sticking autotransmission

[Tiger]

Check brake switch... if brake switch doesn't work right, tranny shifter cannot move past certain position. This is safety mechanism. Is your tranny shift locking mechanism working properly?

[thebeast]

hello, i am driving a 520i automatic which has started to stick in drive.I can put into neutral but it won't go past reverse and into reverse or go through to park. You can still drive as it will go through the gears as normal but I cant get the car into reverse or park. please help as i love driving my beamer

[whiskychaser]

hello, i am driving a 520i automatic which has started to stick in drive.I can put into neutral but it won't go past reverse and into reverse or go through to park. You can still drive as it will go through the gears as normal but I cant get the car into reverse or park. please help as i love driving my beamer
You dont mention what year or what gearbox but it may be just a cable related issue. There is a kind of lock in the handle which may be jamming or maybe the cable just seized. Get a friend to move the lever and see whats happening at the gearbox end

[Ross]

If the handle won't move to those positions it is the shift lock as whiskychaser said. There is an an internal hex(allen) screw on the backside of the handle(3mm?), loosen it to remove the handle. Inside the shaft is a plastic rod with a hole in the top which corresponds to the metal rod in the handle which moves when you squeeze it. If the metal rod is not in the hole atop the plastic rod squeezing the handle will not lift it to unlock the shift mechanism. Once apart all this will make better sense.

[thebeast]

Hi, thank you for your help in my problem of sticking transmission. the shifter cable had buckled in the wire surround so this is why i wasn't getting any movement for the shifter.

the beast

[wingman]

Hi Beast,

Make sure that the small nut that secures the cable to the bracket (behind the tranny) is kept tight or you'll get the opposite problem where the selector lever will move freely back and forward and nothing will engage.