Hello, I have an automatic 2006 Acura TL. One day I turn on my car and tried to shift into reverse, but the shifter was stuck. After some googling, I learn I could override and have been doing that so I can drive it when I absolutely need to. I've tried to avoid driving it as much as I can. Anyway, so when I drive it, it feels funny when it shifts for the first time, but only from 1st to 2nd gear(I assume). Due to that, I try to accelerate very slowly as I want to minimize any kind of damage as much as I can.

A couple of observations:

-The Orange Triangle light with the exclamation mark comes on once I start going.
- The VSA light comes on also at the same time.
- The 1st to 2nd gear shift feels funny
- I checked transmission fluid. It is brown but no particles.

Past/ongoing problems with the car:

- For the longest time it won't always start up on first key turn (maybe starter bad?)
- About 7 months ago my alternator died. Mechanic said that my starter could be be putting a lot of stress on my alternator. Due to lack of funds, I didn't replace starter.
- A couple weeks after this gear shifter / transmission issue started, my battery died. I couldn't charge it so I just got a new one. Has been fine since that.

My main issue is the gear shifter / transmission though. Does the car lock the gear shifter if it senses something wrong with the transmission or is it something more indirectly related? Obviously I need new transmission fluid, so could the car be responding to that old transmission fluid? Excuse my ignorance but I just don't know enough about vehicles in general. If anyone has any insight or has had similar problems it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

After some more googling, I have some more information that might help. My brake lights don't come on when I press the brake pedal and my horn isn't working. Is all this stuff indicative of a bad break switch? Don't see how that would make the transmission act up but if I can fix at least one thing, that would great though.

 

Update again:

It was the brake switch fuse! At least the shifter part. I haven't test drove it to see if the transmission is still doing weird things.

 

Test your battery while you're at it.

 

I had this issue with my TL as well before. The "Brake", Horn, and ABS power were on the same power circuit. I found that the fuse under the hood labeled "Horn" was blown. Replacing this blown fuse fixed the issue.