Subaru - Outback - Transmissions :: Car Won't Move In Drive, Reverse Or Neutral
Mar 30, 2014
When I started my car and put it in reverse, it didn't move. It felt like my front, right wheel was in a divet or was being blocked somehow (intuitively it seemed like if I accelerated enough, it would eventually move, but since there was nothing physically stopping it - that I could see - I didn't want to break something by doing that). I tried putting it in drive and neutral and the same issue was still there. I put the car up on a jack and checked one wheel at a time - I could move each wheel completely around in both directions.
I could move the steering wheel all the way to the right and to the left. I tried turning off the 4-wheel drive and that didn't do anything. At this point I'm concerned it could be the transmission or the drive shaft, but I'm not sure what to look for in order to know if I need to get it towed to a shop (hoping I can avoid this) or if there's a simple test I can do, or a way to "reset" something if it may be locked. I haven't had anything happen to the car that would have been of concern.
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I had a problem with the CV Axle and the Wheel Bearings. I replaced them already and I ran into another issue with the Wheel Studs and the Ball Joint, so I ended up replacing them as well. Yesterday I put everything back together after replacing all the parts mentioned before and I made sure everything was bolted down and tightened, and then the tire back on and lowered the jack. I started up my car expecting it to drive just fine and it was harder to get into gear than before and it wouldn't move in reverse, neutral, or drive. I called a Monroe Muffler around here and they told me that the CV Joint is probably not seated all the way inside the Transfer Case.
So later the same day I took everything back apart and made sure that I put the CV Joint back into the Transfer Case and I put the pin back in and made sure that both CV Axles would turn at the same time, which they did. I figured it was good so I put it all back together again and went through the same process as before, making sure everything was tightened down, all the bolts and nuts and pins were where they needed to be. Everything seemed to be good. I put the tire back on again, lowered the jack, started the car and attempted to drive it again. It still won't move. Why this is happening.
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Transmission issues...2000 Subaru Outback AWD Automatic. Decelerate to a complete stop, and it just shifts to neutral...have to give it some gas before it pops into 1st gear again. Only seeing the issue when I decelerate all the way to a complete stop, or very near a complete stop. No issues with shifting from reverse into drive. Any solution beyond the $1800 for a new transmission?
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Have a 2003 Saturn Vue with a variable transmission (rebuilt). It will only go in reverse even when in drive, or natural.
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Sometimes my car, a 2000 Subaru Outback Wagon with 115k miles, when stopped in drive will slip into neutral. It is an automatic and is still in drive when this happens. It does not happen on a consistent basis. It seems to happen more often when it is either wet outside or after it has rained. However, it does happen when the sun is shining brightly too. Sometimes when I am driving, there does feel as though there is a delay when I press on the gas almost as though it needed to kick itself into gear. Any thoughts on what this might be and why this is happening? It has been happening since last fall.
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My 2001 Outback has a jumpy thumping problem when making a 45 degree turn and when going in reverse. My mechanic has been unable to figure out what the problem is. It only happens once the car has been driven for a while
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My car makes a high chatter sound when I shift from neutral to either first or reverse but no other time. what does that mean? should I stop driving it until I can get it looked at? it's not slipping or grinding at all, just makes a noise as I let the clutch out and engage the gear.
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Noticing a somewhat regular sort of light tapping noise from Subaru CVT Outback, when slowing to stop or starting out?
Some days it's noticeable only for about a second after the clunk from shifting, often you can hear it a bit longer.
You can hear it best at about 1 min, and last 40 seconds of this short trip audio-clip.
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I have an 09 Subaru Outback. I filled up the tank at the gas station I usually goto. Drove about 30 miles on the tank to the airport where the car was parked for 5 days in an airport gated pay lot. Left the airport, I got about 10 miles and then the car would no longer accelerate. I pressed on the gas and could hear the engine rev, but the car would not move. I had to be towed to the Subaru dealer, where they said they could find nothing wrong with my car and they think I got some bad gasoline. They drained the tank and filled it up 1/2 way and the car runs fine. It still starts a little sluggish though. It sounds like it is laboring/revving when I first start the car after it has been sitting awhile, but once it is in gear it's fine. Is there anything I can do to fix the engine struggling when I first start the car?
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My 1996 Buick Park Avenue had problems finding reverse. You would have to move the shifter in and out of reverse and get it in just the right spot to go into reverse. once it is going in reverse you can hear a slight ticking sound like the park gear isn't totally disengaged. now it is nearly impossible to find reverse and when you put it in neutral its like it is in park.
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I am considering buying a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan with a reported transmission problem. Mileage is around 120k, and the price MIGHT be reasonable even if a trans rebuild would be necessary. I have not seen the vehicle yet, so I'm not yet committed to anything.
Seller claims the car shifts just fine going forward but will not move in reverse. Is this immediately clear that rebuild is going to be necessary? Are there less invasive repairs possible such as valves or controls or other parts which might solve this problem?
I suppose a Caravan transmission at 120,000miles is probably nearing the end of its lifetime, at least that was true of older ones. But like I said, the price is low enough that the cost of a rebuild might be justifiable if all else about the vehicle looks good. I want to have a better sense of the prospects before I invest time in going to look at this...it's about 50 miles away. I have a local transmission shop that I trust and which has reasonable prices
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my 2000 Subaru Outback Manual Transmission is stuck in neutral. I thought it might be the clutch so I pulled it out of the car and checked the clutch linkage etc. With the transmission fully removed from the car the shift lever does not move at all. My question is, if the transmission is fully removed from the engine should the shift lever function?
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I'm having a problem with my 2009 Subaru Forester.
When I start the car from "cold" (i.e., it hasn't run in several hours, regardless of the actual temperature), the automatic transmission cannot engage drive for several minutes. I can shift the car, and reverse functions normally. When shifting, I can feel the car engage reverse, and feel it shift into neutral, but when I shift from neutral to drive, I can't feel it engage. I can rev the engine, and it will just act as if it is still in neutral. I also cannot use sport mode to manually get the car into gear. After a few minutes (3-4), the car will engage drive. However, at least initially, it still seems to be pretty rough, with a few times where it will rev as if it's half in neutral, and then jump a little. Once it does get going, it settles down and is fine.
I took it to the dealer, but wasn't able to leave it over-night, so they couldn't get the problem to re-engage. They inspected the car, thought that the shift cable was a little stiff, so they took it off, lubed it, and put it back (they recommended replacement, but didn't have the part in stock). The next morning, the problem repeated itself, so it certainly appears that the cable is not the issue. The dealer checked the transmission fluid and said that was all fine.
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I have a 09' 4cyl automatic engine with 54k.
About 30min ago when when I parked the shifter would not move past neutral into reverse and go into park. I can go from D into neutral or the next slot over for manual shifting. Naturally this causes a problem as you can't take the key out of the ignition if its not in park.
I took a screw driver and popped open the cap for the shift release button and used that to move it into park. Turned car off, back on, etc etc seemed fine. So when I tried moving it into reverse and it wouldn't budge. It instead would make a electronic click or snap coming form the steering column but more back toward the engine. Like more into the dash area but back in it. It would make this noise every time I attempted to move it but it wasn't a continuous sound. Just once with each jerk to the side to move it out of park.
So the car works fine except for this. I used it with the screw driver/shift release to unlock it and it drives fine. Goes into reverse and back in park but if I move it into neutral or drive it will not go back into reverse or park.
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The truck will go into reverse, but will not go into drive or any of the other gears. When shifted into one of those gears, it just idles as though in neutral. This started as I was driving down the highway at approximate 70mph. The speedometer jumped up then fell to zero as the car slowed to a stop. There was no noise except the sound of rapid fuel intake and then it went to idling. I have been told it may be a speed sensor, but I was wondering if there was anyway to confirm that before I have the truck towed down to a mechanic and find out its more than I want to pay to fix it.
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My car is taking a long time shifting from reverse to drive in the morning. Do you know what may be causing it and how to fix it. It's a 1995 automatic ford explorer.
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My 2001 Subaru Outback H6-3.0 is at 215k miles (I bought it for $4k at 201k miles). It overheats only when I drive for a while on a hot day. I was trying to get to Yosemite with my whole family in the car, and rather than do the intelligent thing and go back home and get it repaired, I kept going, stopping when the gauge started going past the middle to let it cool down and replace any water it was missing (after the engine cooled, of course). Amazingly, we managed to use the car almost normally during the trip, as long as we did short-ish trips and kept some water in the car. Having to pull over randomly isn't so bad when you are in Yosemite anyway.
There was a mechanic shop in the little town we stayed in, but they weren't equipped to to do a head gasket job in the little time we were going to be up there, and we needed the car to get around anyway. So I tried putting some of that coolant leak repair gunk in there and it seemed to work. We made it the hundreds of miles home, no problem (but it was downhill, where the trip up there was uphill). Problem solved, right?
Well, about a year later of only driving the thing about 50 miles in any given run, and not terribly hot weather, we decide to go a few hundred miles south. Sure enough, it was a hot day and after about 60 miles I saw the temp gauge go past mid and immediately pulled over. After it cooled a bit, I drove it (in two hops, because it started heating up again quickly) to a shop. They tested it and sure enough it's a head gasket leak. They said it'd be $2500 to fix it.
So far this car has been pretty good to me otherwise. Numerous times, I've taken it up 300+ miles into the snow and ice covered roads to go skiing and LOVE not having to put chains on. I am guessing that all the cold air up there kept it from overheating while I was pushing it pretty hard up some steep inclines without issue. It seems like there is a temperature threshold beyond which it starts to quickly overheat, and below witch, the gasket is holding fine, or something along those lines.
So, given that I like this car, is it worth another $2500 to get her back on the road? Should I just try the leak stopping junk again? Should I have been using "SUBARU cooling system conditioner" this whole time, even though it's not one of the supposed head-gasket-problem engines? Should I just drive it until it finally overheats to death? It's probably still fine to drive in moderate to cool temperatures (winter is coming), but I haven't driven it since the leaking head gasket diagnosis. I don't know if I did permanent damage to it that day, or if it's just its usual self still. It didn't get into the red, heat-wise.
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My 2004 Outback Wagon started making a loud whining sound the other day - but only in reverse. I've been told that it's the brakes.
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I have a 2005 Subaru Outback 2.5 and a while back I had to replace a drive shaft. After replacing it my car goes into limp mode and I get a different random code every time. The car seems to run fine when it is cold but after it warms up it will go into limp mode randomly. If I cost to a stop and shut down the car and wait a while to restart it runs fine. I've tried and researched just about everything thing.
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Subie was driving fine...drove it on highway and went to park and NO reverse. At first, I couldn't shift into park either, but then I was able to shift in park. I can move the gear to reverse, but nothing happens (engine just revs and car wants to roll forward as it is on slight incline. Hubby checked trans fluid and it was a bit low, added fluid, but still no reverse.
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Yesterday I reversed my 1996 Subaru Outback (manual transmission) out of a perpendicular parking place on a hill, swung around forward and coasted down the hill. Near the bottom, I let out the clutch out without realizing I was still in reverse gear. It made a not-so-awful noise (sounding rather like engine braking) and I very quickly put it in neutral. I immediately smelled a fairly strong gasoline/exhaust aroma and the engine stalled.
The Subaru restarted without trouble, but the check engine light was on. Everything appears to function normally now, and I've reset the engine light by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery for a few minutes.
Have I likely damaged anything? Is there anything I should check? Should I have tried to read the diagnostic code?
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