Porsche 993: Why is My Transmission Stuck in Park?
The issue may have come on gradually or all at once, but now you can't get your Porsche 993 into gear with any amount of excessive force. Read on to find how to diagnose and repair the problem.
This article applies to the Porsche 993 (1993-1998).
You decide to take out the Porsche 993 one day, so you fire the old girl up, depress the shift lock and pull back for Drive. Then, nothing. The automatic shifter is stuck in Park, and no amount of force or cursing seems to free it up. So, what happened? In the Porsche 993s there are three reasons this could occur. What is the good news? All of them are either very cheap or free to fix. The problem is very superficial. That is, there isn't actually anything wrong with the transmission.
Material Needed
- Friend or broomstick
Step 1 – Check the shifter
It may not be seated properly.
This problem can only occur if you have just done other work on the car that required you to remove the shifter. It's fairly easy to put it back in without having it seated all the way down. It will look normal, but it just won't operate and you will be stuck in park. Loosen it back up, and double check its position. Give it a few hard taps, then rock it back and forth. If it clunks down a step further than where you had it, problem solved! Tighten it back down, and try the button again.
Step 2 – Check the brake lights
They might not be turning on.
Have you ever noticed that if you don't push down the brake, the car won't let you shift out of Park? That's due to a solenoid that locks you out of gear, so you don't accidentally start rolling when you don't intend to. It activates when the brake lights are turned on. So if the brake light switch has stopped working, you also won't be able to shift. Have a friend step on the brakes for you (or wedge a broomstick onto it), and take a look at the rear end to see if the lights are coming on. If they aren't, replace the brake light switch under the pedals and you will be good to go!
Step 3 – Adjust the ignition shift lock
It could be out of whack, preventing you from shifting even when the key is on.
This cable goes from the ignition cylinder down to the shifter, and prevents you from shifting out of park unless the key is on. This is to prevent accidentally starting the car in gear. Over time, they can become maladjusted and not release the shifter when they are supposed to. The shop manual has specifications for adjusting the cable (at the shifter) to make sure it's only working when it's supposed to.
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