My 2006 300c is stuck in park at 44.8K miles. I have read many many forums and they all point to the "Pink Thingy". I don't believe that is my problem. With the engine on, brake not depressed, I can't move the shifter to the right at all. When I depress the brake I can move the shifter all the way to the right but not down. I can also hear the lockout move. I tried using the manual override and the results are the same; I can move the shifter to the right but not down. I've checked the brake lights and they're fine. I turned the steering wheel fully left and fully right. Still can't get it out of park. I tried pushing the car front and back thinking it might have the park prawl stuck but that didn't work either. I'm about to get under the car and jiggle the levers/cables that go to the transmission. Anyone have any other ideas of things to try? I guess it's possible that the shifter is just bad. I've been meaning to buy the shop manual but haven't yet. Now might be a good time.

Any help is appriciated. Thanks.

 

I pulled the plastic chrome piece around the shifter and saw a cable on the top (park side), left. Key on, depressed the brake, used a screwdriver to move the cable to the left and I can shift out of park. That tells me I do have the broken "Pink Thingy" problem. This website has a video fix using a simple spring without having to remove the shifter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8GMg...eature=related

I'll post the results.

 

Okay, I completed the temporary fix. I didn't need to take the shifter or the console off, just the trim. It was a moderately difficult job because I needed 4 hands. If you take the console off it would be a much easier job and one person could do it easily. The spring tension is important. I had to cut the spring to get it short enough to release the key from the ignition but long enough to operate the Park Lockout Mechanism "Pink Thingy" to unlock from park. The longest spring I could find with the right diameter was 2 3/4". You need about 3 - 3 1/4" so I put two springs together and cut one until it was short enough. Find a weak spring if you can. Too much tension won’t let you take the key out. I really dread taking the shifter out but I know I'll need to at some point. But I’m back on the street with it.