hey guys and gals...got one hell of a puzzle here, see if you can help. my car has not started twice...when i turn the key to start there is no noise, no cranking, no trying to turn over...absolutely nothing. the first time it happened i used AAA, got it towed to the shop cause i needed the breaks fixed anyway. when they got in the car they started it right up, they checked the battery and the charging system, all are just fine...i even got them checked at autozone for kicks. the same thing just happened a few days ago (the first time the engine was cold and it was a cold morning, this time the engine was hot and it was a cool day). i put the car in neutral, pushed it forward a few inches, got in the car, put it in park, turned the key and it started w/ no problems.

has anyone had this problem? what could be causeing it? i can't think of what it would be...i'm lost, help!

 

could be the that you need to give the shifter a little nudge in park so that it knows its in park i think that happened to me once or twice just nudge the shifter a little bit next time.

 

i have an auto...do u mean move the shifter around through reverse, drive, etc. back into park and the try starting it?

 

happens to me alot. the shifter dint shift all the way through. all you have to do is since its already in park, push it upwards towards the opposite side of drive,reverse. no need to shift anything. just nudge it like harvs said.

 

yeah, I think harvs94max is right that it has something to do with the shifter not being in the right place
next time, try moving it to N or all the way down and then back up to P and starting it

On these cars, the shifter bushings are a common thing that needs replacement (common symptom is that you have to push it a little further down past D to get into drive). If that is kinda loose, it may not be fully in park when it looks like it is. It's a very cheap part and pretty easy to replace. Check the FAQs, I believe its on one of those sites (pretty sure it's on Bryan's site).

 

you can start it in neutral

Brian

 

It happened to me the day after I got my car, and I thought I got screwed, but it was just the shifter not all the way in park.

 

shifter bushing

 

thanks guys

 

I usually have that problem when I drive an auto, I leave it in gear when I shut the engine off since all the cars I drive are standard... then I get back in the car and it won't turn over and I sit there like a ******* wondering what's going on...

 

My ford van is a automatic and it will do that sometimes.I just have to wiggle the gear shifter around a little,then it will start.

 

correct me if im wrong, but if you turn the car off in drive you cant take the key out right?

atleast thats how mine works.
its scarey when you turn the key and nothing happens, first time it happened to me i pushed the shifter in anger and then vroooom. it was funny after that.

Best thing to do is send me $1 million dollars and ill automagically make the problem go away for you.

 

Normally that applys... but in my 280 you can pull the key out anytime, including when you are driving down the road... gotta love the old cars!