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What would cause a car to think it was in a different gear and not start when it's parked?

JacSmith13JacSmith13 Member Posts: 1
edited November 2020 in Kia
We went to the store and parked our car. My husband came back out and tried to start the car so we could leave and it wouldn't start. We had road side assistance come out and check the battery and it was fine. The tow driver got in the car and tried to start it himself and noticed that it was flashing reverse on the dash. He said it would need to be towed. My husband remembered there is a little spot next to the gear shift that can be used to put the car in neutral to have it towed if it's in an accident and stuck in gear. He moved something in that spot and got the car to show it was in park and the car started. It wouldn't start because it thought it was in reverse. So we drove it home since it was running ok again. Once we were home he shut the car off and tried to start it again and it started but immediately switched itself to reverse and the gearshift hadn't been moved. He got it back into park and shut it off. Luckily we have another car he can drive to work because we can't drive our Kia now with it doing this. What would cause something like this to happen?

Best Answer

  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,741
    Answer ✓
    It could be a problem with the shifter, the shifter cable, or the neutral safety switch (most likely sources without checking). Someone will have to inspect it and prove what is going on.
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