No Reverse and Kudos to scp

[darrelplant]

I just had my red 08 cabrio in for its 20K servicing last week, but last night I had an unpleasant situation happen with the transmission.

I was on my way to meet some folks and running just about on time, but I stopped to get a Diet Coke at a convenience store and set up my GPS for the last leg of the journey into unknown (for me) territory. When I started up and put the gearshift into reverse, the indicator on the control panel just went from P to blank and the car didn't move. I could shift into neutral and drive just fine, but even after a couple of shutdowns and restarts, and some tentative jiggling of the shift lever to see if there was a loose connection of some sort, nothing happened.

Fortunately, I had enough room in front of me that when I shifted into drive and moved forward a few inches, the next time I shifted into reverse the wonderful R reappeared.

This morning, when I called smart center portland and talked to Bryce, their service manager, he didn't shilly-shally for a minute about bringing the car in and getting the clutch replaced, a problem I hadn't seen on the board here myself until today. Fortunately, I'm a couple months shy of two years and had just over 21K on the car, so it's still on warranty.

Just wanted to let anyone who happens to run across the same issue of a potential workaround (although it won't do you much good if you're in a tight parallel parking spot or up against a curb and can't safely move forward a few inches) and make sure smart center portland gets the recognition it deserves for great customer service (at least to me).

[forestacademy]

Always good to park in the back of a spot.
1. So folks don't think its empty and slam into your car.
2. so you can move forward if this happens

Classic Sticking clutch symptoms. Make sure you add yours to the Poll

[wrumbarger]

This happens to me on about a weekly basis.

Mostly happens when I am in a hurry and quick shift from D to R (parallel parking) before I come to a complete stop?

I would guess that it is a safety feature so you don't shift from D to R while moving?

The fix that I have found, is to S-L-O-W-L-Y shift from P to R to N to D. (stopping at each letter)
Then S-L-O-W-L-Y shift from D to N to R to P.

One cycle up and down usually fixes the issue?
(sometimes I have to do it twice?)

[theguywiththelongestname]

Originally Posted by forestacademy

Always good to park in the back of a spot.
1. So folks don't think its empty and slam into your car.
2. so you can move forward if this happens

Classic Sticking clutch symptoms. Make sure you add yours to the Poll

I do this! I park away from the concrete parking bumper...I line up the tail of the smart with the tail of the Escalade (or F-150 or whatever) next to me...I noticed too many people trying to park where I'm already parked at Costco and thing like that....

[theguywiththelongestname]

Originally Posted by wrumbarger

This happens to me on about a weekly basis.

Mostly happens when I am in a hurry and quick shift from D to R (parallel parking) before I come to a complete stop?

I would guess that it is a safety feature so you don't shift from D to R while moving?

The fix that I have found, is to S-L-O-W-L-Y shift from P to R to N to D. (stopping at each letter)
Then S-L-O-W-L-Y shift from D to N to R to P.

One cycle up and down usually fixes the issue?
(sometimes I have to do it twice?)

I was doing this sort of thing...also the turn of/turn on again and the roll forward...anyway...all three techniques are a pain...mine is currently in the shop getting a new clutch installed...

[darrelplant]

BTW, they replaced my clutch plate in about half a day. Took it in at 9am and it was out by 3pm.

[NeWave]

Good to hear your baby is back.
If you are on flat ground, a well planted foot outside the door with good leg muscle will make the car go backward...
No, I didn't have a problem. I was just amusing myself.

[tabevan2052]

Happens when I get in a HURRY (car moving when I put it in reverse). Just put it in P then put in R with brake on.

[PerryA]

I've been having this problem. Is it just a quick trigger finger moving too fast between gears, or a real electro-mechanical problem I need to fix? I don't want to find myself out of warranty needing a major repair.

[darrelplant]

Originally Posted by PerryA

I've been having this problem. Is it just a quick trigger finger moving too fast between gears, or a real electro-mechanical problem I need to fix? I don't want to find myself out of warranty needing a major repair.

Well, PerryA, as I said in my writeup, when I called in to the smart dealership, they told me to come in and get the clutch worked on. From that and the comments on other threads about '08 clutch issues, I'd say check it out with your dealer.