986 Tiptronic won't go into park.

[Budski]

  Got a good deal on a 1997 Boxster that had been sitting for years and unloved, couldn't believe my luck when I put in a fresh battery and it actually fired up. Once I added a bit of fresh gas in it I decided to let it idle and make sure it wouldn't leak all over the place, that completed I pulled it into reverse and then drive which surprisingly it complied.  I did notice that the dash indicators were blinking D-4 or R-4 and P-4 I assume this is the transmission going into fail safe mode.  The other ugly was the shifter was very stiff/crunchy going in between gears, plus the fact that I didn't need to hold the brake down to select gears.  Took it for a very short drive down the road (tires had horrible flat spots) came back and parked it, when putting into park something gave and the shifting selector would no longer select....  Found that the plastic socket at the transmission selector lever had broken and made a quick fix of safety wire and J-B weld let it set over night and reinstalled the following morning. After installation I noticed that the Indicator light would only go to R so I manually put it P at the trans and tried it again and I have the same problem. It now will only start and not go into any gear. ( when put in N it will start.) Center console was removed and I have adjusted the ignition switch cable so that it now has to switched on to be taken out of P and key can not be removed until the selector is back in P. Adjustments to shifter cable have not been fruitful.  I have ordered the multifunction switch that mounts to the trans to sort the problem with the lights as I have seen a similar problem on other vehicles.  I also notice that when placed in park manually it will roll forward or back as if it had no parking pawl like an Allison trans on big trucks. Is the tiptronic transmission fitted with a parking pawl or is it necessary to pull the parking brake to keep it from rolling. Sorry for the long post but I want to have as many FAQs said before anyone decides to give me a bit of advise. I have been a mechanic since 1985 primarily dealing with daily beaters but the occasional Porsche would be worked on but they were almost always manual transmission. BTW the local Porsche dealer packed up and moved to Wilmington and any of my old contact went there as well.   

 

Thanks and I hope to be of service to someone soon as well.

 

Arthur

 

 

[ttocs]

My guess is the glued linkage is not quite right. I replaced mine about a year ago. The part is around $55.

[jdkorte]

I have a very similar story. Found a decent fixer upper. Ran well until the shifter rod broke at the end. When I replaced it, the transmission stopped going into park and flashed R. Did you find a resolution to this issue? 

[Loren]

Sometimes the magnet on the side of the shifter (normally glued in place) falls off and binds the shifter.

[jdkorte]

Update, I dropped the transmission pan to do a filter and oil change and noticed that the pin had popped off the manual valve. I popped it back into place. After looking it up it seems to be a 97-98 issue. As the valve heats up it expands making it hard to move. This will lead to the pin popping off or breaking. Here is a link to the article that explains it. 

Edited May 2, 2023 by jdkorte