Hello,

I am taking care of my Mother's 2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster (possibly limited edition) with a gear shift assembly that will not move out of park. The indicator on the dash board is a solid black rectangle and does not show P for park. When inserting a pen to manually depress the locking mechanism, I can move the lever into drive. Once in drive, I can move it up and down, until I move it to park, in which case it will get stuck again. When I drive the vehicle, I suspect that it is in limp mode because the RPMs rise to 4000, but I do not feel the automatic transmission increase gears. Therefore, I cannot drive the vehicle anywhere safely.

I towed the car to a mechanic who informed me that I need a new shift lever assembly. However, Chrysler stopped manufacturing this part since 2017. Some exist on eBay, but I nor the mechanic are certain that it will fix the problem. Nevertheless, the mechanic believed that switching the assembly could fix both problems.

I have a friend with mild experience repairing cars and is willing to lend me a hand. However, we are unsure if buying the part on eBay and installing it will fix the problem. We would appreciate any comments, suggestions, advice, etc. on this topic.

Thank you all!

 

My 05 SRT has the same problem. Indicator solid black and will not come out of park. My mechanic stated it is the shift mechanism also or perhaps a bad signal from the transmission. He is looking for a replacement shift from either Mercedes (SLK) or a wrecker.

What did you find the problem was?

 

Use a scan tool and get the Diagnostic Trouble Codes. Don't guess at a fix when the car will tell what is wrong!
Any scan tool should get you started in the right direction, but someone who can scan deep into the proprietary info is best.
Easiest is to try a specialist garage that works on imports only. Remember your Crossfire is basically a Mercedes 2003 SLK.

 

Thanks Cici. Been there with the mercedes mechanic and the scan tool

H thinks it's the shift mechanism but one of these posts, from someone with the same problem stated that after the shifter was replaced, the problem cropped up again and was wondering if their prob was finally solved & if so how?

Trying to save my mechanic time and me some $$$

 

Failure to shift in these transmissions is often caused by a faulty solenoid plate in the transmission itself. I had that problem in my Chrysler 300 which had the same basic transmission, I could force the shift leaver into drive and it would only drive in second gear with the revs of the engine fixed much lower than the engines max revs, this is to prevent damage to the transmission and engine and not leave you stranded. My problem was a faulty solenoid which they rebuilt or replaced.
The problem started with it doing this on and off for a while, I tended not to believe my wife’s description of the problem as it seemed OK when I test drove it, shortly thereafter I wanted to go somewhere and it happened immediately from the start of the engine. Never doubt your wife’s word on these matters, as you will never be allowed to forget it.
Despite this it could be the gear shift unit which is a delicate electronic part which could fail and does not like coffee or soda spilled on it.
Get any error codes read.

 

you can get the shifter from mercedes, i believe it's around $700. if i recall the only difference is that the lights in the shifter light up orange and not green. i have replaced several of them this way.

 

Used ones on eBay from $120 and up.

 

i had a insurance company keep getting me used shifters, i believe 4-5 of them, all bad. 2 months of their insured without a car and they finally bought a new one. the customer and i both learned valuable lessons here, i don't use used shifters and she doesn't use her cup holder anymore, lol.

 

First of all, the car is in limp mode likely because and simply because the transmission is probably low on fluid. That's the first thing you need to check. Also know that there is a "connector" on the transmission (see photo) that will eventually leak on ALL of them because the OEM O-ring in the connector was faulty and deteriorates causing the fluid to leak. This is an inexpensive part to replace (usually less than $15).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Auto-Trans-....c100005.m1851



Start with that, add some fluid to the transmission (start with about a cup full). Clear the code and see what happens. I suspect that will fix your problem at least temporarily so you can drive the car somewhere to get the transmission completely serviced. The whole thing is a messy job so look for an independent shop specializing in repairing German / Mercedes vehicles and be sure they have a transmission flush machine. Let them do all the transmission maintenance. Have them drop the pan put in a new filter install a new conductor plate and install a new gasket. THEN have the transmission fluid flushed to get out all the old fluid (there would be a lot of old fluid remaining in the torque converter unless you get it flushed).

LOOK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE KIT WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-Tra...4AAOSwPBJdCkqH

It IS possible that you may need to replace the shifter assembly. As others have said, they don't like having liquids spilled into them BUT I would start with the above basic transmission maintenance first.

ENJOY YOUR CROSSFIRE! THEY ARE THE BEST SPORTS CAR VALUE ON THE PLANET!

PS - Also my advice is DO NOT install a made in China conductor plate. Put in only a genuine Mercedes brand part or you'll likely be having to do the whole thing AGAIN.

 

We must not forget that due to the age of these cars that most of these cars have had multiple owners and the O-ring probably has been replaced before. Also, leaks are quite visible due to oil on the ground and or spread around the underside of the chassis.
Depending on the mileage of the car and the state of the oil should determine if an oil change is required.
Most limp modes have been caused by the electrical/solenoid plate.

Save your money, and before you do anything else get any codes read and check the transmission oil level, this is a pain as there is no dip stick for it, get one or make one as described in this forum.

 

the ability to shift out of park is not going to be hindered by fluid level. if i recall the shift assembly receives a direct input from the brake switch to energize the park release solenoid. this does sound like the OP has a bad shifter, either way i'd check for the ability to communicate with it with a scan tool, if not then i'd check power, ground and bus voltages and resistance to diag the issue properly.

 

I respectfully bow to Alex's experience / expertise / advice. I strongly suggest that you follow his recommendations . . .

 

Lol, thanks Bob. I think the main symptom I'd chase is the not coming out of park issue, that needs to happen before I'd worry about the thing shifting, then hope what ever is causing that is also causing the limp mode (which no shifter input to the trans would cause that).