Wow lucky (sort of?) you! Let us know what happens in case one of us has the same issue.

 

Am I the only one with this problem?

 

Yours is the 2nd case in which I have heard of this happening.

 

Mine got stuck in drive a few time because I turn key off before shifting into park but it reset itself about 5 minutes later Think there still
Have a lot of s

 

Did yours have a check engine light on after... I did the same thing and disconnected the battery and when reconnected it and it was stuck in park with check engine light on

 

Update!

Picked up truck today. Dealership replaced rotary dial shifter, part#56054275-AE, will see if new part will keep me moving down the road. The feel of the dial seems the same, so maybe it was defective module. I will keep tabs on future posts concerning same issue with 2014's.

 

Update!

Picked up truck today. Dealership replaced rotary dial shifter, part#56054275-AE, will see if new part will keep me moving down the road. The feel of the dial seems the same, so maybe it was defective module. I will keep tabs on future posts concerning same issue with 2014's.

 

what was the build date on your truck?

 

Oct 2013 per door jam sticker.

 

Hey 77, I think I am the only other person on here that experienced this problem. Fortunately, it only happened the one time and has been fine ever since. When I mentioned it to the dealer, he looked at me like I had two heads. Of course the same service manager also denied knowing anything about the "smell". It was lucky for you that the problem repeated itself right at the dealership.

 

I am experiencing this ‘Service Shifter’ issue now. I also smelled a burned out wire type of smell when the check engine light came on. I’m stuck in park now. Was your issue also electrical?

 

I had a very similar problem that happened only once. I stopped at a light and when the light turned green I hit the gas but it acted like it was in park. The knob was in drive and both the knob and the display indicated it was in drive but both lights were blinking. I had to switch back to park then to drive several times to get it to go. The dealer did not find any issues. I'm not feeling real good about it but I'll keep an eye out for it and go from there.

 

There is an emergency manual override to shift out of PARK explained on pages 658-660 of the owner's manual (the big black and white book) for 8-speed transmission. There is a park release pull strap hidden behind a panel under the lights knob on left side of steering wheel.

They say this would typically be used in case of a dead battery for example, but I am wondering if that wouldn't work when the knob is just stuck as it happened for you.

 

All that does is release the parking pawl effectively putting you in neutral so that it can be towed. You wouldn't be able to drive it if you pull the parking override. You would just sit there and rev you motor.

 

Actually the Manual Park Release merely disengages the park pawl (via a mechanical cable), so you should still be able to drive the truck with the MPR activated. However, if you shift to Park the dash will display N, since the park pawl is not engaged.

 

My pitiful 2-week (once-a-year) vacation was just ruined when the rotary shifter on my 13-month-old RAM 1500 suddenly locked in "N" as I attempted to shift from reverse to drive, and the "Service Shifter" error message came on the dashboard. Nothing we tried worked (turning on/off, disconnecting battery, rocking the truck). When the towtruck arrived, we found the transmission was actually in Park, even though the rotary dial was blinking "N" (we did the emergency transmission release to load it). The upper NY dealership CARBONE kept it for 4 days until we were due home and the problem disappeared on its own--but they fixed nothing and had no clue. Web postings say the electronic shifter unit had failed--and it happens to lots of Chryslers. Now it goes to my home dealer and I'm praying they won't pull the same "it's fine now" crap and have it crop up again at at a critical time (which cost me another ruined vacation years ago for a different problem).

 

this is exactly what happened to me at around 3000kms... but I haven't had a problem since, not sure what happened but I left my truck sitting all night I went out to it and tried to start it, well the battery was dead so I got a boost and started it, after I couldn't get my truck out of park also. not sure what happened but I shut it off and disconnected the battery, reconnected and started again. shifted out of park.

very weird, something that shouldn't happen for sure. maybe the motor jammed up that locks the shifter but whatever the reason may be I was not impressed.

 

I did disconnect the battery for 15 minutes, but it didn't help. The NY dealership drained the battery entirely (by mistake) and the problem was gone when they charged it again. The home dealership now says there were still Codes that pointed to a defective "valve body" that uses different pressures to change gears, and they have it on order. I'll post again if the problem re-occurs.

 

Had a similar problem at 1400 miles on 2014 Big Horn 5.7 Hemi after cylinder 4 lifter/valve issue started while driving. D light flashed on knob and console and truck would act like it was in neutral, no movement just reved up w/o moving. Turned off engine and after restart it worked again. Happened twice before getting to dealership. Service manager said no computer sign of transmission problem, could have been self protection mode while engine was running very rough when lifter/valve failed.

Needless to say I was pissed and now have lost new truck owner joy as well as doubt reliability of this vehicle. Dealer fixed problem and manufacturer rep apologized as well but I still don't feel like Ram is top quality at this point. Hopefully I will be proven wrong in time.

 

I don't think your particular issue was caused by a shifter (or trans) problem, especially if there were no faults set.

My guess would be that your engine stumbled. The TCM monitors engine speed, and if the engine RPM dips below a certain threshold (for example, maybe 375 RPM), then the TCM thinks the engine has stalled, and it automatically shifts the trans to Neutral. So I suspect that's what happened in your case.

Has the problem ever recurred, since the engine problem was corrected? If not, then I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

 

77, once when I used the remote start on my '14 Laramie it was stuck in park when I got into the running truck. I just turned it off, then restarted and it was fine. This only happened 1x. Good to know about this in case it happens again.

 

2X4 or 4X4?

I read somewhere in the vast expanse of the internet that some one had this problem with a 4WD. For those who have had it happen I wonder if it was dependent on which drive system you have. I only have the 2X4 version but I am equally concerned about this happening to me.

 

No-start and "service shifter" issue

I just had a two-part episode with my 2013 Ram 1500 3.6L 4WD. the first sign of problem was about a week ago when the vehicle failed to crank when I turned the key. I couldn't get the shifter out of park either. I tried to get it started multiple times, and tried both of my keys... no luck. I called roadside assistance and as I waited for them to arrive I learned how to pop the trans out of park using the manual override just to make sure the guy wouldn't drag my truck and tear it up.

Of course it started as soon is the tow truck dropped it at the dealership... my luck. I had never tried to start the truck after I popped it out of park, but I'm guessing that it would have started for me if I had thought to try it.

Long story short, they checked the truck, cleared the codes and performed flash programming updates and I took the vehicle back. The next day the check engine light came on and the "service shifter" message displayed on the dash. I reported this to the dealer and they ordered me a shifter module.

Over the next few days the message came up numerous times, usually at lower speeds as the trans is upshifting or downshifting. Today they installed the new module (rotary knob/shifter assembly). So far, so good... I've got my fingers crossed. Still not too sure what caused the initial no-start condition.

 

No-start and "service shifter" issue

I just had a two-part episode with my 2013 Ram 1500 3.6L 4WD. the first sign of problem was about a week ago when the vehicle failed to crank when I turned the key. I couldn't get the shifter out of park either. I tried to get it started multiple times, and tried both of my keys... no luck. I called roadside assistance and as I waited for them to arrive I learned how to pop the trans out of park using the manual override just to make sure the guy wouldn't drag my truck and tear it up.

Of course it started as soon is the tow truck dropped it at the dealership... my luck. I had never tried to start the truck after I popped it out of park, but I'm guessing that it would have started for me if I had thought to try it.

Long story short, they checked the truck, cleared the codes and performed flash programming updates and I took the vehicle back. The next day the check engine light came on and the "service shiftier" message displayed on the dash. I reported this to the dealer and they ordered me a shiftier module.

Over the next few days the message came up numerous times, usually at lower speeds as the trans is upshifting or downshifting. Today they installed the new module (rotary knob/shifter assembly). So far, so good... I've got my fingers crossed. Still not too sure what caused the initial no-start condition.

I know this post is a few years old, but i wanted to reply to it. I tried to start my 2014 RAM via the remote start, but it did not start. I sat in the truck, turned the key to the start position, and EVERYTHING went dead. ALL lights went off. I released it to return to "on" position, and the system "rebooted", and a message came up that said "service shiftier". This sounded like a bad / dead battery, but there had been no warning signs (slow cranking, etc). I disconnected the 2 cables, waited, then touched them together to completely reset the electronics, and tried again. Same issue, same warning message. Disconnected AGAIN, put a charger on the battery (showed 70% charge), waited until 100% charge, connected, tried again. Again, nothing, no crank, just some clicks, and a completely dead electronics. After it came back on, the message "service shiftier" came up again. Called 2 dealers, they BOTH stated that it would be 2-3 weeks before they could take a look at it, and I would have to rent a car at (about) 35 dollars a day. Called a few auto repair, they stated they could get it in right away, and that they could not give me an approximate price, BUT, it was 135 dollars for a systems check. I was stuck, so I called my roadside service for a tow truck to get my RAM out of my garage (while stuck in park) to get towed to the closest repair center. Called a few repair centers, told them the issue, wanted to make sure a "non dealer" service center could handle this. They all said yes, and that I had to get the truck to them. Tow truck shows up, driver asks me the issue. I explain the no cranking, the shiftier service message, and he said "Sounds like a dead battery" Yeah, no sh*t Sherlock...explained to him the procedure I went through, and that I had fully charged the battery with a battery charger, but no improvement. Well, he said he would try to jump it anyway. At first I thought this was a ploy so he could charge my insurance company more, but then I said "Great, prove me wrong" Hooks up the jumper cables, and BOOM! my truck started right up. To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement. He stated that this happens all the time, especially in cold weather. Since my truck was 5 years old, and had the original battery, he said he was not surprised. What threw me was the error message "service shiftier". It seems that if the electronics read that the engine will not start, it will not allow the shiftier to release from park, hence the message. The other item that threw me was that since this was such a common issue, why did not all the centers I call suggest to jump start the vehicle? When I called the dealers, I was connected with a scheduler, (so their response is understandable), BUT, when I called the service centers, I spoke with the managers, whom I would assume are mechanics. I posed this same question to the tow truck driver, and he simply stated "They wanted your money"

 

I have this issue with my 14 Ram 5.7/8speed., 7,000 miles. It stranded me twice now. When road side assistance arrived it shifted into gear. Visited the dealer and they knew nothing about this. Nor any codes. Yet the dash said service shifter or something like that.

 

When pressing the break pedal with the engine running or the ignition in the "run" position, I hear a clicking noise that seems to be a relay or something that releases the gear selector lock so it can be turned. Could it be just a bad relay or fuse?

 

The rotary shifter module itself has internal mechanisms to lock the dial, and limit its rotation. It's more complicated than you might expect, since there are no fixed positions. For example, if the trans "auto-parks," the shifter indication will change to "P" even though the dial doesn't rotate. The positions are all relative.

So generally, if there's a problem, you replace the whole shifter module.

 

That noise you hear is a little servo that is a part of the shifter module assembly. it may or may not be working correctly as you hear it, but I can tell you that the replacement part in my truck does not make as much noise as the original one did. The detents between the gears also feel firmer. So far so good.

As to the "no start" condition, if that ever happens again I would recommend popping it out of park manually and trying again to start it.

 

This happened to me today, I let the truck warm up than I turned it off for about 5 minutes, turned it back on and everything worked.

I am not sure if this issue occurred because it was cold out ( 15 degrees) or if I didn't shift it into park before turning off ( don't think it was this because I am 99.9% positive I turned it to park)

 

It happened to me also , and it was very cold out - 15 c

 

Are you all talking about the rotary shift dial, or about the transmission, or the computer control module for the transmission? The rotary shift dial is just a multipole electrical switch. It's hard to see how it would get stuck. I doubt it has anything to do with what the multipole electrical switch looks like., rotary dial, or column shifter, or floor shifter. As long as it's an electronic transmission it uses an electrical switch of some form factor to select gears ranges and a computer to control the transmission..

So, what has really gone wrong?

 

Not quite correct.

See post # 25 above or better yet, read the entire thread.

 

Typically, if the rotary shifter (or any shifter) won't shift out of Park, first thing to check is the Brake-Transmission Shift Interlock (BTSI). The shifter is locked in Park unless you are stepping on the brake pedal. When you step on the brake, the BTSI solenoid (in the shifter) unlocks the shifter so you can shift it out of Park.

You should be able to hear a faint clicking sound (the BTSI solenoid) as you press and release the brake pedal. If you can't hear it, then maybe there is a problem with the brake switch or the BTSI solenoid. Try pressing harder on the brake pedal; I've found that sometimes a light press on the pedal isn't enough to activate the BTSI.

On the rotary shifter, I believe the BTSI function is part of the whole shifter module, so if the BTSI is bad you just replace the whole thing.

 

Typically, if the rotary shifter (or any shifter) won't shift out of Park, first thing to check is the Brake-Transmission Shift Interlock (BTSI). The shifter is locked in Park unless you are stepping on the brake pedal. When you step on the brake, the BTSI solenoid (in the shifter) unlocks the shifter so you can shift it out of Park.

You should be able to hear a faint clicking sound (the BTSI solenoid) as you press and release the brake pedal. If you can't hear it, then maybe there is a problem with the brake switch or the BTSI solenoid. Try pressing harder on the brake pedal; I've found that sometimes a light press on the pedal isn't enough to activate the BTSI.

On the rotary shifter, I believe the BTSI function is part of the whole shifter module, so if the BTSI is bad you just replace the whole thing.

I see, so it's a switch plus a switch position detector, and a switch lock to lock the switch position if something is wrong. Makes sense.

 

I have also had this happen. Was about 3000 miles on it I think. They had to reset some software/computer if I remember right. Hasn't happened again in the next 15000.