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Gen 2 Prius Shift lever will not stay in drive or reverse below 25 degrees F?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Arthur Marquardt, Jan 4, 2019.

  1. Arthur Marquardt

    Arthur Marquardt Junior Member

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    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Shift problem only occurs in winter, where knob sluggishly moves out of Forward or Reverse. Car will not go into Forward or Reverse because of this. I can fix it with a folded up wad of cardboard holding it in place. Once the car warms up it works just fine. Is there a fix for this other than a new shift lever assy?
     
    #1 Arthur Marquardt, Jan 4, 2019
    SFO likes this.
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    You can buy a used one for around $40 (I have one for sale), and it's a simple DIY to replace it.
     
    #2 JC91006, Jan 4, 2019
    Arthur Marquardt and Skibob like this.
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Holding it "in place" isn't really the normal behavior, right, you ordinarily shift and the knob returns to its rest spot. But it goes right through "N" on its way back to the rest spot, so maybe, if it is returning slowly enough, it's slow enough going through N for the car to think you wanted N.

    Instead of wadding cardboard to hold it "in place", have you tried just shifting to D or R and moving the knob immediately back to the rest position yourself?

    I had one of those shifters out recently (to change the light bulb) and it looked like there was fairly simple access to wipe out the old gummy grease and add new, if you wanted to try that. There's a little panel that pops off (needed to get to the light bulb wires) and the inside moving bits were fairly exposed then.
     
    #3 ChapmanF, Jan 4, 2019
    Arthur Marquardt and JC91006 like this.
  4. Arthur Marquardt

    Arthur Marquardt Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2014
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    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Going to try pulling it out. Wish me luck! Thanks
     
    #4 Arthur Marquardt, Jan 14, 2019
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