Automatic Transmission stuck in Manual shift mode

[Elk Man]

The shifter will move from main gate, back and forth to manual gate but transmisson is stuck in manual mode, will not engage in normal automatic mode. I can shift manually. How do I fix? Thanks

[zozoka1212]

Try disconecting your battery terminal and shift. Also you can try the shift lock.

Disconecting your battery should do it. If it happenes again they might have to reposition the shifter.

zozo

[Elk Man]

Thanks for the reply. I have tried this and still no auto-shift and the gear indicator light in the dash will only indicate the manual gear, no indicator when it is is P,R,N,D.

Any other thoughts? Thanks.

[zozoka1212]

I would then just take to the dealer or take it apart.

zozo

[Elk Man]

Thank for your help, I feel it is something like a switch gone bad. I just hope it is not a wallet killer to repair.

[tollboothwilley]

are you out of warranty?

if you are under warranty then this should be covered. If not, I would say to double check this yourself. You can take the shifter piece apart fairly quickly.

On the bottom side of the shift knob is a square cover. pull this down. Remove the metal clip holding the shift knob on. Now you can pull off the whole knob. Set aside and dont lose the metal clip.

You can pull up on the center console piece (furthest back) from the front part of it. It will raise just enough to pull out the middle console piece. Pull the middle piece up from the back side. There are several wires that are connected. You need to undo all the clips that hold the connection pieces. I use a small screwdriver to assist since they are small clips and can be hard to get out without breaking.

Once you have disconnected all these and can pull it out, you can put the shift knob on and see if you can put it into gear.

I wish I had a pic of the console for a visual. Hope you get the idea.

[Elk Man]

Thanks for the help. Let me describe what the car is doing and see if you feel what you are suggesting is still the correct course of action:

The car is drivable in manual mode and the manual mode gear selection appears on the dash. All other automatic gears do not display on hte dash. The automatic feature of the trasmisson will not work, stays in manual mode, even when shifter is in the automatic (main) box.

I have disconnected he battery and the shift lock completed with no change.

I am a shade tree mechanic at best, so I do not want to bite off more than I can chew. Thanks for your time and help.

[tollboothwilley]

well, if its under warranty, I'd take it to the dealer.

it sounds like its not, so the first place to check would be what I suggested earlier. Its possible that something has a bad connection. I'd take it out. Make a visual inspection, then put it back together. It should only take 5-10 min to take it out. Its very easy to do. Try that and get back to us.

It allows you to shift through all the gears though, right?P, R, N, D then to manual-matic? it just doesn't show a visual for PRND right?

[Elk Man]

Out of warranty, 43K miles. In-service was June 2004.You are correct regarding your last question,It will not shift on its on, must be shifted manually.Only M1-M5 shows on the dash. all other gears do not appear.

[tollboothwilley]

even though they do not appear does it go into gear...or when switching between gears do you see anything show up. Sometimes the cable just needs an adjustment. You would see the PRND show up between locations.

2004 with 43K miles should be under warranty..as I believe this falls under powertrain.

Warranty is 4yr/60KPowertrain is 5yr/72K

[Elk Man]

I have no Automatic feature of the transmmison, just manual.No dash light for PRND, only M1-M5 as I shift through the manual gate as it is being driven. If I leave shifter(M1) in main gate it will stay in first gear and red line, it will not shift up on it own.

[tollboothwilley]

Does it go into "park" even though the idicator light isn't on?

what about 5M. That should shift automatically for you if you leave it in 5M. That is just like the sport mode in newer transmissions.

Call your dealer. You should be covered under powertrain warranty.

[G_whizz]

Nice job John.

[Elk Man]

Update: Called the dealership and made an appt. for Wednesday. As TollBoothWiily suggested it is covered under the Drive train warranty.I will post again with the results. Thanks to everyone for pitching in with their advice.

[tollboothwilley]

Good to hear. It'd be good if they replaced it with a new transmission...sorta good. I figure, might as well get a new part right before it goes out of warranty! LOL

Make sure we hear back from you on their findings.

[tj884rdlx]

does anyone know the resolution to this?

i have the exact same issue, and i've been searching for hours. this is the only thread i've found to describe it, and there's no solution described.

summary: no display on dash except in manual. must be in manual side to shift. in "D", it stays in 1st gear. P, N, R all work, just no display.

it is out of warranty. i was going to mess with the shift selector, but if anyone knows its the ECAT brain then that would be a waste of time. anyone?

thanx all!

[G_whizz]

Welcom e and sorry to hear of your troubles!

I'll try to get a tech in here.

[SteveTheTech]

Hello there,

If I were you I would remove the finisher around shifter then loosen and adjust the shifter housing. There is no technical adjustment but without getting under the car this is going to be your best bet to temporarily get the car moved if and when it stops working entirely.

There are very few things that can one is a faulty shifter control device (mechanism) or a misadjusted linkage under the car.

Since you (and the OPs) issue are exactly the same I would am betting that the route cause of both instances is a failing locking solenoid. Technically the only way to fix this once and for all is to replace the shifter as a whole.

[craze177]

Did anyone find an answer to this issue? I'm having the same exact problem. Im out of warranty so I wanna know how much it'll cost to fix it.

[joe603]

Resurrection!! lol

I'm not sure the OP's issue was fixed. Probably was and didn't reply to this thread. I'd have the dealer look at it...just tell them that you want them to give you an estimate on the repair, not to do the work.