Several months ago, after I shifted my car from park to drive, the red gearshift light came on. The code I pulled indicated a mismatch between the gear the car was in and the gear displayed on the J-gate (I don’t recall the specific code at the moment). I also started having issues starting the car in Park, but it would start if I put it in Neutral.

In researching the issue (probably on this forum), I found the J-gate adjustment procedures. One of them that worked for a little while was shifting into neutral, loosening the adjustment bolt under the car, wiggling the cable end, then tightening it. Unfortunately, it has now started having problems going into Drive, and any adjustments I try to make result in me alternating between having difficulty shifting into Park or into Drive. I even made a mark with permanent marker on the cable end so I could make sure I wasn’t moving it too much at once.

One thing I noticed when trying to get this issue sorted was that the J-gate does not feel “crisp” when shifting. For example, when I put it in neutral like this:



It moves this far using only a couple fingers to move it before I start to feel any resistance:



It would seem like there is something wrong with the shift cable beyond what adjustment can fix, but due to the fact that a replacement cable is about $225 USD, and a replacement (used) J-gate is about $175 USD, I’d prefer not to start throwing parts at it without knowing the likelihood that it will fix the issue.

The bushings at the shifter and as well as the transmission end seem to be in good condition.

Thank you for your help!

 

TSBs for you.

 

Thank you for your reply. Prior to posting here I tried both Setting Procedure A and Setting Procedure B, but I alternate between having difficulty selecting “Drive” if move the shift lever past “Neutral” and towards “Reverse” as directed and tighten the bolt, and difficulty selecting “Park” if I move the shift lever away from “Neutral” and towards “Drive” as directed.

My main concern at the moment is whether the shift lever should have the amount of play as illustrated between the first and second photos before I feel much if any resistance, and if not, whether this would indicate an issue with the shift cable or the J-gate assembly.

I should mention that it is a 2005 X-Type, 3.0L, left hand drive.

 

Looking at your photo, it appears the J-Gate guide track has seen some pretty hard work or rough handling as the plastic looks pretty beat up at the park end stop, the #2 end stop and also the diversion from drive to neutral.

If that is what is visible at the top side, you can probably expect to find excessive wear or some fractured components elsewhere within the J-Gate assembly that might be the cause of your vague gear selection experience.