The gear is locked in park. It wont shift, I had to use the shift release in order to move the gears from park to drive. Has this happened to anyone? I have to use a screwdriver each time I have to change gears. PLEASE ADVISE. I hope its not my tranny

 

Sounds like your tranny.

 

Mantis actually had the opposite problem (unable to shift into park) when he blew a fuse, oddly enough.

 

check your acc relay fuse, (i think thats the name of it)

 

Brake Light Switch...mine went a month ago. I picked one up at a Honda dealer (Honda Part #) for $30, and installed it in a couple minutes.

 

i had that stupid problem 3 times within a year....

 

Yeah, I had the same problem once with my '98 3.2 TL-P. Pretty easy fix, though.

 

so all it is a brake light switch?

 

i had the same thing.. not sure what fixed it, dealership gave me all kinds of random b.s. -- took them 4 times to fix it

 

 

u r fucked

 

Definitely something with the break system.

This happend to me and I kept driving around for a few days (having to use the shift lock release everytime I switched out of park). I intended to go to the dealer but wasn't in a big hurry.

Finally one day one of my friends whole happend to be driving behind me called me and told me none of my brake lights were working!

I took it into the dealer and I think it was either a blown fuse in the brake system or a bad switch. Apparently they tie the shift lock into this system for safety reaons (so you don't drive around with broken brake lights)

 

Depress the brake while shifting out of Park.

 

Happened to me with a fuse.

Check all of the fuses on the drivers side.

 

it was the brake switch, the closest acura dealer to me is 300 miles away in san antonio. I called up acura roadside assistance to get it towed to them, they said it would cost me 600 dollars, i said there aint no way in hell im paying that kinda loot to get a brake switch fixed. So I decided to go to auto zone and get a brake switch but they didnt have any, then I decided to go to the honda dealer and they replaced it. It cost me 78.00 with labor. IM trying to get that reimbursed, lets see what happens

 

Wait.. Are you still under warranty??? If so, why wouldn't roadside tow it to the nearest dealer??? Isn't that part of the TLC package?

 

 

I have the same problem my car wont shift out of park it takes usually a a few times for me to pump the brakes and keep on trying and trying but it gets out of park .....Its a pain in the ass right now my car is in the shop for electrical problems . Acura has no clue what the problem is first they charge me $93 for a new battery ...that wasn't the problem b/c i got my car back and everything quit the electrical system ex. gauges, stereo, Ac , headlights cut off . So they ordered me a new altanator and there hoping that thats the problem . HAHAHAHAH its all a big JOKE

 

I seem to remember something mentioned in the manual about how to unstick the gearshifter from park. It involves inserting a screwdriver blade into the shift-plate cover to release shifter from park.

 

I assume you're not under warranty any more, because i'm pretty sure a Honda dealership would cover a warranty repair, would it not?

 

glad you got that worked out, but i think acura owes you.

 

I am having the same problem. Has anyone been given a direct answer as to why this problem occurs? If it is a fuse issue, where do I start searching? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Damn, old topic.

I had the problem when I had my '98 CL and the problem was the brake relay. Best bet is to take it to the dealer once you get it into gear... and if it's stuck permanently.... call Acura Care and get it towed....

You also may want to read this topic: http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...hreadid=132420