My father in law "borrowed" my I3 today. When he got home, the I3 will no longer shift into "Park" and seems stuck in neutral. It does allow you to shift to drive / reverse -- but will not go back into park, only neutral. So, I have had to turn the car off in neutral and set the parking brake. Anyone have any suggestions to fix this problem? I'm not sure what "buttons" he may have originally hit to start this process! thanks. Chris in Charlotte, NC :x
Help. 2015 I3 stuck in "Neutral" -- won't shift into Park.
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jadnashuanh
Well-known member
A couple of things to try:
- shut the car off; normally, if in a F/R gear, it will then automatically shift into P
- with your seatbelt off, open the driver's door - this normally also puts it into park (doesn't do it if your seatbelt is on, though).
- make sure the button is not stuck down
- make sure that there is the normal spring tension on the shift knob and that the thing isn't stuck or misaligned (excessive force used to shift it?).
- see if you can slightly move the shift lever a bit one way or the other and while moved, see if it will go into park.
Scan through the user's manual and see if you can figure out which fuse controls the transmission, then momentarily pull it and reinsert. See if that does anything.
There's a mode you can put the car into while going through a car wash that prevents it from going into park so it can be pulled through via the mechanism...maybe that sequence was activated. Check the manual on how to reset it. Similar thing in case you need to pull it or push it somewhere, you can lock it into neutral so, say, it could be pulled up onto a tow truck flatbed.
- shut the car off; normally, if in a F/R gear, it will then automatically shift into P
- with your seatbelt off, open the driver's door - this normally also puts it into park (doesn't do it if your seatbelt is on, though).
- make sure the button is not stuck down
- make sure that there is the normal spring tension on the shift knob and that the thing isn't stuck or misaligned (excessive force used to shift it?).
- see if you can slightly move the shift lever a bit one way or the other and while moved, see if it will go into park.
Scan through the user's manual and see if you can figure out which fuse controls the transmission, then momentarily pull it and reinsert. See if that does anything.
There's a mode you can put the car into while going through a car wash that prevents it from going into park so it can be pulled through via the mechanism...maybe that sequence was activated. Check the manual on how to reset it. Similar thing in case you need to pull it or push it somewhere, you can lock it into neutral so, say, it could be pulled up onto a tow truck flatbed.
Has anyone been able to resolve this?
My car has the same issue and it is frankly driving me crazy.
The car will shift into n but not into park. I have a message on the computer telling me to secure the car with the parking brake, and can not lock the doors from the outside.
BTW the only thing locking is the charging door, that I have to open manually every time I charge the car. :shock:
My car has the same issue and it is frankly driving me crazy.
The car will shift into n but not into park. I have a message on the computer telling me to secure the car with the parking brake, and can not lock the doors from the outside.
BTW the only thing locking is the charging door, that I have to open manually every time I charge the car. :shock:
Thanks for the reply, but tried the procedure and the issue is the same.
I would guess that this has something to do with a "Car Wash Mode" as the car shuts down, everything is open but the charging flap is locked.
I don't think it is a mechanical issue as the i3 has no transmission....
Everything else on the car works great...
It it was a phone, I would have taken the battery out and reset it... :lol:
But clearly this is not possible.
I would guess that this has something to do with a "Car Wash Mode" as the car shuts down, everything is open but the charging flap is locked.
I don't think it is a mechanical issue as the i3 has no transmission....
Everything else on the car works great...
It it was a phone, I would have taken the battery out and reset it... :lol:
But clearly this is not possible.
jadnashuanh
Well-known member
Try pulling the fuse for the transmission (or whatever one sounds like it might apply). I know that helped with the telemetrics not connecting to the server prior to a firmware update that (so far) seems to have resolved that issue. IOW, there is a way to force a hard reset on things that do have a fuse!
Just a quick update:
The car was taken to bmw service. They say it is a problem with the shift lever, and the part was ordered under warranty.
The part will take about a month to get here, but they say it will fix the problem.
Keeping my fingers crossed.... :roll:
The car was taken to bmw service. They say it is a problem with the shift lever, and the part was ordered under warranty.
The part will take about a month to get here, but they say it will fix the problem.
Keeping my fingers crossed.... :roll:
alohart
Well-known member
Are you able to keep driving your car? If not, that's just inexcusable!mviniegra said:
Regardless, many i3 owners have reported parts needed for the warranty repair of their cars have taken weeks or even months to arrive. This has been true since 2014 when it would be more understandable that not all parts were available in North America (NA) for such a new car. But the i3 has been sold in NA for 2 years, so parts should be readily available by now. BMW should stock at least one of every i3 part in a NA parts warehouse to prevent ridiculously long repair delays like this one. That's just incredibly poor customer service, especially with such a high percentage of NA i3's leased. Lessee's don't want to pay their lease payments when their cars are stuck at dealers waiting for parts. BMW has credited lease payments for some of those who have complained, but customers shouldn't be placed in this situation.Our Honda Insight, of which less than 20,000 were sold throughout the world over 6 years, never had such frequent serious parts unavailabilities as the far more popular i3. When parts weren't available in NA, Honda shipped them by air freight so that they arrived within days, something that BMW seems loathe to do.
I can still drive my car. Just need to apply the parking brake and lock the doors from outside with the key. I just hope that nothing else breaks while I'm driving...
I agree with you, how is it that in an age of overnight shipping, we need to wait weeks for a part? And in this case, I hope it is the part that fixes the problem.
I can't help but feel that us i3 buyers are some kind of beta test for bmw.
At least when you do this for a software company you get free software at the end....
I agree with you, how is it that in an age of overnight shipping, we need to wait weeks for a part? And in this case, I hope it is the part that fixes the problem.
I can't help but feel that us i3 buyers are some kind of beta test for bmw.
At least when you do this for a software company you get free software at the end....
Update:
After waiting almost three weeks for parts, the car is finally repaired.
I learned a few things that I think that will be useful for other i3 owners.
The problem with the park position was related to an actuator that is on the electric motor. The part needed to be changed.
BMW Dealer does not care much for electric cars, as they don't know them and don't have people who know them.
Maybe just a few people at the dealer took the training necessary for the car. A part can take weeks to arrive if left just to the dealer.
My Solution:
I started pressing every button on the connected drive, until I reached someone at BMW and complained about my problem. I got immediate response from BMW and they connected me to the customer relations person at the dealer. I got VIP treatment from then on.
The part was accelerated and the car was repaired on a saturday.
I am now a happy camper
After waiting almost three weeks for parts, the car is finally repaired.
I learned a few things that I think that will be useful for other i3 owners.
The problem with the park position was related to an actuator that is on the electric motor. The part needed to be changed.
BMW Dealer does not care much for electric cars, as they don't know them and don't have people who know them.
Maybe just a few people at the dealer took the training necessary for the car. A part can take weeks to arrive if left just to the dealer.
My Solution:
I started pressing every button on the connected drive, until I reached someone at BMW and complained about my problem. I got immediate response from BMW and they connected me to the customer relations person at the dealer. I got VIP treatment from then on.
The part was accelerated and the car was repaired on a saturday.
I am now a happy camper
AskAboutMyParkingIssues
New member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2024
- Messages
- 1
I successfully fixed this problem with my i3!
Info screen showing messages "Transmission not in park" and "Drivetrain: Cont. driving, contact service center".
The problem seemed to be that the parking lock module that sits on top of the motor unit (which is really easy to access by pulling up the trunk floor) lost its calibration position.
I fixed the problem by replacing the module (3 torx bolts and an electrical connector), and then performing a parking lock module initialization through a scan tool.
The scan tool that worked perfectly for me is the FOXWELL NT510 Elite scan tool for BMW, available on amazon for around $180.
I suspect that the old parking module was fine and didn't need to be replaced, just re-calibrated, but I’m not going to swap the old part back in to check.
Info screen showing messages "Transmission not in park" and "Drivetrain: Cont. driving, contact service center".
The problem seemed to be that the parking lock module that sits on top of the motor unit (which is really easy to access by pulling up the trunk floor) lost its calibration position.
I fixed the problem by replacing the module (3 torx bolts and an electrical connector), and then performing a parking lock module initialization through a scan tool.
The scan tool that worked perfectly for me is the FOXWELL NT510 Elite scan tool for BMW, available on amazon for around $180.
I suspect that the old parking module was fine and didn't need to be replaced, just re-calibrated, but I’m not going to swap the old part back in to check.
