Help! Shifter stuck in "Park". Trasmission stuck in Drive. Now car will not start. - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Marklar · 05-16-2023, 08:12 AM

This morning, put the car in Park, the transmission didn't seem to do anything.
Let up the brake, it crept forward. The transmission is still in Drive.
The shifter is in Park.
Put the parking brake on. Turned the car off.
Turned the ignition to ON. Car doesn't start.
Electronics and radio turn on as normal, but the car doesn't start.
Shifter is locked and won't move.

I feel like this is an electronic issue. Like the car sees the transmission is in Drive, so it thinks the car is already on, which prevent the starter from firing.

I already unplugged the battery for a couple minutes and tried it again.

Any ideas what to do?

I've heard there is away to manually shift the transmission when power is down. Something about a hidden key hole near the shifter underneath the instrument panel or center consol. I can't find anything online about it.

Whoomba · 05-16-2023, 09:34 PM

It’s been so long I’ve forgotten the details. There’s a module that knows you’ve got your foot on the brake that goes out. Do a search on here.

ariZona28 · 05-18-2023, 01:13 AM

Owners manual pages 9-25, -26. I've never dealt with that type of problem in my Camaro but it almost sounds like your shift cable broke.

Marklar · 05-26-2023, 07:30 AM

Just wanted to provide an update. It's such a dumb story.

The linkage between the shifter and the transmission broke. Basically my transmission was stuck in Drive, and the shifter was no longer connected to push it back into park.
The shop said there's a pin and a grommet that comes as a single assembly that they needed to replace. There's a national backorder of these parts so there weren't any local places to buy them from so it took almost a week to get it in. Then when they got it in the grommet wasn't included. When they reached out to the vendor about it, the vendor said they don't supply the grommet any more because it's cheap plastic that breaks often and they my shop should make a custom one out of steel. Well the shop didn't have the tools to make one out of steel so they have to have that custom made by a local shop.

Thankfully there's nothing wrong with my transmission. Thank god because with my car having over 150k miles it would be difficult to justify a new transmission.

All in all they had my car for 9 days and it was only $225. Like I said - dumb.

ariZona28 · 06-05-2023, 07:31 AM

Good to hear it's fixed. $225 is definitely a fair price.

05-16-2023, 08:12 AM	#1
Marklar Drives: 2012 Camaro LS V6 Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Ohio Posts: 124	Help! Shifter stuck in "Park". Trasmission stuck in Drive. Now car will not start. This morning, put the car in Park, the transmission didn't seem to do anything. Let up the brake, it crept forward. The transmission is still in Drive. The shifter is in Park. Put the parking brake on. Turned the car off. Turned the ignition to ON. Car doesn't start. Electronics and radio turn on as normal, but the car doesn't start. Shifter is locked and won't move. I feel like this is an electronic issue. Like the car sees the transmission is in Drive, so it thinks the car is already on, which prevent the starter from firing. I already unplugged the battery for a couple minutes and tried it again. Any ideas what to do? I've heard there is away to manually shift the transmission when power is down. Something about a hidden key hole near the shifter underneath the instrument panel or center consol. I can't find anything online about it.

05-18-2023, 01:13 AM	#3
ariZona28 Give speed a chance Drives: 2015 Camaro 2LS, 2015 Camaro Z/28 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Mesa, Az Posts: 2,234	Owners manual pages 9-25, -26. I've never dealt with that type of problem in my Camaro but it almost sounds like your shift cable broke. Attached Images __________________ 2LS: a TREMENDOUS machine. Z/28: it's a BIT MORE POWERFUL, of course. Last edited by ariZona28; 06-05-2023 at 07:29 AM.

06-05-2023, 07:31 AM	#5
ariZona28 Give speed a chance Drives: 2015 Camaro 2LS, 2015 Camaro Z/28 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Mesa, Az Posts: 2,234	Good to hear it's fixed. $225 is definitely a fair price. __________________ 2LS: a TREMENDOUS machine. Z/28: it's a BIT MORE POWERFUL, of course.

05-16-2023, 09:34 PM	#2
Whoomba Drives: 2024Camaro 2SS CE Convertible Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Texas Posts: 1,302	It’s been so long I’ve forgotten the details. There’s a module that knows you’ve got your foot on the brake that goes out. Do a search on here.

05-26-2023, 07:30 AM	#4
Marklar Drives: 2012 Camaro LS V6 Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Ohio Posts: 124	Just wanted to provide an update. It's such a dumb story. The linkage between the shifter and the transmission broke. Basically my transmission was stuck in Drive, and the shifter was no longer connected to push it back into park. The shop said there's a pin and a grommet that comes as a single assembly that they needed to replace. There's a national backorder of these parts so there weren't any local places to buy them from so it took almost a week to get it in. Then when they got it in the grommet wasn't included. When they reached out to the vendor about it, the vendor said they don't supply the grommet any more because it's cheap plastic that breaks often and they my shop should make a custom one out of steel. Well the shop didn't have the tools to make one out of steel so they have to have that custom made by a local shop. Thankfully there's nothing wrong with my transmission. Thank god because with my car having over 150k miles it would be difficult to justify a new transmission. All in all they had my car for 9 days and it was only $225. Like I said - dumb.