Please help. The shifter in m car will not shift back into park. And over the past two weeks, shifting from Park to Drive was really rough. Now I parked my car and couldn't get it to shift to the Park position. But for some reason, even when I put it in Neutral, it still moves forward, I think it is stuck in the first gear. Now my car is sitting in my driveway, key in the ignition because they will not come out, and the shifter in the Drive position. I don't know what to do, I checked my Transmission fluid and it is low, could this be the problem. I really need your input.

 

I am sorry for being kind of ignorant but hope this helps. Maybe when park goes out it doesn't let you shift there any more. I would take the car to a dealer to find out. Until then though put the car in neutral and pull on the parking brake to park it. You should be able to take your keys out of the car while it is in neutral, this way you don't have to leave your keys in the car making it very easy to steal.

 

honestly it sounds like your transmission is in bad shaped, Have you ever had the fluid changed? It probably only needs some service like fluid and filter change and some other minor things. How many miles on your car?

 

It's in Neutral, but the Transmission is stuck in first gear, the key is stuck in the slot because it won't shift into park.

I think it is the linkage in the shifter itself. I hit a pretty big pothole on Sunday, so it might have broken something. About ho much does a Lonkage cost?

 

well, it's really easy to get to the linkage, all you have to do is undo the 2 bolts under the coin holder in the center console, take the shift **** off by pulling the staple that in the front of the handle and the cover pops right off by pulling it back and up and you can see all the linkage. then atleast you'll have an idea, it sounds kind of strange that it has gradually got worse over the past week, sounds like some hydralucs are clogged or leaking or jammed. I really don't know that much about transmissions though.

 

you could be right because your transmission is electronically controlled so there are no hydraulics connected to the shifter, just a LDT and the linkage. Am I right?

 

I have about 63,000 miles on my car, the engine was kept in great shape when I bought it. I checked the transmission fluid after letting the car run for 5 min. I was below cold, just covering the little loop on the bottom, I did it about 10 times, all with the same result. Then I tried it again a few hours later, didn't run the engine, and the dip-stick read that it was full.

I'll check the linkge when I get the car back, I took it to the dealer so they can find out what's wrong with it, hopefully it won't cost alot of money.

But back to my main question, about how much does a new linkage cost?

 

I had that same exact problem 2 weeks ago. I took my car in and had the linkage adjusted and everything is fine now. Most likely its your linkage. I have no idea how much it would cost, i got mine done for free because i had this place rebuild my transmission about a year ago so they did it for free.

 

Alright, I just got back from the mechanic shop. They said that they won't be able to work on my car until tomorrow, but they said that the problem is that the shift cable is broken. Now I don't know much about engine components, but he said it would cost about $80 for the cable, and about $150 for labor, so around $300 total including tax. Is this right? Also, what is a shift cable?

 

You should do it yourself. Think about this. It's already broken. If you don't succeed then take it to the shop. You'll still pay the same. That labor is AS USUAL way more then it should be.

I'll scan the diagram of the parking linkage that you need to replace. First check the part if it's broken or damaged or not torqued properly. I don't have any hosting so give me your email and I'll send you the scans.

 

Problem solved . It was the shift cable, I have no idea how it broke or what it does, but my car is now back to normal. The only problem is that it cost me $120 . Oh well, at least it didn't break anything else.