Automatic Transmission Control Module problems of the 2000 Mercedes Benz 320

This car has a significant safety related design defect. The car jerked to a sudden stop after water was spilled from the cup holder onto the shift console. I was luckily driving at a slow speed(less than 25 mph). The car suddenly jerked. I pulled over and couldn't shift the car out of gear. I had to turn the car off, and then I could get to neutral (luckily on a flat street or the car would have rolled away from me). After turning the car on and off I got the gear shift into park. I had the car towed to the mercedes dealer, who told me this happens a lot and that it would probably be $800 to replace the electronics that had shorted out. I believe this is a significant design flaw to have a cup holder next to an area prone to shorting out with water exposure. This was a very small amount of water. Also I'm very concerned about driving the car on the highway. . If this had happened at high speed, I'm fearful I would have lost control of the car. This incident appears to be similar to dp 05-007 dated 11/07/2005 which I found on your web site. Steve chan is listed as the principal investigator.

Vehicle automatically shifted into lowest gear while driving, causing a dangerous condition, slowing the vehicle substantially in traffic. Vehicle refused to shift into higher gear or reverse. Towed to the dealership, who replaced shifter mechanism due to electronic failure, caused by spills. Observation of the part showed no residue from any liquid. Dealership said it happened all the time because the cup holder was right above the circuit board in the console and it was not sealed. Stated the replacement part installed was improved to prevent this from happening again.