Okay...not a serious problem yet. Stopped at the store on my way to work tonight. When I got back in and went to shift, the shifter wasn't smooth. Then I had to move it a bit to get it in gear. Then had to put the indicator in "3" to get it moving. When I got to work I tried it a few times and it seemed to be working okay but still didn't feel the way it should. I then went to move the car and same thing..."D" just let the engine rev...had to drop it down again just to get her moving.

Is this a common thing? Loose shift linkage? Trans slippage? How in depth to get to it? Any suggestions/info will be greatly appreciated.


EDIT: After searching a bit longer, I'm thinking maybe the cable. IF this is a possibility, can the cable cause really sloppy shifting or (if it breaks) will it just prevent shifting altogether?

UPDATE: Drove home from work. It went into REVERSE like it should. Then it 'slid' from R to 3 before engaging. When I put it back to DRIVE it was in neutral. A little wiggling and I got it to be in DRIVE and properly indicated. When I got home, it went into PARK with no problem. While sitting there, I very slowly put it in all the gears (down to D) with no problem but still felt the sliding feeling from R to D.

 

I would start with a fluid change and a new filter. Do a search and I'm sure you can find good recommendations on which brand. Look everything over good when you do the fluid and then see how it shifts.

 

It's not the shifting itself. It's how the shifter feels. While driving the trans shifts fine. It's when at a stop and trying to shift in DRIVE, REVERSE, or sometimes back to PARK that it's having a hard time finding the gear. Forgot to add....it's an '02 with about 40k miles.

 

It could be that the piece holding your cable on the shifter or trans has broken.
The cable could just be barely holding on.

I had this happen to me a couple months ago, I wish you the best of luck getting a replacement. There was a nationwide backorder when mine went out.

 

Yeah...I did a search for my problem and found that seemed to be the most common culprit. The local shop suggested the cable was broken but I'm leaning to the plastic piece. I did pull the shifter out and the plastic piece connecting the shifter itself to the cable was fine.

Someone found a kit with these connectors in various sizes and was able to use one from there. I'll have to look it up again and see if there's a part number or something.

 

Well, I decided to replace the shifter cable and hope that's all it was. I could have done it for very little had I waited until tues (when I'm getting lots of work done anyway). However, it's 80 degrees and sunny every day this weekend and I finally have a weekend off. I wasn't about to leave the convertible in the garage if I didn't have to!!

Shifter Cable = $100
Installation = $185
Having my car on a perfect weather weekend = Priceless!!