auto trans won't go into P

[Bruce Kennett]

(i did a search before posting this and couldn't get any matches, so i'm sorry if this is bringing up an old topic -- if so, just someone tell me what search terms to use)

i have a 525iT/M50 with auto tranny and 160,000 miles. since buying the car in june i have never had any probs with tranny. this morning i started the car (well below freezing last night here in NH), let it warm up for about a minute, drove forward a few feet and backed it up into a different parking spot, then tried to shut off car and the shifter would not go into P. i ended up shutting it off in N.

i let it warm in the sun for a few hours, just tried it again. won't go into P and also won;t go into 1 (although i just use it in E and have never even tried to go all the way down to 1, so that may not be a new condition).

what gives with this? is this a sign that the tranny is on its way out? or is there some simple adjustement to be made in linkage?

luckily car starts in N and operates in both D and R.

thanks for any help you can provide.

bruce

[Karl]

On my car the plastic strip that closes off the hole for the shift lever--that sliding corrugated part that moves with the lever--came apart. In my case it didn't block the lever from moving into any gear, but I can see how it could easily hang up. It has to slide in a close slot and roll up at the ends. It could be as simple as that or a bottle cap that drifted under the console.

[Qsilver7]

ditto...sounds like the plastic thingy (#11 in diagram below) that hangs down inside the handle has broken or fallen off its hook in the handle and is jamming in the gate that allows you to move thru the gears.

Doctor, its time for surgery...we're goin in! Put your emergency brake on, turn ignnition on, pull the gear lever back as far as it will go (or at least to N or D), undo the tiny screw on the front side of the T-handle (faces the radio), then lift the T-handle off. You should see the white plastic thingy (#11) inside the gear lever's shaft. Pull it out and see if it's broken. If it's not, then re-hang it on the little hook inside the T-handle and put everything back together. Then check to see if it moves thru the gate.

[andmd]

I had the same problem Qsilver mentioned. My #11 piece, whatever it's called, broke near the bottom and the broken-off piece lodged in the shifting mechanism. That piece is plastic with a metal rod running through the center. With the side pressure that can be put on that piece, it's not unlikely, IMO, that it would break. Give it a shot.

[Bruce Kennett]

Doctor, its time for surgery...we're goin in!

i'll check it out tomorrow in daylight. thanks!

[Bruce Kennett]

QSilver7 et al,

Removed the shifter handle, and the plastic thingie is not broken. (photo below) although the white plastic doesn't go all the way down to the bottom, i have checked the lower edge of it with a magnifier and it's definitely a factory edge, not a place where some white sheared off.

is the squarish profile of the foot as it should be?

maybe i am not pushing hard enough, but on reinstalling the shifter handle, i can't get the white rod to go back down into the lever far enough to re-insert the screw.

do i need to push harder? i've tried rotations of the handle, slight movements of the shift lever, etc and nothing seems to allow it to go back in all the way.

thoughts, anyone?

thanks, bruce

[Bruce Kennett]

i just had to up the "persuasive force" factor.

but it still won't go into P.

does this mean the control cable is likely binding somewhere?

luckily it will start in N and i have access to R and D, until i get this solved.