A new problem surfaced today. When turning off the car the round shifter dial does not retract. I can hear what sounds like gears working in the counsel but no movement in the dial. Anyone else experience this? I wonder what is involved to fix it.

 

So, no one has had any problems with the Shift Actuator (Dial)?
I looked at a shop manual and the dial is contained in a module that costs $900. The thing is it may not be that module. The problem could be in the ECU. I guess the only way to find out is to take it to the dealer.

 

Not yet!

If you hear "gears working" its probably not the ECU. Sounds like just the lift mechanism has a problem. Take it apart and have a look inside.

 

Have you tried to push it down while its trying to go down.
Some times on a gear mechanism it can help mesh the gears back.

 

Have a look at this thread shifter wont shift

 

I guess I'm going to have to go to a dealer to get it checked.
Thanks for the replies.

 

Went to the dealer to get it analyzed. I needed to know if it was just the shift actuator (module). Turns out it is the actuator. It is very expensive of course and even more so to have the dealer install it. Doesn't look like it is to difficult to install so I ordered the part and will install it myself. The scariest thing is removing the trim around the actuator. Once that is removed it is a simple thing to remove the actuator and unplug the old one and plug in the new one. We'll see how it goes.

 

Might be interesting to document it with a few pictures.

 

At $900 ( ) I think I could live without it retracting.

Graham

 

Here pictures of the trim so you can see where the plastic engagement tangs are, just lever up adjacent to the tangs and you should be fine - its not difficult. Cushion the leather surround to avoid indents.

 

hafren, Thanks for those pics. It is what I expected from looking at the manual on a disk. The picture on the disk was not as good as seeing the real thing. I'll post how it goes when I get the part from Texas. Should be about in a week. Thanks again.

 

The module came in a few days ago. Pretty impressive piece of equipment. After seeing it I'm not surprised it is as expensive as it is.
Any way, I did the deed and replaced the bad module with the new one today. I put the car in the sun to heat up the trim surround hoping it would be less brittle.
With the correct tools (Small Plastic pry bars and a #30 Torx driver) I was surprised how easy it was to replace. It only took me about 10 minutes and I was as careful as I could be. It was so easy and quick I didn't take any pictures. Afterwards I went for a nice long ride and everything seems good.

 

So now are you going to take it apart and see what makes it click? Probably save yourself a good bit of money next time if it's something dumb and you can have this one ready to go.

 

OR, fix it and then sell it to someone who has a need. Get a good portion of your $$$ back.

 

I took the thing apart as far as I could without breaking anything. Couldn't see anything broken or burned on the circuit board. It is an incredible piece of engineering. Not surprised it was so expensive. I don't know if there is anyone who would repair them or if it would be worth it. I know I don't have the equipment to do it. To begin with, I would think you would need a mfg. drawing to start. There are a lot of plastic intricate parts, not to mention the printed circuit board. I woudn't be surprised if one of those plastic parts was worn just enough to cause the problem, even though I couldn't see one.
If anyone wants this thing let me know.

 

I'll take it

 

I had to replace mine as well as mine wouldn't shift out of reverse to start and then out of park eventually. We sourced a used one which has been fine for the better part of a year.now. So, I have my old one if anyone wants it. The interesting thing was that my original one had a stainless steel surround while the replacement had the gloss black surround. Since I have the gloss black panels as opposed to wood, it didn't bother me.