Shift lever won't come up after pulling it from reverse

[mituc]

For some reason since a few days ago the shift lever does not come up after I pull it from reverse. It simply stays apparently into neutral but it's all the way down into the boot and I have to pull it up into neutral myself to be able to shift into 1st.

After greasing the shifter assembly 3 days back as much as I could without disassembling it it started to come up in like 75% of the cases.

Now, I wonder if there is any secondary spring that gave up (the one that I can see seems to be fine) or if it's just because of lack of lubrication (the grease didn't seem to penetrate everywhere because it's not liquid enough, but in time it probably will) or if it's something else.

When I greased the shifter assembly I also found that one of the bushings was blown so I ordered the JBR solid shifter bushings, but I guess that will not fix the problem.

So anybody else ran into this and can tell me what the problem is before starting to disassemble it entirely?

[silvapain]

It's the spring on the shifter itself. Pull it out of the car if you have to, and clean it and lube it properly.


Tapadatass

[Turbo_Steve]

Your shifter is bent and is going to snap soon. Happened to me a month ago. Thin metal at the reverse lockout pin and when it is bent, it is sticking inside the pivot ball. Fix it now before you have a bad day.

[mituc]

[Voltwings]

If you take the shift boot off, you will see the only thing separating 1st and reverse is a little rubber bump stop and a plate. When you push down to go into reverse the bump stop goes below the plate and allows you to push the knob over to the reverse position. You may have an issue there, but any of these fixes will require taking the boot off, so you may as well just take a look.

[Dash08]

Originally Posted by Turbo_Steve Your shifter is bent and is going to snap soon. Happened to me a month ago. Thin metal at the reverse lockout pin and when it is bent, it is sticking inside the pivot ball. Fix it now before you have a bad day.

This^^^^

Had the same thing happen to me.

It all started with the exact same problem you're having.

Get it fixed before it snaps.

Mine snapped on a 4-3 downshift during very aggressive driving and almost lost it. Don't wait, it will snap soon.

[mituc]

Good. I'm ordering the Cobb STS then, I hope that will be better. It will take like 3 weeks to get here though, I'll just try to be more gentle during gear shifts (and I thought I was!).

[Dash08]

Originally Posted by mituc Good. I'm ordering the Cobb STS then, I hope that will be better. It will take like 3 weeks to get here though, I'll just try to be more gentle during gear shifts (and I thought I was!).

Have you checked out the TWM full replacement shifter?

It's the fucking king of the hill, man. Look into it before you commit to the Cobb.

[nickm757]

My shifter took a shit too while parked on a hill in reverse. My problem was it would push down, but would not pop back up by itself. I had to manually pull it up. Disassembled shifter, lubed, put back together. Still would not work. Took it to dealership and they gave me a new one under warranty no problem.

[mituc]

Originally Posted by Dash08 Have you checked out the TWM full replacement shifter? It's the fucking king of the hill, man. Look into it before you commit to the Cobb.

No, I did not, and I ordered the Cobb STS already
But Cobb makes quality parts so I should be good, that's why I dind't even check something else since I was aware that Cobb makes one.
I may not like the full 30% throw reduction and I'm also thinking to keep the height close to stock, so the Cobb one may work well for me.

Originally Posted by nickm757 My shifter took a shit too while parked on a hill in reverse. My problem was it would push down, but would not pop back up by itself. I had to manually pull it up. Disassembled shifter, lubed, put back together. Still would not work. Took it to dealership and they gave me a new one under warranty no problem.

Well, what can I say man, my shifter doesn't seem to be loose, doesn't feel like it's bent. It just feels like some plastic collar or something gave up and produces too much friction down there.
Since I started having the problem a few days ago when shifting between the normal forward gears everything is exactly like before. And I know this because I'm sensitive and paranoid enough to feel even the slightest difference.

I'll just replace it (I'm still under warranty though) and I'll be fine I guess.

[Dash08]

Originally Posted by mituc No, I did not, and I ordered the Cobb STS already But Cobb makes quality parts so I should be good, that's why I dind't even check something else since I was aware that Cobb makes one. I may not like the full 30% throw reduction and I'm also thinking to keep the height close to stock, so the Cobb one may work well for me. Well, what can I say man, my shifter doesn't seem to be loose, doesn't feel like it's bent. It just feels like some plastic collar or something gave up and produces too much friction down there. Since I started having the problem a few days ago when shifting between the normal forward gears everything is exactly like before. And I know this because I'm sensitive and paranoid enough to feel even the slightest difference. I'll just replace it (I'm still under warranty though) and I'll be fine I guess.

Mine didn't feel like the shaft was broken either. I had the same problem you're having. It would get stuck in the down position.

A short time later, it snapped completely off.

As for the shifter and for all performance upgrades, search around a bit before you buy. Yes, Cobb makes great stuff, but there are many other brands that make equally good, if not better, parts.

[mituc]

Ok, mine didn't snap yet but until I replaced it earlier today it was a nightmare. I was needing at least 30 seconds, today one minute and a half, to put the car in reverse. A week ago I was putting my both hands on top of the shifter to push it down, since 2-3 days ago I had to tap it with my fist.

FAIL shifter came out:



WIN shifter came in:


Hello kitty bushings removed too:



...and I installed the JBR ones. The blown bushing was in the opposite corned of the 5th gear, and my shifter bent towards 5th. I think that may be the culprit because I started having problems shortly after I felt the shifter assembly leaning towards 5th and eventually sounding like it was hitting something when shifting into 5th.

The Cobb shifter is close to perfection. It would have been perfect if that pin was just a tad shorted (less than 1mm, maybe 0.5-0.7mm) to allow that side rod to be pushed a bit more when shifting into 1st and 2nd.

[12blkms3]

Because genjuan

[Mizzle]

Did you guys file a report and post in the thread?
For the bent one, when you replace it, keep and and file a report under the same thread so they know what's going on.

[Kyle Undefined]

This actually just happened to me, on Saturday night. Snapped exactly where the other picture shows.

For several months now I've been dealing with the same issue, having to manually pull up the stem from coming out of reverse. Unfortunately, I bought the car from a Ford dealership and they just kept greasing the spring, but I kept telling them it wasn't the issue. It was like that since the day I bought it. Was going to take it to the local Mazda dealership but with work and all, never could find the time.

I did a search awhile ago, but it was before this thread was made, and I kind of forgot. I'm glad I know what caused the issue. I just ordered a COBB STS, because I fell in love with it in my friends MS3. Found this thread by searching for bushing reviews, haha. Going to go with JBR.

[Mizzle]

OFFICIAL Broken Shifter NHTSA Reports Thread