Auto gearbox issue or is it?

[Matthew1955]

Hi All,
If its not one thing its another.
In the last week or so I have found that if I stop on an hill,going up or down and go from drive to park sometimes I then find it either difficult or impossible to get out of park.If the gear lever is stuck in park the VSC and TRC OFF warning light comes on as does the skid symbol and then the only way to get out of park is to push and hold down the shift lock button.When I am on level ground and go into park from drive this doesnt happen
Having played around I realise that the problem only seems to occurs when the car has rolled sightly forward or backwards as it does when I put the car in park on a slope but if the car hasnt moved the gearbox is smooth when changing from park to drive or reverse.
Any ideas what the problem may be,thanks

 

[GeekOKent]

Handbrake not helping here ? I have no idea what might be going on other than something in the driveline 'locking' something somewhere somehow.... The skid stuff, though, is meant to be linked upto the wheel movement and differences in speed across opposite end wheels. Unsure why / how that kicks in.

Had a chance to look for error codes ?

 

[Chris]

Well thinking the obvious here it sounds like pressure on the lock. The transmission lock is used heavily on all autos as a handbrake substitute, but it really shouldn't be. It's designed to be used for park, err obviously, but really on the flat. That's why they also fit a handbrake. I suspect that over time, there's been some wear on the mechanism so that when the car has moved slightly, the pawl / lever or whatever it is in there gets stuck.

I can't say for sure, but I suspect that the warning lights coming on in that combination doesn't mean that there is a problem with the VSC etc - it's a sort of code for something more general or they'd be on all the time.

 

[Matthew1955]

Thank you guys,Chris having been more diligent about applying the handbrake and then moving into park the warning lights have not been coming on so I guess your comments right.Hopefully the problem will not reoccur,so thanks again.

 

[Chris]

Which is fine as long as your handbrake works. As it's the same design as previous incarnations, they can be a bit rubbish. Keep it well adjusted and you should be fine. Still not sure what / why the Christmas tree lights were coming on.

 

[Matthew1955]

Ive been intending to do the handbrake adjustment as I do think it needs doing so I better make it a bit of a priority,cheers for the help

 

[Chris]

There is a sticky on the 80 section. It's the same handbrake system.

 

[Matthew1955]

There is a sticky on the 80 section. It's the same handbrake system.

Thanks Chris,I will take a look.
Matthew