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NIssan Altima 2013 Shift Gear stuck??? Help urgent***?

133K views 34 replies 23 participants last post by  luzmina 
#1 ·
The shift lever gear on my Nissan Altima Sedan 2013 model is stuck when I put on park. I can move it and drive only when I press on Shift lock button on the left side. Then it stuck again when I park. So basically, I always have to press that button everytime i shift my lever in order to drive. Why is this happening and how can I fix it? How expensive is it to fix it?
 
#3 ·
Well back in the day when this happened (think 90's) there was a switch that let the car know you were pressing on the brake pedal. Talk to the dealer and find out where the ''brake interlock switch'' is on this car. If it's a classic switch you can just take the wire going into and out of the switch and connect them to each other (that's all the switch used to do was complete the circuit. Then see if it works fine again. Then just replace the switch because this feature may seem unnecessary until some kid or another driver accidentally puts in in reverse while heading to drive and BAM you owe a deductible.
 
#7 ·
Diagram from the Nov 2013 Service Manual that I have. It appears that the Shift Lock solenoid is on top of the transmission.
 
#11 ·
Same problem. Gear shift stuck (some of the time) Watched the video above and did what that guy did, took everything apart and wiggled a few wires ...voila... started working again. a few days later it locked up again and had to use a screwdriver to push down the shift lock to get it into gear.

Did some research and found that there is a shift lock solenoid and a Park Position Switch (that senses when the car is in park) that work together. Apparently there is a short that will happen in the park position switch (??) and not allow the two to communicate. Went to dealer to buy new switch and solenoid and they only sell them as part of the entire transmission control (gear selector) a $450 part. screw that! looked online and nothing available for this car. I guess if you can find a totaled one at a scrap yard, you could probably pull the parts and replace them for cheap.

SOLUTION FOR ME:
Did some trouble shooting and found out that if... I Start the car as normal; after I start the car, let off the brake, then, without pressing the release button on the gear shift, apply a little pressure to the gear shift (as if I'm trying to pull it out of park) then hit the brake, I hear the solenoid move and I can take the car out of Park as normal. This tells me there is probably a short in the Park Position switch which wont release the solenoid until the gear shift lever is just right... other than replacing the whole thing, I don't know of a permanent fix, but this works for me.
 
#12 ·
I had the same problem started out as intermittent and then failed solid. Mine was the park position switch actuator was no longer making contact with the cam on the shifter. I replaced the switch with Omron-SS-5GL13-SS and they are many on ebay under $1 Once you have the console out it is a very easy fix. Remove the old switch solder the connetor from old switch to the new switch snaps back in place. With the console out takes 15 minutes to repair. Rock solid now.
 
#15 ·
Thanks! I've been having intermittent issues with my shifter for the last 2-3 weeks. I just ordered the switch off ebay. Now I just hope I can tear down my sentra and replace this switch replaced before I get stranded somewhere. In the meantime, I'll have to learn how to use the manual override.
 
#16 ·
Same thing just happened to me at 44,500 miles and 2 months before being 5 years old. I took my car to the local mechanic. They diagnosed the solenoid was bad on the gear shifter. When the mechanic shop contacted the Nissan parts department at the dealership they found out that Nissan only sells the entire shifter which is $459 for the part only! I ended up paying $696 to have the damn thing replaced. The mechanic gave me the old shifter assembly back after showing me the part that was bad. Let me tell you, it is very cheaply made of flimsy plastic with thin tin contacts on the switches. He said the replacement looked identical to the original crappy part. I have read the dealership charges anywhere from $600 - $900 to do the repair!
 
#17 ·
Which part actually broke? Can you circle it on your pic or describe where on the pic it broke?
 
#19 · (Edited)
It may well be that part with the red wire going to it. I see a likely looking solenoid and linkage there.

My kids all gone now and I defeat that switch/solenoid on every car I have to make zero issues, it's a child safety thing. The button to override it is commonly a physical one so you can yank console and see where that button presses to understand which part it is. By working the shifter with console off you can generally find out exactly what locks the shift lever up to not move out of park, some may locate under the shifter bottom like Fords do.
 
#21 · (Edited)
And why I have no use for either unitized parts or mechs. You gotta think out of the box to save that hundreds at a time and maybe 40 minutes work there and free as to the cost. Figure the cost into time spent and you pay yourself more than you will likely ever get paid at any job. I've hit as high as a $2000/hr. pay rate before.

What did I tell you, never even seen one of those before but it's not rocket science. Removing the white plastic right angle rocker arm there may well defeat it but I would have to see how the linkage works.
 
#22 ·
This just happened to me! I'm using the manual release all the time now. It's one thing after another with this car.

Does anyone live in Northen NJ and want to make a few dollars helping me fix this? I'm just not savvy enough to do this myself and my mechanic quoted me $650 to replace the whole shift assembly with the new part.

Does anyone know if this will cause the car to fail inspection?
 
#24 ·
Is there a cheaper alternative to a traditional mechanic? I would like this fixed, but $650 is way to expensive for a worn out piece of plastic with metal bits.

This just happened to me! I'm using the manual release all the time now. It's one thing after another with this car.

Does anyone live in Northern NJ and want to make a few dollars helping me fix this? I'm just not savvy enough to do this myself and my mechanic quoted me $650 to replace the whole shift assembly with the new part.

Does anyone know if this will cause the car to fail inspection?
 
#23 ·
Defeating it less likely to cause inspection problems than having it stuck in Park and unable to move the car.
 
#30 ·
The shift lever gear on my Nissan Altima Sedan 2013 model is stuck when I put on park. I can move it and drive only when I press on Shift lock button on the left side. Then it stuck again when I park. So basically, I always have to press that button every time i shift my lever in order to drive. Why is this happening and how can I fix it? How expensive is it to fix it?[/QUOTE]
Look on page 5-14 Starting and Driving of your 2013 Nissan Altima Owners Manual.

You will find that your car is normal. This is how it is designed to be operated.

 
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