So I have an 89 Maxima, I drive it almost daily but the transmission does not always like to shift into drive. I am unsure what the issue would be. There's no rough shifting or trouble shifting after the first time it actually shifts. It simply doesn't always shift when the lever is pulled to drive. Any clues what the issue might be? I'm assuming it's most likely electrical because of the intermittent trouble it causes.

 

is the shifter sloppy? like loose? there's a shifter cable bushing that goes on both ends of the shift cable. if that's worn that will give you issues with getting to D (it thinks it's in N).

next time shift it to 2 and see...if it's good then it's most likely the bushing. does the key also not come out when you put the car in park?

if none of these then you might actually have transmission issues...check fluid and top off if needed and change if it's in bad shape.

 

It doesn't shift into 2nd, 1st, or D, at least sporadically it wont. It shifts quite smoothly when it finally does shift. The key comes out no matter what, never had issues with that.

 

...run the trans troubleshoot code check sequence..see if any codes are stored.

 

how's the fluid level?