Help! Can't shift into Park.
 

:help:

I've got a 94 GXE auto.

Got to work today and went to put it in Park. Got up to R and there was a click and the button on the side of the shifter popped back out. I can not push it in to get the car into Park.

The car runs fine in D and R. Is this a shifter bushing problem? I know mine was worn out but what would that have to do with the button on the side of the shifter?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can't get the keys out of the ignition so the car is sitting in the parking lot with the keys in it (secure parking area at work thank goodness).

Bryan.

try using the shift lock button at the base of the shifter.
other than that :gotme:

Ok, thanks.

That occurred to me when I got inside. I've used it to get the car OUT of Park but never into. Guess it's the same principle. :gotme:

Found a couple of people with similar problems doing a search but no real good answers (bushings, maybe solenoid). Guess I will replace the bushings and see if that helps.

a lot of times its gunk built up on the switch that pops. happened to my 94 gxe. it was from soda being spilled in there. my dad owned it before me. and it was fine for maybe, 4 months? then i couldn't put it in park. and you have to put it in neutral in order to start it. so take apart the console and clean the switch area and put some wd40 in there.

No way. It couldn't possibly be that easy. Life just doesn't work that way. But I'll give it a try first.


:( No go. Couldn't get it into P using the shift lock button. Tried the release on the ignition but couldn't get that to work either. I think I'm doing that one wrong though. Gonna go reread that post.

eh, it was a thought.
I'd pull out the console and look for something jamming it in there.
I highly doubt the shifter bushing is the cause though

Ok, took off the console cover. I sprayed a little WD40 in there but I don't think it's a "gunk" problem. I can see the little rod that goes up and down when you push the button on the side of the shifter. I can push it far enough in to get the car into Reverse but I cannot push the button in any farther to get it into Park. The little rod needs to go down further to get into Park.

It's like there is something hard that is blocking it. I removed the two screws on the front of the shifter and removed the button itself. Interesting to see how it goes together but not particularly useful in solving my problem.

What I really need is to see how a functioning shifter is working. Looks like I will need to disassemble the whole thing - remove the 4 screws that hold it down.

Good news is I figured out the release on the ignition so I can remove my keys without having to be in Park.

that has nothing to do with the little button. it has to do with your BREAK PEDAL. fyi

Ok, that makes sense. But how does that work? When you push down on the brake pedal it releases something right? How do the brake pedal and the shifter interact? What is the mechanism?

Am I looking at a trip to the dealer?

Shift Interlock System. Found some diagrams of Toyota's but nothing on the Maxima.

Don't suppose anybody knows what kind is on the Maxima or how it works?

Looks like Toyotas have 3 kinds: electrical, electrical/mechanical or mechanical.

test it. with everything off. sit in your car. push down on the pedal. u should hear a click. if u don't. thats your problem:-p the first time it happened I had it done at a local shop and he charged me 30$. and he told me what it was. the 2nd time i whipped around a turn and my d and d coffee spilt down in there. i took it apart myself and cleaned it. vwahlah. its pretty straight foward. disassemble. clean, reassemble. should need a diagram. if its Broken. time for a Stealership visit.

Since this is related.
My shifter is fine and all but today on my way to school I accidentaly hit the shift and it put me into Neutral. I thought that was kinda wierd that the shifter would be that sensitive. My aunts auto dosnt do that. So I was just wondering if maybe something is broken possibly??
Well Thankyou!

This is normal,nothing is wrong..:)

I believe I found the definitive Shift Interlock thread if you do ever have a problem

http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.php?t=189092

But yeah, mine pops into Neutral pretty easily too.

Thanks heresmymind, you set me on the right course.

This is all i got on this issue,good luck..:)

http://uploader.ws/upload/200701/shift_lock_1.png
http://uploader.ws/upload/200701/shift_lock_2.png
http://uploader.ws/upload/200701/shift_lock_3.png

http://uploader.ws/upload/200701/shift_lock_4.png
http://uploader.ws/upload/200701/shift_lock_5.png
http://uploader.ws/upload/200701/shift_lock_6.png

Thanks a million man!! This will most definitely help. Listened to it today and there is definitely no clicking whatsoever when you press the brake pedal, but the brake lights do work.

I'll get after it this weekend and post the results if I can figure it out.

WARNING! Noob question ahead (like this whole thread hasn't been right?).

How do you get the part of the shifter assembly off that has the letters (P, R, N, D...) written on it. It's attached with 4 screws but how do you get it away from the shift lever itself?

I need to get access to the solenoid and wiring harness at the base of the shift lever.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Don't mean to be a pest. Just a quick bump before I throw in the towel.

Before I take it in, anybody know the best way to get access to the base of the A/T shifter once you get that cover off that just pops out?

I can't do squat with the solenoid until I get that piece off that surrounds the shifter. I don't want to force anything and screw something up.

The shifter light harness needs to be removed before you can slide the cover further up the shifter neck..

http://uploader.ws/upload/200701/shifter_light_1.jpg



These are a few videos i made on how the shift lock mechanism is supposed to work in park when you press the brake...


Shift lock selonoid....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMSvwXDT6HY

This one is how the shifter button on the stalk works when pushed in...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udh-22sgIR0

Sorry for the crappy quality,old digi camera ftl..:(

the rubber bush surrounding the shifter has known to wear out on our gen. On my car, I just *jiggle* around with it a little and it works fine. Yes, I have to do this every time I drive around.

Ive noticed clicking when I start my Max. I found out it was the shifter.. Whats would this be? I watched that video and it sounds like the shift lock selonoid. Can you help me please?

all I have to say is my 94 se also has been problematic so to speak :)
the button actually fell out of the top of the shift lock button. With all the same problems as you stated.

Right now I'm basically DWP (Driving Without Park). I leave it in neutral and use the key release button that's by the ignition to get the keys out.

Mygreenmax has come through big time (thanks again sir!! :thumbsup: ) and I will get out and try to take care of the shift lock when the weather is less sh1tty and I have some time.

Ok, it's fixed. Just had to get in there and manually move the switch and solenoid to get the shifter into Park. After that everything's back to normal - solenoid "clicks" when I depress the brake so no need to replace anything.

Thanks everybody for the great input and special thanks to Mygreenmax:clap: for the invaluable diagrams and video.

Glad you got it fixed..:)

I think you can turn off they key cylinder lock by unhooking the 2-wire brown connector that runs under the steering column and up directly behind the key release button. I think it's red/black on one side and blue wires on the other.

It's the shift lock solenoid. It prevents you from shifting out of park until you have your foot on the brake. When you step on the pedal, it clicks to allow you to push the button, and once you have the button there's some linkages (that it'd take too long to describe in words) that keep the button pushable until you put it back in park at the end of your trip. That's how come you should only click when in park and stepping on the pedal.

But it sounds like you said that yours clicks its head off whenever it feels like it when you start your car? Like, machine-gun-speed, right? Mine did that sometimes, but usually the solenoid relay (passenger kick panel, larger green relay, the other is the A/C relay) wouldn't release it so I took it out to look at it. It's on my desk right now, about 6 inches away from my mouse, but it wasn't doing its job anyhow so I figured what's the point.

Im going through this problem at this very moment. I bought the car off a lady who had kids so there was soda and such spilled everywhere. When you take out the center console look at the base of the shifter. There is a little white toggle thing that goes around it and a small metal arm attached to it that goes to a solenoid. Clean that little metal arm and WD40 it and it will fix the prob. When you put your key in the ingnition and turn it to on, the switch pushes the arm foward which allows space for a metal peice attached to your shifter to lower into which allow you to push the button in all the way to shift. If its sticky it wont move and this is what happens. If you need picks of what im talking about let me know and ill get them.

Dont get your hopes up to much. Mine worked for a couple days the first time i got in there but it started doing it again and i had to fix it... again.

This was already answered, but I'll throw in my experience... On my Maxima, and our family car (Ford Escort wagon, haha), you can shift into neutral without even hitting the button on your shifter; it can simply be pushed. So I also think you're fine.