Embarassing situation this evening... (transmission problem)

[blackbeagle]

I was putting my two dogs in the car and was just was ready to drive home. The neighbors at my parents home had a party so there were a lot of people in the streets. They were all looking at me getting into my car. When I put her in reverse and ready to drive off, the car didn't move. Then as it slide downhill, I put it in 'D' but all it did was rev the engine. I put it in 'R' and it did the same thing-never budged an inch. Now everyone is looking wondering what the heck is going on. I was just thinking, "Unbelievable". I put it into 'P' shut off the engine, restarted, put it in 'D' and drove away in relief.

Does anyone know what the heck happened here? Why didn't the gears engage (both in forward and reverse)? I hope this is a one-time ordeal but will call the dealer tomorrow anyways just to make sure.

[Orphan-Beggar]

hill assist perhaps

[SuperGeek]

Did it feel like the brakes were applied? The Hill Start Assist will engage full brakes if it believes you're on an incline so that you don't accidentally roll downhill forwards or backwards. If the brake wasn't what was stopping you, it may have been the gears not engaging, in which case you may have a shifter problem. Definitely call the dealer; if it's the shifter, one day it may just not shift out of Park.

If you see three lines where you normally see the gear indicator, call the 800-SMART-USA for service; they may be able to help you over the phone. There's a transmission teach-in process, and opinions differ here on how it's done... the manual states that if it fails once, don't try again. To be safe, call the official support line.

If it is just the hill start assist and the car's new <500 miles, it will get softer with time... it starts out really aggressive. Maybe because they planned for parts to wear down over time.

[Dave777]

I've had basically the same thing happen, though not in front of a crowd.

I've learned to be very deliberate about shifting, making sure I'm completely stopped before going from D to R, or vice versa. My belief is what happened to you is fairly normal, for this weird transmission, and is not a fault and has nothing to do with hill start assist.

[PeteInLongBeach]

Are you certain the parking brake was fully off? This can affect the clutch engagement...