Car does not stay in 'Drive'

We know that a problem can arise in shifting the car into D if the brake is not depressed enough, or the sensor monitoring brake pressure is malfunctioning.

A similar -- but different -- symptom of having trouble shifting gears occurs when the gear shift lever is not working. Patrick Wong reported this problem, and noted that the lever stayed in the wrong place.

My car had a gear shift problem today, and I wonder if I am seeing something new. I started the car, and shifted into D. I saw on the display that the D was selected, but when I took my foot off the brake the display shifted back into N, and pressing the fuel pedal had no effect. If I remember correctly, the ICE did not rev. The problem resolved itself after a couple of tries shifting into D. My last attempt that worked happened when I moved the lever to D and held it there a few seconds.

Later that same drive, I drove in reverse a bit, and then was unable to shift into D and stay there. The gear shifted back into N on the display after I selected D. I am uncertain if the shift back happened when I lifted my foot from the brake, or when I pressed on the fuel pedal, but I think the latter. I'm pretty sure the car was functionally really in N, because it rolled backwards on the incline I was on when I took my foot off the brake. My earlier success by holding the gear shift lever a few seconds did not work, but the problem resolved itself by powering down and restarting the car. Parenthetically, since searching for answers tonight on the forum, I now know from John1701 that I can 'soft' reset the gear shift software by holding down the PARK button for a few seconds.

I'll try to be more observant if this happens again, but for now, any ideas ?

 

Thanks everybody

For future use, Patrick's DIY instructions: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ing/65102-how-replace-2g-gearshift-lever.html


Addendum: I've started looking for second hand parts ..
Autobeyours sells the part for $75 + $12 S&H.

 

I'm more than fine with an hour for the repair, but I have to admit that looking at your pictures, I am curious where the hour is spent ?

 

I had a dry run just now, to take apart the dash. I've wanted to do that for a while now ...

Next time, 5 minutes

 

No problems last couple of days, so I am debating whether to buy the part and put it on my shelf until needed.

I'd like to hear opinions whether buying a can of compressed air sounds like a good idea. I could insert a thin plastic tube into the shift lever and try to clean out the mechanism with the pressurized air.