Help! Shift stuck between gears. Engine won't turn on.
 

Looking for some quick advice as my car is stuck. I've had trouble before shifting in cold weather but never to this degree. Last night we had our first cold snap of the season, and I had trouble shifting into Drive this morning at my house. After a few minutes I got the engine going once the car recognized that I had shifted out of Park position. I drove for a mile, then parked the car, let it sit for an hour and now I can't move it. When I turn the ignition from Lock to Start, the digital display tells me to shift my stick to Park. It is in Park! And when I move the shift to reverse or drive, I do not feel anything engage..I pulled out a screw driver and tried depressing the override switch adjacent to the shift to move the shift lever back and forth, but to no avail. The engine will not turn on. My mechanic won't provide advice as this is a hybrid - 2006 400H vehicle. Lexus dealer wants it towed and they are quite a distance .

There is another person on this board who had a similar problem recently, but his issue turned out to be a battery or sensor. He didn't mention any effects of air temperature on the vehicle. So I'm guessing my situation is different.

Thoughts?? Thanks much! :-)

Just a guess but it could be a problem with the "shift lever sensor/park neutral switch" or maybe the shift linkage to the sensor lever since it happens when cold.

An inspection of the shift lever moving while moving the shifter could give some info.
Also, there is a park detection switch too.

Plz let us know how it goes.

Hopefully others have ideas.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...3d64457acb.png



https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...b4c7d7f9a5.png

Thank you Margate! Sounds good. I had the car towed to a repair shop, and I printed out the two diagrams you posted and left them in my car for the shop mechanics to look at.
:-)

Randy

I received the bad news this morning. The repair shop spent 2 1/2 hours diagnosing the problem and determined that the Shift Cable was seizing up and would have to be replaced. No aftermarket replacement available. Part will cost $360. 8 hours of labor to remove the entire dashboard, etc. - about $700 is what I was quoted. :cry:

Wow!

$1k for replacing shift linkage cable- didn't think it would cost that much untill I looked at how much needs to be removed on the engine and inside the car to get that cable out- not an easy job.