I've been having problems lately of getting out of park in my 2000 Nissan Maxima SE. When I press on the break and moment or so later I can hear and feel the little click that unlocks the gear shift to take the car out of park. The problem is sometimes it allows me to get out of park right away and sometime I have to press the brakes 4-5 times to get it to unload the gear control. Anyone experience this or have a solution. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

I have a 2003 with the gated shifter, so my problem probably isn't the EXACT same one as yours, but I've noticed that I have trouble getting out of park if I am parked on a steep hill. I normally use my parking brake BEFORE I release the foot brake and place the vehicle into park whenever I am on a hill, but sometimes it still takes a bit more effort to get out of park than normal, and the shifter feels "notchy" or makes a "clunk" when it finally gets out of park.

 

uh when you park do you use the parking break??? because when i dont use my parking break especially on inclines i get the same thing as you, If i use the hand break i have no problem.. make shure u engage the parking break before you put in park.

 

I'll try that...as a temp solution. But there has to be a reason it does that.. An other feedback is appreciated..

 

remember always... stop your car.. put the Park Brake and then go into the gear... if you do this you won't thave any problem......

 

thats what i was going to say
do u have an auto or stick

 

its an automatic

 

Well, even though you have the 2000/2001 shifter and I have the 2003 gated shifter, it sounds like everybody agrees on a possible solution. My car is only hard to get out of park if I'm on an incline and I've forgotten to set the parking brake properly before removing my foot from the regular brake pedal. As long as I set the parking brake properly, I have little or no resistance getting out of park.

 

I also have this problem in my 2000 maxima - any solutions? by the way my rims got jacked today... sucks

 

wtf...
try readin all the replies
we know
u already started a thread

 

this is the way i do it. say your in drive you stop on a hill put it into neutral, e-brake on, let off the brake pedal, you will notice the car will roll a bit or maybe feel like it is going to but it doesnt. then go into park. This is the way i do it all the time regardless if im on a hill or not.

 

Got an AT and always use the E-brake (Or what ever you want to call it). Not using the E-brake causes unnecessary wear on the transmition (Automatics for sure, but not sure about manuals).

 

This is the way I do it too... I have adjusted, lubricated and done all kinds of things to the shift cable, but no success. I have had not bang into park or hard to take out of park, by shifting to N before P.

It is my hunch that the problem has got to do with the tranny mount.

 

It's funny that I stumbled upon this thread as I am having a similar problem that has continued to worsen over the past several weeks. Basically I feel like I have to beat the crap out of the side of the shifter to get it to release so I can put it into D. I have also found no correlation between the parking brake and getting the damn auto shifter out of park so a solution hasn't come as easily for me. My problem appears to be between the foot brake and its signal to the transmission as sometimes it gives me the full click and release and other times I just get a light click with no shift release. A true PITA.

 

yea my car does it similiar ONLY if im on a hill, or an incline or something...now i always use the parking brake, then i put the car in park.......and when i leave i put the car in gear FIRST, this disengage the parking brake...and i have no problems any more

 

that def does make sense to put the car in gear first then take off the emergency brakes. even like 1 to 2 inches of movement with the car rolling can make a huge difference when changing out of park

 

I believe it to be the mounts.
I recently changed all 4 mounts on my max and that problem went away.
It would mostly happen on a hill but sometimes it would just happen anywhere.

 

Why did you have to change ALL the mounts in the first place and how much do they cost, probably arm and leg.

Also, I bet it is not a DIY job, right? Some folks have done the front and the rear using jacks, though there is a FAQ on mounts change on the 4th Gen maximas.

 

I tore both engine mounts and as a result the tranny mounts were in bad condition. I got them from an org member for 60 engine and 50 tranny mounts.

my mechanic did it for me and i helped him, took a little more than an hour.