[PETE YK]

Searched around but didnt find anything covering this particular issue.
I pulled into a gas station the other day and once stopped i proceeded to shift into park any other human being would do. However the shifter would not move, stayed stuck in drive. I thought ok, must be nudged up on the curb a little bit, no big deal. So i gave it a bit of force but still nothing. I had to shut the truck off and cycle the key a few times in order to shift back into park.
Now the shifter is very loose when in reverse, neutral or drive, but nice and solid still in park...very bothersome. I have the column mounted shifter.
So it appears dodge is still making shitty/cheap 545rfe's...
Any idea if this can be fixed with a new cable/linkage or might the slop be inside the trans?
Thanks for any help.

 

[TransEngineer]

OK, so you couldn't physically move the shift lever, correct? You're not saying that the shift lever moved, but the dash indicator still showed "D", right?

Was it very cold out (with snow and slush on the roads) when this happened? I'm guessing not, given the current weather, but just in case, we do sometimes see ice buildup on the transmission manual lever (which makes it very hard to shift out of Drive, until you "break the ice"). But I'm figuring that's NOT your problem here....

I would check out the shift mechanism. Maybe you have a problem in the column. Crawl underneath the truck (with the wheels chocked, and parking brake set!) and pop the shift cable off of the manual lever (on the driver's side of the transmission). Can you shift the manual lever back and forth by hand, and do the detents all seem tight and solid? Check to see whether the lever is loose on the splined shaft that it's mounted on. Check whether the end of the shifter cable is loose on the ball that's on the manual lever. If all seems OK, put the trans in Park (manual lever all the way rearward), then go up and move the shift lever back and forth (with cable still disconnected at the trans). Does it seem smooth and even? There are gates in the column, but no detents, so you'll be able to move the shift lever between Neutral and Drive with no "step" in between. That is normal.

So see if you can figure out whether your slop / binding is in the transmission, or in the shifter / cable somewhere. Hope that helps.

 

[2010DodgeRam]

Stuck in Reverse

I have a similar problem. Nice warm spring evening on pavement, no snow or mud to cause the issue, I stop and try to shift back into Drive and gear shift gets stuck in Reverse, with engine still running. Take foot off break and vehicle is not engaged, so appears to be in Park, but I can not move the shifter at all. I turn off the truck and now it will not start because the gear shift shows Reverse. It seems as if the shifter is locked as opposed to jammed. I will try get under the truck later today to try some fixes but any additional advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[TransEngineer]

I have a similar problem. Nice warm spring evening on pavement, no snow or mud to cause the issue, I stop and try to shift back into Drive and gear shift gets stuck in Reverse, with engine still running. Take foot off break and vehicle is not engaged, so appears to be in Park, but I can not move the shifter at all. I turn off the truck and now it will not start because the gear shift shows Reverse. It seems as if the shifter is locked as opposed to jammed. I will try get under the truck later today to try some fixes but any additional advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I would think perhaps (in your case) that the lever at the transmission is actually in between Park and Reverse, while the shift lever in the cab is in Park. Maybe your linkage is slightly out of adjustment, or maybe the cable came disconnected from the lever on the transmission, or maybe there's a pebble stuck in between the trans lever and the case (jamming the lever; I've seen that a few times). So crawl underneath, maybe pop the cable off and shift the lever on the trans into Park (all the way rearward) by hand, and hopefully you can get it straightened out. Oh, and apply the parking brake and chock the wheels, before you shift it by hand while lying underneath!

 

[2010DodgeRam]

Thanks for the advice! I'll give it a shot this evening.