Gear shifter sticks

[lrchome]

I have a 2005 Prius and about once every 6 months or so, I start the car and move the shifter either to reverse or drive but the gear position does not change. I tried brake drive and reverse no change. Then I shut the car off and start it again and everything works great. I live in central Florida so no temperature involved. has anyone else had this problem.

[Wheelin1]

Originally Posted by flocculus

So, nevermind. I found http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/chris-dragon-dash.pdf. Thank you Chris! His instructions are great. I just skipped taking off the vent to the right of the radio but then followed his instructions through taking off the panel to the left of the radio. Didn't need to take the Park button loose. Then it was just a matter of taking off the little cover over the shifter. The handle screws off.

The next piece in is the infamous dust cover, a roughly rectangular piece that slides horizontally with an articulating piece that rotates for the vertical movement. I tried just lubricating it, but that did not work. The left side of it apparently was not designed well and had to bend with each shift and eventually warped and stuck. I wanted to keep the dust protection of the piece so did not want to leave it out. Instead, I trimmed down the warped edge, right up to the place where the articulating piece hinges. That did the trick.

So, for me, this was definitely not a spring issue. Just gotta take care of that warped piece. It's a pretty quick fix, and no $500!

This was my problem too, the knob has thread lock on the threads its not high strenth so its not too hard to unscrew, knob is the female threads. The piece I trimed off was only 1/32 of an inch or equal to the pivoting part, works like new. The job is easy to do, 10 minutes. Toyota should have safety recalled this part as when the shifter sticks in the drive position when the park button is pressed it stays in gear. My 16 year old is going to start driving and it sticking was unacceptable. I was considering the replacement of the shifter when I came across this fix, thanks. Jim 2004 with 106,000 miles on it, runs like new! never needs a repair and is the most dependable car I have ever owned, other than my 2006 prius

[karmavore]

Originally Posted by flocculus

So, nevermind. I found http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/chris-dragon-dash.pdf. Thank you Chris! His instructions are great. I just skipped taking off the vent to the right of the radio but then followed his instructions through taking off the panel to the left of the radio. Didn't need to take the Park button loose. Then it was just a matter of taking off the little cover over the shifter. The handle screws off.

The next piece in is the infamous dust cover, a roughly rectangular piece that slides horizontally with an articulating piece that rotates for the vertical movement. I tried just lubricating it, but that did not work. The left side of it apparently was not designed well and had to bend with each shift and eventually warped and stuck. I wanted to keep the dust protection of the piece so did not want to leave it out. Instead, I trimmed down the warped edge, right up to the place where the articulating piece hinges. That did the trick.

So, for me, this was definitely not a spring issue. Just gotta take care of that warped piece. It's a pretty quick fix, and no $500!

Thank you flocculus and Chris! I've just been accepting this clicky/sticky shifter issue on my 04 Prius for the last half-decade or so. As of today, thanks to these instructions, it's gone!

[happytobe]

Originally Posted by karmavore

Thank you flocculus and Chris! I've just been accepting this clicky/sticky shifter issue on my 04 Prius for the last half-decade or so. As of today, thanks to these instructions, it's gone!

So thank you everyone! But my question is this, my gear shift has been clicking for the last 3 or 4 months, but the last thread by karmavore makes it sound like no catastrophe will come from just leaving it as is (since karmavore went for half a decade with the annoyance). I have an '04 prius with over 228,000 miles on it and I am loath to do anything (that I might mess up) that will send me into the dealer for an expensive fix at this point. So, can I just leave it alone without worrying about some bigger problem?

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by happytobe

...can I just leave it alone without worrying about some bigger problem?

Yes, if you can live with the gear selector as-is, then you don't need to take any action.

[ryogajyc]

flocculus's instructions worked for me as well. However, I was ambivalent about trimming the plastic dust cover b/c that may cause the joint where the articulating vertical moving piece joins to break more easily. I believe the problem is that in hot weather, the plastic heats up and deforms. So I softened the plastic with a hair dryer bent it back to its original flat shape. Hopefully it will stay that way.