Transmission going into reverse while in park.

[nolpunkin]

Has anyone had this happen to them, It happened to me last weekend while I was loading my boat. The truck sat in reverse for over 20 min while we were off loading our gear. Then out of the blue the back up lights came on and in the water it went. The truck is a complete lose. The truck was 2005, 2500
Any info would be great
thanks,

 

[sag2]

Did it have the out of park alarm?

 

[nolpunkin]

The drivers door was shut it wouldn't matter, That only works if the door is open.

 

[Ozymandias]

I'm not sure but I think there was a recall for this issue.

 

[CBari]

Mine will do it too and I am aware of the out of park recall but choose not to do it cause I cant stand the horn honking thing. I think on the recall it also honks if the seat belt is undone regardless if the door is open or not. Sorry for you loss I know that wasn't how you wanted your day to end.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Wait, I'm confused. It was sitting in reverse for 20 minutes? (was that a misprint?)
Was the emergency brake on? I assume you were on a boat ramp but you didn't have the parking brake on? Did the shifter jump into reverse?
Not flaming here just confused

Scott

 

[p-Bar]

Guess if their was a problem or not I would have set the parking brake. Yes as said there was an issue with these and someone got paid off by Chrysler to the NHTSA . What a mickey mouse fix. Mine has never done it . Read my Signiture

 

[leaky gasket]

Sounds like the truck was not locked in park all of the way.

 

[sag2]

If it had the annoying out of park alarm it would have sounded when the door was opened to get out. So it had to be in park when he got out. If it had not been in park and the e-brake was not in use the truck would have rolled immediately, especially since the truck was on a ramp at the time. A park pall generally does not come out, especially with the weight of the truck resting on it on the ramp. In fact it is really difficult to get out as anyone knows that have put it in park on an incline before applying the e-brake.

 

[Ozymandias]

Mine will do it too and I am aware of the out of park recall but choose not to do it cause I cant stand the horn honking thing. I think on the recall it also honks if the seat belt is undone regardless if the door is open or not. Sorry for you loss I know that wasn't how you wanted your day to end.

Na you can go unbelt, just don't open the door in Reverse, open the window instead.
Open door is the only way to let it honk.
ne had the Update done before I bought the Truck.

 

[TCDiesel]

Get into the habit of Going form R to N then to P....Yes the same thing happen to me on my 2003, My 2003 is 48RE that is DG built with TC/VB and internal updates, Also as PD suggested in all towing use the E-Brake. Also when going form D-P stop in N momentarily then to P. If you do this in any vehicle it will set the parking Paw.

 

[cerberusiam]

Given everything is maintianed and adjusted correctly, the only way the backup lights come on is if the linkage actually moves to the reverse position. That is all controlled by range sensor and it MUST move to the reverse position to activate the lights.

Given the emergency brake was set, the emergency brakes good, and the linkage adjusted correctly it is a parts failure. A brake cable snapped, detent ball spring weak or broken, cable stretched, parking pawl breaks, etc. Never liked leaving a running vehicle parked anywhere without an operator behind the wheel, way too many things can go wrong.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Wingate]

If it had the annoying out of park alarm it would have sounded when the door was opened to get out. So it had to be in park when he got out. If it had not been in park and the e-brake was not in use the truck would have rolled immediately, especially since the truck was on a ramp at the time. A park pall generally does not come out, especially with the weight of the truck resting on it on the ramp. In fact it is really difficult to get out as anyone knows that have put it in park on an incline before applying the e-brake.

ive had this exact same issue. Still have not gotten it resolved. I use my parking brake religously, but sometimes when I shift to park, I will start to get out of the truck and hear the park paw rattling againt the hub. I have to shift to neutral and back to park to get it to engage fully.

 

[cerberusiam]

The pawl engages on the notched portion of the output shaft. If you stop and the pawl is not in the notch it won't lock. Once it locks in solidly only breakage is going to take it out. Linkage on the VB is not going to move either unless something breaks. The one thing that can cause it to release is a worn or chipped pawl. If the end of the pawl gets the corners knocked off it will come out under pressure.

Cable adjustment plays a large part in the park setting. If the rooster comb on the VB is not pulled far enough forward to firmly engage the pawl it will show park, the detent on the shifter will be in park but the pawl is not engaged with enough spring pressure to adequately drop it into the notch and hold it. Shift cables stretch over time, the bracket bends. It has to be checked and adjusted periodically.

#ad

 

[TCDiesel]

Its make Me wonder how the Shift cable is even allowed, Just a cable and NO adjustment, bend the Bracket on the housing to adjust UGH.

 

[CBari]

On mine I assume that the cable is stretched or damaged some as when I pull up to park and touch the curb when I push the shift lever to park and reach the end of travel the dash will say park but it isn't in park. I usally go back to neutral and then to park and all is ok.

 

[JJPage]

There is a simple cable adjustment under the knee bolster on the steering column. My 03 would bounce back and forth from park to reverse, illuminating and dimming the ring around the "P" and "R", and also cycling the backup lights until I slacked the adjustment off 1 notch.

I still check diligently to make sure it is in Park, but since the adjustment, no more issue. I never have had the Dealer recall/horn honking fix performed.

A similar experience happened awhile back to one of our members, can't recall his screen name although I have met him personally. His thread I believe was "let the carnage begin". Essentially, he parked at a garage sale and left his truck running in Park, after several minutes it took off in reverse, down over an embankment and smashed into a power pole which snapped off and crushed his canopy and cab...can't remember if his brake was set or not...

 

[cerberusiam]

There a lot of adjustment on the cable for stretch and bracket movement. The adjustment is right there behind the knee bolster, typical locking tab on the housing. The bracket could be heavier but in normal conditions it fine. Like anything else the shift cable has a finite lifetime. Permanently lubed or not, in time they will start to bind. The cable will stretch from use, thats normal. Manual linkage is no different when the bushings wear out.

Frequently the problems are self induced with the shift cable. There is the brake interlock on it that causes a lot of problems. It does NOT release immediately when stepping on the brake pedal. It takes ome time to unlock and the older it gets the lube stiffens and the solenoid gets weak. I have seen people pull the shifter out of park detent and hold pressure on the cable THEN step on the brake waiting it to release. The problem with the detent ball jamming and somebody spending too much time yanking on the shifter will ruin the cable, it will stretch so far you cannot adjust it.

At 8 years and 200k the shift cable on my truck is about done. I can gain a little by bending the bracket but it is maxed out now and only barely acceptable to solidly lock park. It is also showing some signs of drag in the cable so the lube is done. They are a wear item and failure to replace them will have consequences just like brakes and tires.

 

[Wingate]

guess I will have to adjust that cable. my brake interlock has always been aggrevating. Gotta step on the brakes and go for the shifter a time or two before it releases to allow me out of park..
Just a typical 3rd gen Dodge. I sure hope the 4th gens are of better quality!

 

[cerberusiam]

Gotta step on the brakes and go for the shifter a time or two before it releases to allow me out of park..

If you cannot step on the brakes firmly, slow count to 2, and have it shift out of park with little resistance there is a problem with the interlock. Every time you hit it and it doesn't release the tension stetches the cable a little bit and it is usually on the park engagement side. The interlock is about the same as the cable, lubed for life and it will stiffen after a period of time while the solenoid that release it gets weak.

Like everything else, 3-5 years and 200k is all they ever expect the useful lifetime to be. Everything is a throw away these days.