Gearbox locked!!

[kompressor]

Hi,

I seem to have a rather annoying and potentially worrying problem.
I have a 2000 mercedes c230 kompressor

Its really cold down here in illinois...it was -19 celsius a couple of days ago...i think this affected my gearbox since it wont get out of park without a manual override (behind the cupholder). Anyone have any ideas? The dealership is gonna charge me a minimum of $45 for a diagnostic so i figure i might as well get some ideas from Pistonheads.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

[petermansell]

I am sure you know ....but just in case....you do depress your brake when trying to move out of Park as this is a usual requirement...

[kompressor]

I really hope that was a joke.

[liner33]

is your brake light switch working ???? Common fault on some Mercs

[Parrot of Doom]

Brake light switch. Cheap job, DIY-able.

[kompressor]

I really hope that is the case..
any way to check?

I did the manual override (pencil behind the cupholder) and drove the car around the block and it drove just fine.

Could it still be transmission issues?

[liner33]

Check your brake lights work first

It could be a gearbox issue but lets eliminate the cheapest and easiest things first

[kompressor]

I got into the car yesterday to check if the brake lights worked....yes they did.....along with the gearbox!

Its odd! My car seems to fix itself.

[liner33]

if in doubt change the switch anyway they are cheap and easy to do and almost a consumable on some models