Thread: Car refuses to go into Park?

You answered your own question my good sir.

HINT: It probably has to do something with that leak you got going on.

Originally Posted by Remnant King

You answered your own question my good sir.

HINT: It probably has to do something with that leak you got going on.

That would be miss, not sir. :P

My friend said it was transmission fluid..but I looked for myself and it appeared to be more greenish looking, rather than reddish-brown.

I also read that fluid leaking in the transmission doesn't always mean I need a new transmission. It has stopped since, and it wasn't a huge puddles worth. Since my car STILL does shift into Drive, Neutral, Reverse, and 3. Usually when a transmission goes out, when you move the shifter on the council no shifting actually happens, at least that's been my past experience with people's cars. It also shifts smoothly into gear while driving.

We also checked the fluid and I have the right amount yet, and there is nothing in the fluid either.

So far it is sounding like a minor repair compared to a completely new transmission, but I am no expert..hence why I am here asking what on earth is going on.

Have you tried taking the console apart and seeing if it's getting stuck? Maybe it needs some wd-40 to loosen it a bit? Try it out

Originally Posted by NR92

huh...

The leaking is coming from somewhere right between my front tires..as in the center between them.

Originally Posted by nawarkk

Have you tried taking the console apart and seeing if it's getting stuck? Maybe it needs some wd-40 to loosen it a bit? Try it out

I have not tried that. It is crazy stuck, my strong friend couldn't even shift it over, and before hand I never had issues with shifting it around. It was so weird, I took my nephew for a short ride basically around the block..and I pulled into my garage, and it just refused to go into Park since then. But thanks, that is worth a try!

Originally Posted by nawarkk

Have you tried taking the console apart and seeing if it's getting stuck? Maybe it needs some wd-40 to loosen it a bit? Try it out

YIPEE! So, I ripped out the console and there were a bunch of wires hanging around in there. I moved them around better, and right away I could move the shifter easily without any issues. I put the console back on, and it has been working nicely ever since.

I have no clue what that leaking was. I put cardboard under my car and the dripping has seemed to stop, whatever it was. I have checked all my fluids, and the only thing I am running low on is oil.

I had this same problem on my Daughters 97 plus you could not remove the key. The wire in the console for the shift interlock solenoid circuit was broken, spliced the wire and back in buisness.

Originally Posted by 48cj2a

I had this same problem on my Daughters 97 plus you could not remove the key. The wire in the console for the shift interlock solenoid circuit was broken, spliced the wire and back in buisness.

YES! I forgot about this until you mentioned it.

Originally Posted by Hippo Machine

... you should add more then LOL, thats the most important thing for your engine.

If the drips were green then that would probably be newer coolant, or maybe you just saw green, idk.

Indeed. I am taking her in first thing tomorrow for one. I'm not sure what the leak was. The garage floor is sort of yucky, and my car is parked right where my old one was. Think it might of been moisture and something from my old car and other junk off the floor.

Sweet! My car has still been working and shifting on the console ever since.

That's a sexy Bonneville by the way.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Trick question: Mine or Dan's?

Both? :P

Okay, I'm having the same problem, it started when I had to tear my center console apart looking for the root cause of not being able to turn my key off. Found a couple other forums that said something about the "Purple" wire, go figure, that wasn't it. The wires were all nice and snug in the connector.

When I noticed that now the dang shifter won't move anywhere but N, R, and D, I ripped out the entire harness and disconnected the battery, low and behold the wires going to my shifter for the "Perfomance Shift" were broken inside the pleather liner, but would that really cause the issues I'm having with the car not going into any other gear? And also why would my key randomly stop turning back to remove it? no broken wires impacting that according to everything I've read.

Okay, I have answered my own issues, somehow the wires for the Performance Shift were wrapped around the actual shifter itself, when the shifter was forced back onto the rod, the wires were pinched into the the sleeve and cut off. This caused all sorts of funky issues. The reason it wouldn't shift to park, the wires had become so engrained into the shifter rod, the interior rod could not compress, so it wasn't letting go at the bottom in the lock position.

So I was able to remove everything, pull up the pleather cover, re-attach the wires with about a 4" extension all sautered together. After several cuts on my thumbs and back of my hands, everything was finally back in place (only 1 extra screw... hmmm? wonder what will fall off next...). And after putting everything back together, the key comes out every time without a hitch.

Note: if when you have everything apart, you should thoroughly lubricate the shifter at all points with some white grease (more permanent that WD-40), your shifter will move much smoother across the gears and probably last a little longer too.