Automatic Shifter Stuck in P - Shift Button Won't Depress

[kaizr]

UPDATE:

Car towed to Thursday, problem identified, part found in Houston or Toronto, did not arrive until Tuesday, second part determined necessary, arrived Wednesday, car picked up, good to go, with no wash, per usual because of the California "drought"

"Selector Mechanism Release" - This I guess is that green circuit board underneath the shift boot. Somehow that failed and had to be replaced. This is rare so they did not have parts on hand...or in the country. This may have been listed as $495?

"Clip and Housing" - After removal and replacement of the above, it was discovered this clip and housing were broken so they were replaced as well.


Seems pretty crazy that an electrical component in your car could fail and not allow you to change gears even when using the emergency override. The whole point of the override is to change gears in an emergency!




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Yesterday I parked it at my garage and walked away. Forgot to leave the key for the attendant, he chased me down and I gave it to him. Get a call 3+ hours later saying car won't work. I check it out, hasn't moved since I parked it.

- The car starts just fine - you can rev, no warning lights, radio works, Parking Brake Engages/Disengages
- The car will NOT shift out of P--the actual shift button itself is pressed into the shifter and will not pop out nor can be pressed in further
- Attempted the shift lock release (hidden under ash tray) to no avail - when car is off I can feel it softly bounce up and down and lock my key in ignition and when car is on it doesn't do anything
- Did a quick scan of all three fuse boxes and nothing jumped out at me, didn't check brake lights but no warning of dead bulbs

I know there are some security measures that may happen if the key gets too far away and what not but I don't understand this. It seems like a mechanical/physics issue. The shift button is stuck in the pressed position and will not pop out and I can not figure out how. Last resort is towing to dealer - but I can't even shift to Neutral!

Apologies for posting to the wrong forum but 1. I'm assuming B8 S4 owners to be pretty knowledgeable 2. the Q5 forum is a graveyard and 3. every newish automatic audi has pretty much the same shifter.

2012 Q5 3.2 6 Speed Automatic

[BlownOne]

Pull out on the button. Your spring loaded pin behind the button probably broke.

[kaizr]

Tried that. Sort of.

There is nothing to grasp on to pull it outs, so I tried sliding an eye glass sized screw driver by it. Didn't work and didn't want to be too aggressive with it either and damage the grip.

[Audi Control]

Is the steering wheel locked?

[torinalth]

i think you have a different transmission, but that aside can you use tape? place tape on the end of the button and pull it out? i presume you tried whacking the shifter to see if it popped the button out that may have been caught on something slight? have you called your dealer service adviser and ask them if they ran into it before and have suggestions?

[kaizr]

Nope. Should have included that above. Power steering works and the wheel turns just fine. As far as I can tell literally everything is functioning just fine. Except I can't shift.

This bothers me because I don't know if:

- it's my fault for walking away with the keys, causing some sort of mysterious security feature to engage when attendant got in car
- attendant's fault for doing something weird that somehow stuck the shifter
- recent Audi service fault (one week ago) that just happened now
- dumb luck

I also feel silly calling insurance to have this towed to dealer if it's a quick fix.

[blackfunk]

Post the solution when you find out what caused it. Must say its pretty strange.

[kaizr]

Unfortunately it sounds like the solution may be to tow it to the dealer which will be a challenge in itself. AWD vehicle stuck in park located inside a tight public garage.

I have watched some of the videos for boot removal and it seems simple enough...except you are supposed to hold the shifter button out and mine is stuck in.

[blackfunk]

Tried calling Audi roadside for suggestions?

[kaizr]

Not Audi Roadside.

Called Service Advisor - "Jiggle it when pressing lock bypass" Nope "Tow it"

Awaiting Local Service Advisor

Likely calling insurance for a tow to local dealer shop.

[The Fat Kid]

I am guessing the car is out of warranty if you have not contacted the dealer?

Disconnect the battery and reboot the ECU? That might release the button if it were stuck due to an ECU issue, but not if it is physically broken.

[kaizr]

I am 3 months out of warranty. However I purchased it as a CPO and have the extended 2 year warranty ($85 deductible on almost all work). I don't know if this means I am eligible for Audi roadside assistance though.

I thought about doing a battery disconnect but it was getting late and I was concerned about other issues than can arise with battery disconnect (radio keys, etc). I don't know enough about this car to start digging around too much.

[NPuter]

Definitely sounds like the pull for the lock in the shifter broke. That's a purely mechanical thing (no car controlled immobilization safety features, etc related to it).

I'd see if your dealer has a replacement knob in stock and try to replace it where the car is currently sitting, or maybe see if a tech can go over and do it (it's not a very involved process).

[BlownOne]

Grab the end of the button with pliers (put a cloth around it to minimize scratches) and pull...it will come out. If the spring pin is broken, it's worthless so you'll need to go buy a new knob and replace it.

Will

[kaizr]

on the phone with audi assistance right now trying to determine towing.

if I have to replace entire shifter am I better off getting the cooler shifter (not SQ5 badged of course!) or replacing in kind?

[BlownOne]

I went with a Black Forest knob, but that took about 1 week to get. I geuss you could expedite shipping

[LYKUNO]

Is there enough of the button exposed to try sticking some Gorilla tape on it and using that to pull it out? That is some seriously sticky duct tape - might be worth a try.

[CELison]

Edit: nevermind

[dropshadow]

Unbend a paper clip so you have a long straight piece. Bend a small hook on one end. Slide that end in between the button, then rotate it so you can "hook" the inside edge of the button with the end of the paper clip. This is the method I've used to pull out the shift button on new shifters when installing or removing them. New ones usually come with a red piece of plastic wedged in there to keep the button out until it's installed. This may or may not work on a shifter that is already installed, but it's worth a shot.

[sacandagaD]

You should be able to remove the shifter knob and boot pretty easily to get at the plastic plunger. I know it only took me a couple of minutes to remove mine to change. I may be wrong, but assume you can still shift as long as you still have the plastic part intact ( the one everyone heats and twists).

[kaizr]

Just got the call from the service center.

"The electronic shift release mechanism failed and needs to be replaced. Shipping from Texas, could be a few days."

Don't really know what exactly that means but according to them it's actually an electronic component that failed which is supposed to release the button; and is not normal and not carried due to the rarity of this happening. They will replace this component, but not entire shift boot (no idea which way is easier).

I don't know if this means none of your above fixes would work (perhaps it's locked down and can't be pulled out), or would only be temporary (I'd have to pull out every time I shifted [story of my life freshman year]).

Man I wish I could get another a5 for a few days with Audi On Demand but I'm getting surgery and can't drive for a couple days anyway :(

[The Fat Kid]

Just got the call from the service center.

"The electronic shift release mechanism failed and needs to be replaced. Shipping from Texas, could be a few days."

Don't really know what exactly that means but according to them it's actually an electronic component that failed which is supposed to release the button; and is not normal and not carried due to the rarity of this happening. They will replace this component, but not entire shift boot (no idea which way is easier).

I don't know if this means none of your above fixes would work (perhaps it's locked down and can't be pulled out), or would only be temporary (I'd have to pull out every time I shifted [story of my life freshman year]).

Man I wish I could get another a5 for a few days with Audi On Demand but I'm getting surgery and can't drive for a couple days anyway :(

This is the S4 section so an A5 would be a downgrade for us, peasant!

Glad they were able to fix it

[S4NJ]

What happened in the end?


Sent from my iPad using Tap,Tap,Tapatalk

[amz]

Did you look into the shift interlock override? Its location and how to use it should be in the owners manual. IIRC it's underneath the ash tray. This would let you shift the car without pushing the button in. It's dangerous because of how easy it would be to shift into R accidentally so, if you're careful, the car should still be driveable.

Found a video:

[jygesq]

Did you look into the shift interlock override? Its location and how to use it should be in the owners manual. IIRC it's underneath the ash tray. This would let you shift the car without pushing the button in. It's dangerous because of how easy it would be to shift into R accidentally so, if you're careful, the car should still be driveable.

Found a video:

his post indicated he tried that.

[mr shickadance]

I went with a Black Forest knob, but that took about 1 week to get. I geuss you could expedite shipping

how do you like that? are there any threads on here with a review? it looks nice, and i guess does NOT need the heat+twist?

[jygesq]

does a weighted knob make a difference in a DSG car? Except for the look?

[mr shickadance]

does a weighted knob make a difference in a DSG car? Except for the look?

weighted knob really doesn;t make much of a difference on a manual car, but hell a golf ball would look better than my camry-esque selector in my car.

[kaizr]

UPDATE:

Car towed to Thursday, problem identified, part found in Houston or Toronto, did not arrive until Tuesday, second part determined necessary, arrived Wednesday, car picked up, good to go, with no wash, per usual because of the California "drought"

"Selector Mechanism Release" - This I guess is that green circuit board underneath the shift boot. Somehow that failed and had to be replaced. This is rare so they did not have parts on hand...or in the country. This may have been listed as $495?

"Clip and Housing" - After removal and replacement of the above, it was discovered this clip and housing were broken so they were replaced as well.


Seems pretty crazy that an electrical component in your car could fail and not allow you to change gears even when using the emergency override. The whole point of the override is to change gears in an emergency!

[NPuter]

Yea sounds like the mechanical button connection was the ultimate culprit. I'm thinking they thought it was the electronic component, replaced it and saw it didn't fix the problem, then replaced the "clip and housing," which sounds more likely to break.
I believe the "Selector Mechanism Release" prevents you from shifting between gears at times. I.e. I couldn't shift out of neutral on my A4 unless stopped (and I could hear the actuation of the lock that prevented that). However, I do not believe this has anything to do with the button on the knob, as the depression of it felt exactly the same even when my shifter was locked.