shifter problems and fix

[EvilSRT]

I love the BT pink thingy hate going on. Everyone here spends twice to three times more on other mods to make their car look good. Why bitch about a part that will keep your good looking car moving down the road? That makes no sense.

[OA-5599]

No hating going on here, my friend. I only point out the need for preventative replacement of the part if it is not at risk. We do all kinds of preventative maintenance on parts that have known lifespans; air and oil filters, serpentine belt, brake pads, and so on. There are other items we know will fail at some point, but only worry about replacing them when the fail, like bulbs, pulleys, alternator, water pump, etc. This part is known to fail at a high percentage if it is from the defective lot; yes, if my VIN matched up with the list of these defective pinky things, I would proactively do a fix. Since it is not, I do not see a reason to do anything, just as I am not proactively replacing all of my bulbs, the differential, wheel bearings, and so on; even though all of those parts - in fact, any and all moving parts - will likely fail at some point in the vehicle's lifespan.

I guess part of this is my 20 years in military intelligence, where I heard many "the sky is falling" assessments that when you analyze the facts, proved simply not to be true.

There is a risk of this part failing, just like any other part, and if you have one of the ones from the manufacturer that was shown to be defective, the chance of failure is probably high. If not, then there is not sense in getting worked up about it. Even if it does fail, there is a simple work-around to get you home and perform the repair/replacement.

All of that said, as a fellow long-term member of this forum, I do deffer to FunkyChicken who's advice has been extremely valuable throughout the years, and would like to explore more evidence of this part failing in vehicles not identified as at risk.

[fnkychkn]

Well I agree except for the southern states part. The north got very warm this past summer.

i'm sure it did. what i'm saying is prolonged exposure, which just doesn't happen in northern climates. that's not to say that it could never happen (broken pink thingy). i just don't think it's as likely to happen. maybe the risk is greater with the ones chrysler acknowledged as being suspect.

yearly average daytime high temps;
Pheonix = 86*F
Ottawa = 52*F

average daytime high temps for june-august;
Pheonix = 104*F
Ottawa = 77*F

all statistics from "the Weather Network".

I love the BT pink thingy hate going on. Everyone here spends twice to three times more on other mods to make their car look good. Why bitch about a part that will keep your good looking car moving down the road? That makes no sense.

lol. that's like someone gladly forking out $2000+ for wheels and bitching about a $200 brake service.

No hating going on here, my friend. I only point out the need for preventative replacement of the part if it is not at risk. We do all kinds of preventative maintenance on parts that have known lifespans; air and oil filters, serpentine belt, brake pads, and so on. There are other items we know will fail at some point, but only worry about replacing them when the fail, like bulbs, pulleys, alternator, water pump, etc. This part is known to fail at a high percentage if it is from the defective lot; yes, if my VIN matched up with the list of these defective pinky things, I would proactively do a fix. Since it is not, I do not see a reason to do anything, just as I am not proactively replacing all of my bulbs, the differential, wheel bearings, and so on; even though all of those parts - in fact, any and all moving parts - will likely fail at some point in the vehicle's lifespan.

I guess part of this is my 20 years in military intelligence, where I heard many "the sky is falling" assessments that when you analyze the facts, proved simply not to be true.

There is a risk of this part failing, just like any other part, and if you have one of the ones from the manufacturer that was shown to be defective, the chance of failure is probably high. If not, then there is not sense in getting worked up about it. Even if it does fail, there is a simple work-around to get you home and perform the repair/replacement.

All of that said, as a fellow long-term member of this forum, I do deffer to FunkyChicken who's advice has been extremely valuable throughout the years, and would like to explore more evidence of this part failing in vehicles not identified as at risk.

as stated in CSN K39, according to chrysler, the only ones at risk are vehicles built between june 25th, 2007 and september 21st, 2007 and any previously built vehicle that has had it's shifter assembly replaced with one of the suspect parts. the service parts must be a minuscule amount compared to new vehicle installs. total number of vehicles involved in CSN K39; approx. 28,800. this does not explain the elevated failure rate of vehicles produced outside the suspect build dates that have not had a service part previously installed as acknowledged by chrysler.



all that being said, i have been actively trying to break my pink thingy for over 3 years and have so far, been unsuccessful. if anyone has any tips or tricks that i could try to accelerate the failure, please share.

[Quick]

Not a real good comparison. Most all those parts you mention fail "gradually". Bearings, water pumps, belts, etc., rarely fail catastrophically without any warning or symptoms. Of the few that do because the symptoms may be hidden or lacking there is usually a replacement schedule shorter than the expected failure interval. Important lights generally have more than one bulb serving the same function. Certainly there are some things that just fail and will put you out of business but some stuff...just happens. The annoyance factor on this one is pretty high and the probability of occurence significant. Just saying your comparison may not be the best one.

[OA-5599]

The annoyance factor on this one is pretty high and the probability of occurence significant. Just saying your comparison may not be the best one.

Significant? By what standard?

Yea, again, I am only looking at the facts. If all of the at risk parts failed, it would be a failure rate of 1.9% of all LXs sold, not a significant factor, and of course not all of the at risk parts will fail. Even more telling, I tried to count the number of members of this forum who have reported a failure, I think it is somewhere around 56 (tough to tell for sure, as some people posted multiple times and others stated they heard of this happening to someone else). Given the forum membership of 46,300 or so, that is a failure rate of around 1/10th of one percent, which is fairly negligible.

My 2005 has 73000 miles and like Funkychicken, I have not been able to break this part. I do not baby the thing and since the supercharger install have pushed it a bit.

I am only saying that if you are one of the ones at risk, do something about it, otherwise, why bother?

Edit: Note that many of those who reported a failure joined the forum specifically in search of a fix, which further slants the numbers in favor of failure. Sanity please...

[rakstr]

CSN K39 does not include all vehicles which are at risk. as far as i'm concerned, all 2005-2007 LXs are at risk, given the right operating parameters. so far, i think the consensus is that prolonged high temperature exposure (southern states) is the only contributing factor.

I just had this happen yesterday, Live in Dallas. Called Chrysler (number listed in K39) and was told that only specific manufacture dates for 2007 were covered. Asked her why the copy of K39 I was reading from THEIR website says differently and she said she's reading the OFFICIAL release and it's only certain 2007 manufacture dates. So after a little chatting, she acknowledged that they MIGHT cover but the dealer would have to call them. I called a few dealers and they wanted to take the car in, charge me to dismantle/diagnose/..., and then call with the HOPE they could get Chrysler to pay for it all. I explained I've already got the thing torn down to where the "screw driver" method gets me going and it's OBVIOUS the part is broken but, ... I finally found a dealer that let me drive in, the shop manager looked at the shift mechanism and 30 seconds later said he'd call Chrysler and let me know when he heard back. Told me better than 50/50 he'd get them to pay for it. JUST in case, I found in my research yesterday the name of the commercially available kit but failed to write it down. Can't seem to find it again. Can someone re-post please??? THANKS ALL!

[DET-TANK]

To me, $39.00 (or less if you catch one of BT's sales) is well worth the insurance to keep you, or your spouse/kids from being stranded by that stupid OEM part if your car is effected.

That said..

Some last more then others because some people are gorillas and others are not. My understanding is, dedicated and purposeful application of the brake pedal before attempting to shift out of park will preserve this factory piece.

[fnkychkn]

I just had this happen yesterday, Live in Dallas. Called Chrysler (number listed in K39) and was told that only specific manufacture dates for 2007 were covered. Asked her why the copy of K39 I was reading from THEIR website says differently and she said she's reading the OFFICIAL release and it's only certain 2007 manufacture dates. So after a little chatting, she acknowledged that they MIGHT cover but the dealer would have to call them. I called a few dealers and they wanted to take the car in, charge me to dismantle/diagnose/..., and then call with the HOPE they could get Chrysler to pay for it all. I explained I've already got the thing torn down to where the "screw driver" method gets me going and it's OBVIOUS the part is broken but, ... I finally found a dealer that let me drive in, the shop manager looked at the shift mechanism and 30 seconds later said he'd call Chrysler and let me know when he heard back. Told me better than 50/50 he'd get them to pay for it. JUST in case, I found in my research yesterday the name of the commercially available kit but failed to write it down. Can't seem to find it again. Can someone re-post please??? THANKS ALL!

as the chrysler customer assist rep said, K39 only applies to certain build dates. also, if the shifter on your '05-'07 was replaced with one of these affected shifters, then the service action also applies.

To me, $39.00 (or less if you catch one of BT's sales) is well worth the insurance to keep you, or your spouse/kids from being stranded by that stupid OEM part if your car is effected.

That said..

Some last more then others because some people are gorillas and others are not. My understanding is, dedicated and purposeful application of the brake pedal before attempting to shift out of park will preserve this factory piece.

i've been shifting it like a gorilla for over 3 years in an attempt to make mine fail (in the name of science). still holding.

[DET-TANK]

^^^

Are you in the habit of trying to get out of park without your foot on the brake? Prob not LOL...

[fnkychkn]

^^^

Are you in the habit of trying to get out of park without your foot on the brake? Prob not LOL...

habit? no. only in my car for the last 3 years. this is an ongoing experiment. no matter how hard i try, the damn thing just won't break.

[Rt's RT]

This is awesome It happened today on my '05 magnum.
What I could use is a little more on the shifter removal
I got the trim off with the 2 front screws and the knob off and the lit PRND with light case removed
and removed the four nuts on each corner but it seems like somethings holding it and I don't want to break anything. Seems like it in the middle of left side. Apart from the linkage and the cable that goes into the pink thing are there any other bolts or wiring harnesses? I see that something unplugs at the rear, but its still held up. Oh and A LOT of change and dog hair in there over the last 8 years
Thanks in advance

[Quick]

This is awesome It happened today on my '05 magnum.
What I could use is a little more on the shifter removal
I got the trim off with the 2 front screws and the knob off and the lit PRND with light case removed
and removed the four nuts on each corner but it seems like somethings holding it and I don't want to break anything. Seems like it in the middle of left side. Apart from the linkage and the cable that goes into the pink thing are there any other bolts or wiring harnesses? I see that something unplugs at the rear, but its still held up. Oh and A LOT of change and dog hair in there over the last 8 years
Thanks in advance

Go here. everything in detail with detailed pics. http://custombilletstore.com/v/vspfi...structions.pdf

Outside of the 4 nuts on each corner there are 2 cables connected to the front and 2 wiring connectors in the back.

[themarygardener]

Thank you for you post....you saved me from many vodka & cranberries......

[cjp028]

i've been shifting it like a gorilla for over 3 years in an attempt to make mine fail (in the name of science). still holding.

New to the forum, but VERY grateful for it after becoming a victim of the "pink thingy" this morning... at least the car was parked in the driveway. After freaking out thinking my tranny was broken, cooler heads prevailed and my wife came out with the laptop showing me the issue and "fix" on this forum. There is tons of valuable info in here, so thanks to everyone!!! (I wish I would have read it all this morning BEFORE attempting the fix as I like the cotter pin solution much better than the looping wire fix--especially since I used 18 gauge steel instead of airplane wire!)

After carefully studying the mechanics of this, FNKYCHKN, I don't think you'll be able to duplicate this break externally short of taking it apart and smashing it. Looking at the part you'll notice a central pivot point and 3 "arms": one for the spring; one for the cable; the third presses against the shifter's plastic tab. Wiggling the shifter side-to-side only puts pressure on this third arm (putting too much pressure could break it, but all that would do is render this lock inoperable allowing you to always shift out of park). The combo of the key in ACC or ON plus the break releases the pressure on the cable allowing the spring to pivot the pink thingy. As you've suggested, the best way to try to break this part is by pulsating the breaks. The spring is under the most tension when the break is off, so it not how hard you press, but how fast you let go. In other words, good luck with that!! (I'm sure you know this, but it's background for my next point.)

I believe you can "fix" this problem with gravity. The whole point of the spring (that breaks off) is to pivot the part counter-clockwise. With the spring gone, there's no force to make this happen. There exists a mechanical bind between the "3rd arm" of the pink thingy and the shifter's tab. With the back of the car elevated, the key on, and the brake pedal pushed, you should be able to get the car out of park by breaking the mechanical bind with a little shaking of the gear shift. This should allow gravity to rotate the pink thingy out of the way. So make sure you park your car with the engine downhill! Or get out your jack. (But most of us can find a screwdriver faster than jacking the car.) Of course I've said all this without actually testing it, so I may just be full of it.

I have a 2005 Chrysler 300 Limited that I bought used at the end of 2009 and it currently has 120+ K miles on it. I put the VIN in Chrysler's recall and saw something in there about a transmission cup, but nothing about this. No idea if the previous owner "fixed" this or if it just made it this long. It'll be interesting to see what the dealer has to say about it. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered BT's replacement. I don't care what kind of plastic the manufacturer used--this should be a metal part and mine will be as soon as the order comes in. Now, if I can just figured out why my GPS display fritzed out and died (leaving me unable to change radio stations)...

[llIII]

Great post. My wife called me yesterday from the local WalMart parking lot and told me her 05 Chrysler would not go into reverse. Drove over and found that it would not shift out of Park, same difference to her, but major to me for analysis and fixing. Went home, got on the net and found this post. Back to WalMart, removed consel and jiggled shifter lock. Was able to get shifter to work and drive the car home. Today removed shift assembly and followed instructions in post. Great narrative and wonderful pictures. Look exactly like my problem and made disassembly and assembly so much easier. Problem was exactly the same, spring tang on plastic shift lock had snapped off. Repaired using a heavy duty hog ring instead of aviation safety wire (of which I had none), but worked just as well. Car back on the road costing about 3-4 hours work and no out of pocket expense. Repair will last much longer than a new shift assemblyl.

Kudasi, you did an excellent job. My hat is off to you. Arigato gozai masu.