shifter accidentally went into reverse from 3rd on my A4 60E

so im driving down the block in D(3rd) and im at lke 25mph and i reach over to put on my seatbelt and i smack the gear stick(i dont know how it must have not be in the D completely or was loose?) and it flips all the way up to Reverse.(ya its crazy i dont know how it went that far) and i look back and my tach revs for a second and then the car just dies hard..i slow to a spot and put it in Park and start it back up..seemed ok...my question is isnt there a kill switch in the tranny that killed like it did..and how bad is it for this to have happened on my 60E? im freakin out here. Do u think i did some major damage? help :cry:

In my uneducated opinion, that type of event is going to break something or it isn't... it's not going to wear clutchpacks, for example. So I'd think that if its acting ok, you got away lucky.

With a converter in between there is some amount of cushion, though its still not a great idea, except in a rental car.

Ok, my lawyers inform me that I'm kidding about that last part.

- Dave

Im pretty sure there is a lockout, that prevents you from going into reverse while ur in drive...i dunno maybe

thanks for your input..i know there has to be someone on this forum that knows exactly what happened and if im ok or not. please 60E guru's. i want to know if i damaged something? it reved for a half second then died HARD..i rolled it to a stop and put it in park and started her back up..hard startup but after that i drove it home with it seemed no problems...i just need some reassurance. thanks for all replies.

thanks guys..ya i knew about the kill switch but needed reassurance..anyone else? thanks again

Car died because the engine stalled out.
Car is going forward and now the wheels want to go backwards so it stalled out.
I doubt there is a engine cut-off system for going into reverse while going forward.

I'd get your shifter checked out since it should only go to reverse if the button is depressed. Pushing the lever all the way forward should stop it in Nuetral.

Originally posted by Zepher
Car died because the engine stalled out.
Car is going forward and now the wheels want to go backwards so it stalled out.
I doubt there is a engine cut-off system for going into reverse while going forward.

I'd get your shifter checked out since it should only go to reverse if the button is depressed. Pushing the lever all the way forward should stop it in Nuetral.

Yep. It shouldn't go past neutral when it's outta Park.

thankyou zepher..so u think im ok and didnt damage anything?

:confused: What cut-off switch?

Here it is:

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/showthread.php?s=&threadid=236258

Originally posted by 94zLT1
thankyou zepher..so u think im ok and didnt damage anything?

It's probably fine.
If you do end up losing reverse, you will know why. :)

Hmmm seems you are correct about stalling.

Originally posted by Pasky
Here it is:

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/showthread.php?s=&threadid=236258

They are just speculating about a cut off.
Car stalls since the tranny tried to reverse the direction of the wheels.

I once had to put my 94 sunbird in reverse while going forward.
It was snowing outside, and somehow the rear end swayed and sent me sliding semi-sideways with no way of correcting it and I was sliding towards oncomming traffic. I put the shifter into reverse, counter steered and mashed the gas.
Car spun around and I saved it without damaging the car or tranny. I was ****tiing bricks at the time since I was selling this car to pay for my Trans Am and only had liabilty insurance on it.

Yup there is a cut-off switch 100% sure.....i wouldn't recomend it though....lol.........don't feel bad i have done it at slow speeds too and she dies out. Nothing has happened to your tranny what so ever........just gives you a heck of a scare huh?:eek:



Thats the beauty of computer conctrolled trannies:bow:

ya i knew these electronic trannys had a kill switch..thanks white knight i am going to have a nightmare tonight..thanks to everyone...i'll post here if something bad happens within this week..

Originally posted by "White Knight"
Yup there is a cut-off switch 100% sure.....i wouldn't recomend it though....lol.........don't feel bad i have done it at slow speeds too and she dies out. Nothing has happened to your tranny what so ever........just gives you a heck of a scare huh?:eek:



Thats the beauty of computer conctrolled trannies:bow:

computer only controls shifting in the forward gears.

Car dies cuz the engine stalls.

Well it's not so much a cut-off switch more like the computer won't let it go into reverse............cause you don't stop when this event occurs, you keep rolling and if it was in reverse you would definately not keep rolling

computer only controls shifting in the forward gears.

So you are saying the car goes into reverse then? I would like to know how it keeps rolling then:rolleyes:

Car still rolls forward since the engine dies and the converter isn't pumping anymore.
And I believe it slips.
If you ever go forward and then to reverse without completly stopping, the car will roll forward some. Same thing happens when going from reverse to drive.

ah i see, that makes sense^

I still believe that it is cut before then, just by the way it happens and there is no noise.....but that's just my .02

I do know one thing for sure......he is perfectly fine.......mine's been going strong for over two years after that and still shifting as good as the day i got it.

I just don't recall seeing anything about reverse cut-off safety switch(es) in the service manuals for the engine, pcm, or tranny.
I read through the service manuals at the dealer since I put an LT1/4L60E and an LT1/T56 into 2 cars.

You guys are dreaming about these cut-off switches and stuff on the 4th gen. Basically :bs: . Show me some techinical info to support what you say.

I already stated I was incorrect.

i did the same thing at 10mph roll, i went from nuetral to reverse, car died instantly, it broke the tranny mount on my car. And a few miles down the road the tranny went out, i think they are unrelated though. Thanks, Michael

My 95 GMC Jimmy has the 4T60E (4WD version of the 4L60E, otherwise the exact same tranny). When I first got it, I was really low on gas, going around a 180 degree off-ramp. These trucks have poor baffeling in the gas tanks, causing the pickup on the fuel pump to loose fuel and the truck to stall.

At about 10MPH or so, I tried shifting it into neutral so I could start it again. The column shifter on my Jimmy is very sensitive, and I accidently put it into reverse. I immediately yanked it into neutral, but nothing happened. It rolled just like it would have in neutral, no harm has come whatsoever.