked broken. Then on the under side of the cover, a dime was wedged between the plastic and the cloth of the stick groove. Hoping that the dime was the problem I reassembled and installed the SLA, of course with my luck it was not. So now I'm looking for a replacement SLA, there seem to be a few out there but it's a gamble if I get a good used one and have not found a new one. By the way I was able to remove the SLA with out removing the front console. Someone has been in there before, did a crappy job and cracked both the front and rear consoles. The front was cracked at the narrow strip that sits just to the back of the SLA where the back connects it will not be seen when put back together so I just dremeled the rest, removed whatever that little box that's next to the emergency brake and was able to slide it out.

 

In looking for the replacement SLA im seeing a benz version but with a different part number it looks like the XF one but im leary of going that way. Do we have a cross reference on the SLA?

 

Hi, this is what I found when I was looking for a replacement SLA (I never got one because latter I determined that my SLA was not my problem). The XF SLA part number is PP170 267 054 | 2042 - the first 5 letters/numbers are the model number, the next three (267) is the group number (in this case SLA), the next three (054) are revision, and the last group is version number. If you compare the XF number to a CLK320 SLA part number PP202 267 054 | 2038 (I pulled this one from the junk yard) you'll notice that the model number is different as it should be, but the group and rev number are the same. I'm not sure how much the version number matters. When I compare the two SLA's (remember, my XF SLA is still mounted in the car), the differences I can see are: the baseplates are different, I think the position of where the linkage to the transmission comes out is different, but not sure. Cosmetically, the top trim and plastic look the same. And the little I could see of the circuit board through the top looks the same. Comparing the bottom housing numbers: XF PP170 267 021; CLK 202 267 056G => confirms the baseplates are different. My hope was that the electronics were the same, and I could swap them. Unfortunately, when I looked at the wiring harness that connects to the SLA's, the color coding on the CLK didn't match the XF's. Not sure if that means the electronics are different or the color coding used on the CLK is just different, but I didn't investigate any further. So, to be safe, I think you're stuck with either XF, or SLK 320 (certain years 2004?) parts as being interchangeable. (If my local junkyards had had any SLKs or XF, I would have grab those, but they didn't so that's why I got the CLK one. It looked like the XF SLA.)
-Jerry

 

That is not the actual part number for the SLA in the Mercedes parts list for a SLK320. The actual part number is 1702670824 which was later replaced by 1702671124. That part number fits 2001 to 2004 SLK230, SLK320 and SLK 32 AMG. The Crossfire one is a different part number (has a 193 white sticker on them) because the lights are green not amber and I believe it might be coded differently so the DRB 3 can read the codes. The aftermarket Mercedes scanners I have cannot scan the Crossfire SLA.

The SLK320 SLA would work fine but it would be best to get a Crossfire one from a salvage yard or eBay.

 

Outstanding info, thanks.

 

Here's a picture of the part number off the XF SLA. This is molded onto the housing. Are you saying that it's the part number of the plastic housing and the assembly is something different?
The part number is the same as you describe except for the PP. Do you know what the PP (besides plastic part ) stands for? Not sure what you mean by white sticker with a 193 on it? I couldn't find any stickers on the housing, maybe it fell off.

 

That part number molded on there is not a valid Mercedes part number. The white sticker is on the top and yes it falls off or maybe they didn't put them on all Crossfires just like they didn't always use the same screws on the grille etc. PP stands for polypropylene the type of plastic used to make this part. I gave you 2 correct Mercedes part numbers in my previous post.

Even the part number on the dome light starts with 170 and is not a valid Mercedes part number either.