How do I get the gear shifter off. I dumped a soda on the gear shift panel. When the car sits the soda acts like glue and plastic piece that hides the linkage sticks together. I can get the trim off but I'm unsure of the shifter piece. I see threads when I pull the chrome piece off the bottom of the boot. I don't want to break it so I'm not forcing it. Help please.

 

turn it counter clockwise, the first turn will be hard then it gets easer

 

How to get the trim off?

 

I don't know what shift knob you have, but my mom's 99 TL with Wood Knob is different from my 02 TL-S. So i don't know if they changed it by year, or if they changed it because of the wood knob.

For my 02 TL-S the chrome piece is plastic....i had a hard time getting it off because it was different from my mom's TL, which you just screw it off. I think urs is like mine, you just have to twist it a bit and pull it down as hard as you can...you won't break anything, it's has a "track" that it slides into, and u have to pull it out of the "track."