03' P5 Automatic shifter is sticking....

[Judge Mills]

Just got this car a month ago, came with a couple mods.. header, intake, little stuff like that..
anyway, once in a while when we go to put the car in park from Drive, the gear shifter will go up to N, but not any farther, like some sort of switch is failing and preventing it from going into park.. anyone have this problem before?

it's the automatic with the Tiptronic shifting, or whatever that is called..

any advice would be appreciated!

I am capable of tearing into it, but i'm not sure what i'm looking for. I REALLY don't want to take the car to a shop and pay 100 bucks for some fool to find nothing wrong with it...

 

[jeg0024]

Sounds like it might be the brake/neutral safty switch. I forget what its called. Are you holding in the button and fully depressing the break when this happens?

 

[Judge Mills]

Sounds like it might be the brake/neutral safty switch. I forget what its called. Are you holding in the button and fully depressing the break when this happens?

Hmmm, there is no button, and i'm not sure if there was one there originally. there is a aftermarket cheapo fake carbon fiber gear shifter on there now..

but, i think it sounds like that switch too... I need to go buy a manual on this car this weekend...

 

[Judge Mills]

Maybe i should expand on this, as i tried explaining this in another forum and they got confused....

it's the shifter... not the gears... the shifter won't physically move. it's like when you don't have the keys in the ignitions and you try to move the shifter out of park.. it just won't move!

Okay, i just got a suggestion that i try the shift lock override button, which is behind that little plastic tab... i tried messing with that but didn't have anything thin enough to fit inside...

so i wonder if something is broken, or...?

 

[jeg0024]

I know what you mean. But in order to shift into reverse from neutral you must have the brake depressed AND a button on the shifter pressed in. The prevous owner probably switched the shifter and rigged the button on the shifter to be always depressed, in this case his rig may not be working all the time and thats why its not allowing you to shift into reverse. Take apart the center console around the shifter and see if anything looks rigged in there, you can remove that center piece quite easily.

Anyone here with a stock AT w/ Tiptonic that can back me up on the fact that there should be a button on the stock shifter? Thanks.

 

[Judge Mills]

I know what you mean. But in order to shift into reverse from neutral you must have the brake depressed AND a button on the shifter pressed in. The prevous owner probably switched the shifter and rigged the button on the shifter to be always depressed, in this case his rig may not be working all the time and thats why its not allowing you to shift into reverse. Take apart the center console around the shifter and see if anything looks rigged in there, you can remove that center piece quite easily.

Anyone here with a stock AT w/ Tiptonic that can back me up on the fact that there should be a button on the stock shifter? Thanks.

:idea: that makes sense! thanks man..

i bet there is a mess underneath the console waiting for me, haha...

 

[P-Funk!]

Yeah, i would first suspect the aftermarket shifter.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

I have shiftronic sport auto or whatever you wanna call it. There is no button on the factory shift knob. There is however, a cable with a clip on it down in the console & if it's been jacked with or somehow not clipped in right then it will act like you're talking about. It's kinda like the ones on the climate controls that a lot of people **** up when they change out stereos or do the AC panel mod or have dash apart for whatever reason. If the cable housing & clip aren't positioned correctly & secure then the movement of the shifter or control knobs is adversely affected limiting full range of movement. If someone has been pounding on it in manual mode then it could be outta whack.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Yeah, i would first suspect the aftermarket shifter.

He said knob. Knob makes no difference because there is no button & there are no aftermarket shifters for sport auto manumatic or shiftronic that I'm aware of.

 

[SlowPro98]

but, i think it sounds like that switch too... I need to go buy a manual on this car this weekend...

http://protege5.ugly.net/ (thumb) Happy Friday

 

[Tom03es]

Nuetral safety switch would be where I would focus my attention on.
As i12drivemyMP5 said, there is NO button on the sport shiter.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

LOL, sport shiter. Wuz that a typo or jab at autos? LOL

 

[Tom03es]

HAHAHA!! Actually it was a typo. Oops. I actually have a sport "shifter" too.

 

[jeg0024]

Nuetral safety switch would be where I would focus my attention on.
As i12drivemyMP5 said, there is NO button on the sport shiter.

Yeah, if thers no button then your probably in need of the switch, I just didn't know if there was a button or not.

 

[vknid]

I've been having this problem too. but it doesnt get stuck at N, it will just get stuck either in Park, or Reverse. Very random.

has anyone that had this problem, gotten it fixed? I would be really interested in knowing if it can be easily fixed.

 

[Flagship]

99% chance it's the safety servo within the console itself. It gets gunked up pretty easily. No biggie. Take it to a local shop and tell them what the deal is and they'll fix you up. Probably won't cost more than $35 I'd guess. You can, of course, take the console apart and clean it yourself if you feel squirrely someday.

-Frank

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Anyone here with a stock AT w/ Tiptonic that can back me up on the fact that there should be a button on the stock shifter? Thanks.

Oops, already addressed that. Has this been repaired? What was it?

 

[Judge Mills]

i just carry a thin screwdriver around with me now, haha.

 

[Caffn8d]

I'm going to resurrect this post because it's happening to my 03 P5. My solution is to take a wooden skewer like you'd use for grilling kabobs. Open the little shift bypass cap on the console and insert the skewer until it depresses the switch. Hold it down and mark on the skewer a line where it exits the console. Now, take out the skewer and break it at the line. Then reinsert, pressing down switch, and then flip the cap down to cover it. May have to trim the skewer just a little bit so the cap will close. This way the switch is disengaged and you can shift, and it looks stock from the outside.

Problem solved indefinately until you can tear it apart and fix it properly.

 

[marko]

my wife spills her coffee on the console and the liquid will seep between the cracks and bingo the liquid found its way to the shift solenoid that resides under the circular pop out on top of shift console.
with a small head screwdriver you can pop out the circle and use the small head screwdriver to push down ( does'nt need much push, easy does it) a piece of plastic that keeps the shifter from moving freely. the solenoid when working releases the locking mechanism. this will get you home.
To get to the solenoid remove the console and you will find it under where the circular cutout would be if the console were in place and if you look closely you will see how the module holding both solenoid and locking mechanism are held down with screws.
Have found out in the past to remove /disconect ground post on battery when working on eletricals. lessons learned the hard way busted knuckles blown fuses both painful................