Stuck Transmission/Shift Lever (2000 Boxster S 6-Speed)

[Pretzel]

I'm having a strange issue with the transmission/shift lever in my Boxster S that I was hoping others could help give input on.

Long story short, the car wouldn't leave 5th gear during my morning commute today. The lever itself is stuck in the 5th gear position, and cannot be pulled back into neutral (I tried to give it a firm pop to free it, dumb idea, and bent the lever slightly). There's no wiggle at all in the lever besides what's normally present when the car is in gear, and no way to get it out of gear presently without disassembly (car off, clutch in doesn't free it up).

The clutch does work though, I can start the car and idle it fine by holding in the clutch pedal. The car is still clearly stuck in 5th gear though.

Any thoughts or input? I'm waiting on a tow now to get it home, but I'm hoping someone has had a similar experience in the past to give me guidance. First step is to definitely make sure that the shift cables are still connected to both the transmission and the shift lever, but beyond that I'm not sure what I should be looking for.

[blue62]

Originally Posted by Pretzel

I'm having a strange issue with the transmission/shift lever in my Boxster S that I was hoping others could help give input on.

Long story short, the car wouldn't leave 5th gear during my morning commute today. The lever itself is stuck in the 5th gear position, and cannot be pulled back into neutral (I tried to give it a firm pop to free it, dumb idea, and bent the lever slightly). There's no wiggle at all in the lever besides what's normally present when the car is in gear, and no way to get it out of gear presently without disassembly (car off, clutch in doesn't free it up).

The clutch does work though, I can start the car and idle it fine by holding in the clutch pedal. The car is still clearly stuck in 5th gear though.

Any thoughts or input? I'm waiting on a tow now to get it home, but I'm hoping someone has had a similar experience in the past to give me guidance. First step is to definitely make sure that the shift cables are still connected to both the transmission and the shift lever, but beyond that I'm not sure what I should be looking for.

There could be something that got wedged under the shift mechanism.
Coins get in there very easy. after checking cables to trans then try moving levers on transmission by hand if no movement then remove console look for anything that could be jambing the shifter. There are lots plastic parts to the shifter mechanism look for broken parts. let us know what you find

[Pretzel]

Originally Posted by blue62

There could be something that got wedged under the shift mechanism.
Coins get in there very easy. after checking cables to trans then try moving levers on transmission by hand if no movement then remove console look for anything that could be jambing the shifter. There are lots plastic parts to the shifter mechanism look for broken parts. let us know what you find

Sorry for the delay, but I was able to get in there last weekend and fix the problem.

I found a couple threads from the past describing what sounded like a similar issue, and it turned out my issue was identical. The best post I found, which even included pictures, was here: Has anyone repaired a Boxster shifter cable? - Pelican Parts Forums

Near where the shift cables attach to the transmission, there are some brass sleeves that fit between the outer and inner sheath of the shift cable. The sleeves appear to be placed to reinforce the shift cable in the spot where it passes through the bracket, where the bracket aligns it to properly attach to the transmission.

The brass sleeve is usually crimped into place, so that it sits in position where the shift cable passes through the bracket. The crimps can come loose, however, and if the brass sleeve slides towards the transmission's shift arms it can cause problems. Once the sleeve pops all the way behind the bracket, it will block the shift arm on the transmission from traveling forwards and consequently prevent the shift cable from being pulled towards the front of the car.

This is why my shifter and transmission were stuck in 5th gear. With the sleeve popped out of place, the shift arm on the transmission couldn't move forwards and I couldn't pull back on the shift knob. The brass sleeve was just getting jammed up between the transmission's shift arm and the bracket that aligns the shift cables.

To fix the problem I just slid the brass sleeve back into position and placed a hose clamp over the detent where it was previously crimped, tightening it until the sleeve stayed put. I've driven it for almost a week since that day with no further issues, so it was definitely just that one small brass sleeve on the shift cable causing all the problems.

[jennn5]

I know I'm in this conversation way late. I hope someone sees this!

I've got a 1999 Boxster with triptronic trans.
My shifter is sticking in park occasionally, and won't let the car start. Only after fiddling a little bit, it then moves and starts. I'm worried!

I'm wondering if the brass fitting issue is for the triptronic version. The videos I've found to show the location of the cable better is for manual transmissions and it looks different than this brass fitting. So I'm just trying to confirm.

Also, is the brass fitting located near the passenger side of the muffler? I think I saw that somewhere.


Thank you!

[Hilly_2xo]

I was reversing out of a driveway. Got out onto the street and shifted to first, went for 2nd and got crunch. Couldn't get out of first.

Mate who is a specialist, came to my rescue, pushed the sleeve imaged back into place. You can get at it with a hand past the muffler RHS. Not easy, get a jack or face down a hill. This quick fix got me to his shop.

Glued it back into place - ferrule to plastic sleeve. Apparently this can accelerate the hardening of the plastic - though not sure what bonding agent he used. I will attempt the temporary hose clamp solve as well.

I noted it was always pretty difficult to get into first and reverse. This might be due to a poor insulation of the OEM short shifter. Apparently installers didn't always use the right tools.

Seems much easier to get into 1st and reverse now though. Placebo... or maybe trouble shifting is an early warning sign that the sleeve has slipped? R, 1, 3, 5 are on the same cable I believe? Maybe it gets the most work and is first to fail.

Probably a good idea to do the other.

Here's an AI write up of the issue and strategy to get yourself stuck 500kms from home and with a pricey tow bill instead of just getting OEM+ replacements like it initially suggests.
https://chatgpt.com/share/68468c60-7da4-8010-a37a-6bf7da2f7e13

Shout out to CAVACO motors, in Southerland Sydney, saved my ass! Pay your specialist!