bringing up this Q again b/c no help last time

[firebird19_99]

alright so when its cold, like really cold around 20 and under, my auto transmission wont shift, the button you press to move the shift lever and switch gears wont go all the way in and cant shift, sometimes takes anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour with the engine on till i can and you could imagine how that hurts on gas...any ideas would be very helpful, thnx some ppl say it might be a sensor but idk

[Blizzard242]

Re: bringing up this Q again b/c no help last time

Hmm, I'm having a similar problem with my 98. It has trouble getting out of park but it's not a temperature thing. You have to hit the button pretty hard to get it into gear. I'm gonna tear into the console and figure it out here when it gets warm enough but yeah I as of right now I don't know how that stuff works yet.

[bigbrian442]

Re: bringing up this Q again b/c no help last time

Someone may have spilled something into the console. Pull it apart and clean and lube it as well as the shifter handle.

[firebird19_99]

Re: bringing up this Q again b/c no help last time

yea i know mine does it too, i was thinking something was spilled into it, but it only happens in the winter and not the summer, ive looked under just by lifting the console out and it is pretty dirty and sticky so that might be it, and b/c its cold it might freeze anything else in their.....but even if i hit the button hard it still doesnt move, my palm turned purple trying to get that button in, so now i have to leave it in neutral, pull the handbrake and put the car in tail first just to be able to get out the next day, it sucks!!! anyone one else has any info plz do tell....and thnx for the help b/c i was clueless till now and this makes a little sense

[Blizzard242]

Re: bringing up this Q again b/c no help last time

Yeah the problem I have isn't something sticky. Something has definitely been moved out of place down there in the park position. Otherwise it moves just fine. I'll try to get to it this weekend and snap a few pics while I'm at it. I know pictures help me 10x more than words alone. And yeah if you can don't be afraid to take it apart. You're gonna have to eventually when you get your answer right?

[mestupryan]

Re: bringing up this Q again b/c no help last time

maybe the cable on the side of the transmission that controls what gear your in is loose/misadjusted?

[firebird19_99]

Re: bringing up this Q again b/c no help last time

your right its not a temp thing b/c this morning i left my car running for about 20 min and the engine was warm and it didnt want to shift, button wasnt even loose enough to budge it....i lifted the console and saw that when you press the button it pushes down on something, so i guessed it might be stuck...grabbed a screwdriver and pushed the button, looked where it moved and found a hard metal piece that moved with it and used the screwdriver to help force it down and the button came loose and it shifted.....but still dont know what it is, plz do get some pics up, would be very helpful

[Blizzard242]

Re: bringing up this Q again b/c no help last time

Ok I have you're solution.

This is what you need to work with (circled in red). Looks vaguely familiar I hope. It's just in front of your shifter knob.



You can either figure out what's wrong with it or disable it completely. I've deducted that it senses if your brake pedal is depressed or not and if it is it will release the shifter button. If not, it will stay stuck as you know so well. To disable it completely though is very easy. I've circled the harness you need to disconnect and that's all. To disconnect it you just press where I've indicated with the arrow and pull towards the rear. Beware. You're button will depress when in the parked position with your foot on the brake or not. If you can't figure it out from my long description you should probably give up on life. I'm glad I could help.