If the automatic Acura CL 3.0 gearshift is stuck in Park because you can't push in the button but can release the gearshift using the shift-lock release what kind of problem is developing?

Answer 1

I have a 2001 3.2 CL Type S. Mine has the sport-shift. I had this same problem for the first time about 2 years ago. A friend of mine looked at it (he was NOT a professional) but he could not tell me for sure what was the cause for the problem. He did advise me to be gentle with my shift because there was probably something going wrong with the transmission. I took his advice and now Ialways come to a complete stop before switching gears (prior to that I would throw my car in drive while still coasting backward in reverse), also always make sure the brake is pressed completely before slowly changing gears. (I know it probably sounds like a hassle but it's really not.) Since then the problem has not progressed at all (in fact it hasn't happened in months) and my transmission is still working fine. A couple of months ago I talked to a professional about it and he said the "mode switch" is going out and that it would be over $500 to fix. He said I could wait to fix it when it goes completely out but I would probably have to have it towed because it may not shift at all (even if I would disengage the shift-lock). Hope this helps!