Won't go into gear after Master Cylinder replacement

Tiny
THISGUYTONY
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 MERCEDES BENZ E320
  • 6 CYL
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 100,000 MILES
A friend asked me if I could help them figure out what went wrong with this car. It was driving fine, but needed some work to the brakes. He drove the car to where it is being worked on and parked it. He replaced the Master Cylinder and now the car will not go into gear.

Is there some sort of feedback circuit that prevents the car from going into gear because something was done incorrectly or incompletely with the brake work?

If it helps, VIN: WDBUF65J13A119645
Thursday, August 14th, 2025 AT 8:51 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,237 POSTS
Do you mean the shift lock prevents the lever from moving or that you can put it into drive and it doesn't move? How was the brake system bled? Mercedes has a few odd procedures on bleeding the system. What other brake work was done? Pads? Rotors? Asking because there are sensors in the pads and pedal that can cause issues. Do you have an OE level scan tool that can read the brake systems?

FYI there is an open recall on this vehicle. Not related to the brakes but it might keep the interior drier.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2019/RCONL-19V918-7318.pdf
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Thursday, August 14th, 2025 AT 5:03 PM

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