shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

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Aft3rburn
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:43 pm
Location: Nampa, Idaho

shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

Postby Aft3rburn » Thu Mar 31, 2022 7:16 pm

Hello all,

I tried searching here at thenissanpath.com but then quickly go lost..
I got unrelated results..

I've got an '06 Pathfinder LE. Lately it's been having problems getting into Park.
Sometimes if I "row" the gear shifter, I can get it to select Park, but now, I can't.
All other gear selections work great. Reverse, Neutral, Drive, 3rd, 2nd, 1st. all select just fine. I just can't select Park.
I searched for and found how to take the center console apart and got it apart.
Everything appears to be in good working order, even the white bushing circle around the end of the cable. It's not busted or disintegrated.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the first to have this issue, so, I'm turning to my fellow pathy owners.

Any tips or tricks on how to fix this?

I'm hoping to get some good answers here, I thank you in advance! :)


TooMuchControl
Posts: 335
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2020 4:41 pm

Re: shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

Postby TooMuchControl » Fri Apr 01, 2022 3:38 am

Is it the shifter, itself, or the transmission that doesn't engage. That's what I'm asking myself when I read the post.

My assumption is that you can get it into P (Dash indicator says it is in P right?), but the Tx doesn't engage?

Might be logical to check the linkage nut at the transmission case, and then up to the shifter mechanism, to make certain it hasn't loosened. The P is the farthest throw in the linkage, and this then engages a linkarm to the parking pawl which locks the Tx. It could just need to be checked.

Primarily the reason that I repaired my emergency brake. I park on a slight uphill on the driveway. I have had to periodically throw the Tx into R and then to D when I move from the P. I don't want to bust my parking pawl and it puts a lot of pressure on the linkage assembly.

Aft3rburn
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:43 pm
Location: Nampa, Idaho

Re: shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

Postby Aft3rburn » Sun Apr 03, 2022 6:58 pm

Thank you so much for your reply:)

So to answer your question of the dash indicator says it's in P, No. It says it's in R. BUT, I can proceed to turn the truck off and take the keys out. So the keys interlock still works like it should. I can only take the keys out of it's Physically in P, the dash indicator still says R.
I can only start the vehicle now if I put the gear selector to N. Any other position won't allow it to start.

I'm scratching my head on this one and am in the AT section of the service manual, pages AT-217 through AT-224.

I'm not sure how the gear selector cable is to come off the shifter handle and don't want to break it by prying.

the main thing for me is that only when I select what I know is Park, am I able to take the key out of the ignition. (the dash indicator is always saying R when I have it in Park, or Reverse..)

Again, THANK YOU TooMuchControl for your response! Your words helped me:)

Also, I'd like to ask where the linkage nut is at the transmission..Is it on the driver's side? passenger's side? up near the top? near the bottom? The transmission was replaced in 2020 by my dealer.. I feel this is where the issue is, where the end of the gear selector cable is, but I'm getting to be a little old and crawling under my pathy is quite difficult for me. ;)

TooMuchControl
Posts: 335
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2020 4:41 pm

Re: shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

Postby TooMuchControl » Sun Apr 03, 2022 9:54 pm

I think the key is the "R".

This all feeds down into the Tx valve body (inside the Tx) through the linkage. The valve body is saying that the contact has not been "made".

There is a great video of a Tx replacement on a Frontier that points out where the linkage connects.

4:47 of this video shows the connection, on the passenger side. Looks like at the rear corner of the Tx oil pan, passenger side. If that bracket has been bent by the installer, could be an issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UgOW-C ... XC&index=2

Aft3rburn
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:43 pm
Location: Nampa, Idaho

Re: shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

Postby Aft3rburn » Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:03 pm

Again, YOU'RE AWESOME!! THANK YOU!

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smj999smj
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Location: Prospect, VA

Re: shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

Postby smj999smj » Wed Apr 06, 2022 9:33 pm

Another possibility is the shift cable bushing has broken and fallen out. They make repair kits for this issue:

https://www.amazon.com/Bushing-Fix-NI1K ... B06W2JY24X
Attachments
bushing repair kit.jpg
bushing repair kit.jpg (26.44 KiB) Viewed 1283 times

Aft3rburn
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:43 pm
Location: Nampa, Idaho

Re: shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

Postby Aft3rburn » Fri Apr 08, 2022 1:35 pm

Thank you for your suggestion smj999smj! I appreciate you! :)

I don't think that this is my issue in this case. I've taken all the panels off and can see the end of the shifter cable has a nearly new white bushing on it now, and it doesn't wiggle and it's not loose.

I think TooMuchControl might be on target on this.. see my shift cable goes through all other gears except Park just fine.. and when I do throw it into what I know is Park, the gear indicator in the dashboard reads nothing but R when it's in Reverse or Park.

I have a feeling that the video they supplied, at 4:47 is the culprit.. except I haven't had the time to watch the whole video yet..

But I thank you both and appreciate your input! :)

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palmerwmd
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Location: Mid Atlantic

Re: shifter won't go into park and my search skills suck

Postby palmerwmd » Thu May 12, 2022 7:52 pm

Please update us how it goes! :D


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