Thanks Rob, I actually got lucky. It was the plastic component in the gear shift knob assembly assembly that malfunctioned. Easy and cheap fix. Thanks again!
Thanks for uploading this video. This is exactly what was wrong with my daughter's '08 Spectra. Took about 30 sweaty minutes behind a hot windshield to replace. Only hiccup I had was the reassembly of that white plastic piece over that interlock spring, I had to secure it with a zip tie.
I had the same problem with my wife's Kia. The brake cable (the one on the right, next to the shifter and under the white plastic cover) had stretched to where there wasn't enough travel to clear the plastic pivot arm when the brake pedal was pressed. Instead of buying and installing a new cable, I just crimped on a BB size split-shot fishing sinker to the cable next to the original crimp. this worked like a charm and cost $0.01 versus $80 for a new cable. I call this hillbilly ingenuity.
What I did instead was just pulled the cable up at the front part of where the white cover is. I then pulled it forward. The way it's installed the rubber keeps it from going forward or backward, but there's really little reason it would go forward (or harm I could see if it did). Moving it forward effectively shortens the cable, and the white cover still holds it in place. Please let me know if anyone sees anything wrong with that approach. It's basically doing what would be done if it had a nut adjustment.
I just had Kia Forte in that was stuck in park. But on that one it was just screw coming loose that holds the shift lock solenoid. You got to see that to believe it. I uploaded that video on my channel. Great Video by the way.
This video helped me get the middle console off but I can't get it over the gear shifter. How'd you do that part? I know nothing about cars but I've gotten more done thanks to your video then I ever thought I could!!
The gear shift has a single screw on the back side that comes out to remove the knob. You may be able to leave the knob on if you lift and rotate the console upwards so the wide part of the opening lines up with the wide part of the shifter.
Almost as soon as I made that comment I was able to get it off!! Now my problem is that after I took the knob thing off the gear shifter the white part isn't moving at all! Help!! I'm over not having a working car lol
@@XterraRob so apparently what I need to do is keep telling you what I can't do because as soon as I say I can't do something I do it!! Lol. So I got past that issue but it still isn't going into park. Its like riiiight there but won't all the way. The part on the dash where is shows which gear you're in will go from showing "R" to being blank because its not really in park but it looks as if it is. Not sure if that made much sense lol. This is the most work I've ever done with a car on my own before!!
Happy to help...keep telling me what you can't do :). What is that white block doing when you hit the brake pedal? Is it not pulling back? Is it physically blocking your gear shift from moving?
Thank you soooooo much for this video!!! This helped us fix our ‘07 Kia Spectra without having to spend the $400+ the mechanic was quoting us. Thank you!
I found out I am not a mechanic!! Similar concept but the 2003 Sedona uses a solenoid to allow the shifter to work.Incredibly impossible for me to take the device out.
Good find...many cars use a 12 volt solenoid which is activated off of the brake switch. See my other video on the Kia Spectra Brake Switch. It could be a similar problem where the brake switch is not sending the proper signal to the solenoid. Also, double check your brake lights to see if they are working properly too.
1999 Sephia. I can hear the "connection/click" from brake to shift box engage when pedal is pressed. I can feel something move forward when that happens by inserting a screwdriver through the capped port next to the shifter. I can depress the shifter button easily. Still will not move out of "park."
I know this is an old video, but I have a customer with an 06 Spectra and it seems to be kicking out of Drive when the lights are turned on, so is she leaves the lights off, head lights, tail, etc, it will drive with no lights. But if she turns the lights on before its in Drive it will kick down into Neutral, is what it sounds like to me. And its one of the more strange issues. And Im wondering if the Brake Light switch is the issue or if its just because the brake light switch is tied into the TCM? Thanks in advance
Kicking out of drive when any of the lights turn on or just the brake light? So if she is driving normally and turns head lights on, it will also kick out of drive if she is not on the brake? The brake light switch ties into brake lights, cruise control, ABS, and Transmission control module.
@@XterraRob From what shes saying, she cant seem to drive with the head lights, tail, brake lights, on. My first thought after looking at the wiring diagrams was the brake lamp switch, I do see its tied into the tcm, and this seems to be a huge problem with these vehicles. Obviously she would have to press the brake pedal to put it in drive, There was one suggestion to remove the DRL Relay as a temporary fix, not sure how that applies. Very strange issue, Im not at the vehicle so I cant do any testing, but the dealership must know about some recall or TSB with so many having this issue.
Headlights don't go through the brake switch so I am thinking it has to be something else other than the brake switch. I'd have to dig into the vehicle wire schematic to venture a guess at what. Any check engine light codes for transmission shifting or solenoids? The transmission control wire harness is known for cracking solder joints and doing funny things....but I wouldn't expect that to be tied to lighting. I'm wondering if it's something weird tied to the electrical load of having the lights on that causes it to lose gear. Maybe any electrical load could do it but she only noticed it with lighting so far.
@@XterraRob Yeah I was considering electrical load as well, trying to come up with something in common on this one is difficult. I dont have anymore information on vehicle. I thought it was a super strange case, and wanted to come up with some theory as to why its happening, She wrote the only lights that do work are the reverse lights, so even driving this thing with no brake lights is eventually going to get her pulled over. Ive read over a ton of case studies and it looks like this model/year have a lot of electrical gremlins. But none had a fix. Im gonna search the all data community for anything. I guess I just enjoy the weird electronic ones. I was thinking too that if all the lights are out, does that include the check engine light and maybe there are codes but she wouldnt know. =/
Hi there! Love the video. However I’m having an issue with my kids 2008 Kia spectra. I’m not a mechanic so my part names are vague. Down in the floor shift column there is that little white arm that can only be moved when break is depressed. That arm moves a cable that goes all the way up to the ignition. When I open that up all that’s there is the other end of the cable. It looks like there should be something else in there with it like a spring assembly or something. Basically my issue is that I can’t get the shift column back in park because the arm will not retract. Any thoughts on that?
I think I followed all of your text. I will try to look tomorrow to follow the 2nd cable amd see where the other end goes. So you are saying your brake cable pulls the block back, and you can push the button on the side of the shift knob all the way down...but the interlocks don't work right because the lever arm never resets, and as a result, the button on the shifter neve pops back out? Is that what is happening? I will try to look on my car tomorrow.
@@XterraRob correct. I filled my cable up behind the dash and it ends up attached to the under side of the ignition. Not sure what should be in that little compartment. Once I push my brake all the way in I can get my shifter to move but my transmission doesn’t engage..280k on the car, not sure if it’s just fried or what
Ok that cable goes up to the key switch. It is tied to an interlock to make sure your key is in the ignition before you shift out of park. Basically, to get out of park, you must have the brake pedal pressed...AND key inserted into the ignition. If you can get your shifter out of park, then that cable is not your problem
@@XterraRob 100% correct. Turns out there literally was no transmission fluid in the car.. I know I know amateur move! So I filled it up and whamo it moves. Came out an hour later and there is a puddle under the car. Looks like tomorrow I get it up on the stands for a closer look! I really do appreciate your help man!! Keep up the good videos
Took the center console off and popped the white cover off. The spring works fine. It’s the cable left of it that won’t move. What is that and where does it go? How do I fix that? Edit: Ummm...duh. You have to have the key on for the arm to move. Now on to re-greasing and crossing fingers.
Xterra Rob So the spring never really moved out of the way enough for the arm to clear, so I just left the spring off altogether. Worked like a charm. I just had to remember to put my foot on the brake when shifting. Anyway, I put it all together and put the shift knob back on. Started it up and boom. It won’t shift. I’m trying to push the button and still won’t move. Frustrated, I sleep on it. The next morning, I took it all apart again to see why it wasn’t moving properly. When I took off the shift knob, I noticed that I wasn’t able to fully depress the button on the knob. When I turned it upside down to look into it, I heard a rattling. There’s a piece of something inside the shift knob that was preventing the button from going all the way in, so I shook it until it rattled itself out of the way. Now, it moves freely and I can fully depress the button. Weird, but it now works fine. There’s always something unexpected fixing cars. Lol!
The brake cable on my kia spectra has broken off from the plastic plunger so that it doesn't pull clear of the pivot arm. Does anybody know how I can replace just that piece? The cable itself it still in good working order and I don't want to replace the whole thing.
Hi, thanks for this video! It was the only one that was close to helpful when my kia spectra was stuck in park. Now, I can't honestly think that you'll proffer free further advice, but in the event that you wouldn't mind giving my particular issue some thought . . . I took off the center console, and, well, I honestly didn't do much of anything at all--just tried to work the pivot arm and the spring already exposed. I depressed the brake by hand, and I think it was actually doing that that allowed me to shift out of park. My problem is just that the gear shift knob won't press the linkage down anymore, but I can see that the gear shift knob is fine, it looks like the one you show in this video. Is it possible that the linkage itself shortened somehow, meaning that the gear shift knob won't depress it enough to allow it to shift? Or is the knob maybe just not aligning with the linkage in the right way? I have been shifting and driving the car... just without a gear shift knob. Any thoughts you have would be very much appreciated.
Thanks for watching. I always like to help if I can. With everything disassembled and the spring and block out of the way similar to 2:18 in my video...does the arm pivot at all with the handle removed from the shifter and you pushing down on the ramped surface? If it actuates fine with the spring and block out of the way and you pushing down manually...then it is either 1) the handle and button are worn in a way that they don't push down enough...or the cable cant pull the block back far enough. If it Doesn't actuate even when manually pushing it...then you have a binding on the lower linkages somewhere...bur I don't know what.
@@XterraRob Thank you for responding! I think it's funny that i took off the whole center console, and i didn't take off that plastic cover; when i was actually looking at mine, i thought i needed a wrench. So unfortunately i cannot say anything about the spring with the block at the moment. i know i'm getting it to actuate just because i have been able to shift consistently, but i'll need to disassemble it again to see the full interaction. I'll let you know what i see when i do, if you don't mind! :) I can say that i have to press the linkage as far down as it will go in order to shift.. but right now i don't know how much of that is necessity for the mechanics or just because it is kind of hard to grip the ramped plastic piece.. haha
@@XterraRob The one time it was stuck in park, i took the knob off eventually and found that the actual lever was stuck. i was, of course, trying to press the button prior to that and it wouldn't push in. i forced it in once probably, so i guess i shouldn't be surprised if i did some sort of damage to the knob itself that i just can't see.. let me know if you have any thoughts. thanks again for volunteering your help! i'm always trying hard to keep my old little kia alive and well
You mean to remove the slack in the cable? Yup that should work too. Mine wasn't actually stuck in park so I never actually made a repair... but that should work if you are.
Kary Krismer as I recall, it just pops up with a flat blade screw driver. It has a little barbed tab on the bottom piece that hooks into a slot on the cover. I think thats all it was, but it was pretty clear by looking at it if you are somewhat familiar with plastic clips and snaps
Yep, there are three clips. If you start with the middle one, using a small flat blade screwdriver, and then the front, it comes off easily. The third one in back just sort of takes care of itself.
Shirleyann Gilbreath thanks for the comment. I don't know much about the hood release mechanism but I will take a look at my car tomorrow to see if I can help. the release lever is on the bottom left under the dash and has two screws that hold it in. I'd start there by removing it to make sure the cable looks attached to the lever and isn't clearly broken. Beyond that, you are tasked with finding an alternate way to pop the hood to look at the latch.
Shirleyann Gilbreath another obvious thing...but you mention that the car is new to you. are you pulling the lever all the way? it gets tight right before the hood pops. The lever is plastic and feels a little flimsy ... but you have to pull through the resistance to pop it open.
Thanks Rob, I actually got lucky. It was the plastic component in the gear shift knob assembly assembly that malfunctioned. Easy and cheap fix. Thanks again!
Thanks for uploading this video.
This is exactly what was wrong with my daughter's '08 Spectra.
Took about 30 sweaty minutes behind a hot windshield to replace.
Only hiccup I had was the reassembly of that white plastic piece over that interlock spring, I had to secure it with a zip tie.
Awesome! Happy to help!
Me salvastes la Noche Bro De este video pude destrabar mi palanca pero era el botoncito que estaba como movido y destrabe y pude ponerlo en parking
im trying to put a custom handle on it and you just saved me so much timeeeeeeee.
Happy to help my dude!
This video saved my bacon today. I can't thank you enough.
Happy to help!
I had the same problem with my wife's Kia. The brake cable (the one on the right, next to the shifter and under the white plastic cover) had stretched to where there wasn't enough travel to clear the plastic pivot arm when the brake pedal was pressed. Instead of buying and installing a new cable, I just crimped on a BB size split-shot fishing sinker to the cable next to the original crimp. this worked like a charm and cost $0.01 versus $80 for a new cable. I call this hillbilly ingenuity.
+Joe Parent Brilliant! Nice, cheap, and effective fix!
What I did instead was just pulled the cable up at the front part of where the white cover is. I then pulled it forward. The way it's installed the rubber keeps it from going forward or backward, but there's really little reason it would go forward (or harm I could see if it did). Moving it forward effectively shortens the cable, and the white cover still holds it in place.
Please let me know if anyone sees anything wrong with that approach. It's basically doing what would be done if it had a nut adjustment.
Hi I’m wondering where you clamped it? In the center ? I’m having a small issue with possibly the cable being to extended as well
I just had Kia Forte in that was stuck in park. But on that one it was just screw coming loose that holds the shift lock solenoid. You got to see that to believe it. I uploaded that video on my channel. Great Video by the way.
Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching. Most of all, thanks for sharing what you found to help others!
Just started having this stuck shifter problem on my hyundai ty for the video
Happy to help and thanks for watching.
This video helped me get the middle console off but I can't get it over the gear shifter. How'd you do that part? I know nothing about cars but I've gotten more done thanks to your video then I ever thought I could!!
The gear shift has a single screw on the back side that comes out to remove the knob. You may be able to leave the knob on if you lift and rotate the console upwards so the wide part of the opening lines up with the wide part of the shifter.
Almost as soon as I made that comment I was able to get it off!! Now my problem is that after I took the knob thing off the gear shifter the white part isn't moving at all! Help!! I'm over not having a working car lol
The white knob doesn't move at all when you push brake pedal?
@@XterraRob so apparently what I need to do is keep telling you what I can't do because as soon as I say I can't do something I do it!! Lol.
So I got past that issue but it still isn't going into park. Its like riiiight there but won't all the way. The part on the dash where is shows which gear you're in will go from showing "R" to being blank because its not really in park but it looks as if it is. Not sure if that made much sense lol. This is the most work I've ever done with a car on my own before!!
Happy to help...keep telling me what you can't do :). What is that white block doing when you hit the brake pedal? Is it not pulling back? Is it physically blocking your gear shift from moving?
This saved my life
Happy to help my dude!
Thanks man you really help me out with this vid
Awesome! Happy to help!
Thank you soooooo much for this video!!! This helped us fix our ‘07 Kia Spectra without having to spend the $400+ the mechanic was quoting us. Thank you!
Awesome! Glad I could help!
My problem the plastic lever part. How or what do I even ask for on the piece .?
Where do I adjust the cable, only pulls it back a little bit
Great video. Superb details. I have a Sedona but this may explain what I am experiencing.
cool! I imagine it would be similar. let me know what you find out!
I found out I am not a mechanic!!
Similar concept but the 2003 Sedona uses a solenoid to allow the shifter to work.Incredibly impossible for me to take the device out.
Good find...many cars use a 12 volt solenoid which is activated off of the brake switch. See my other video on the Kia Spectra Brake Switch. It could be a similar problem where the brake switch is not sending the proper signal to the solenoid. Also, double check your brake lights to see if they are working properly too.
great vid, i was thinking electronic not mechanical for the safety switch
Happy to help!
1999 Sephia. I can hear the "connection/click" from brake to shift box engage when pedal is pressed. I can feel something move forward when that happens by inserting a screwdriver through the capped port next to the shifter. I can depress the shifter button easily. Still will not move out of "park."
What would keep the key from going into lock
I know this is an old video, but I have a customer with an 06 Spectra and it seems to be kicking out of Drive when the lights are turned on, so is she leaves the lights off, head lights, tail, etc, it will drive with no lights. But if she turns the lights on before its in Drive it will kick down into Neutral, is what it sounds like to me. And its one of the more strange issues. And Im wondering if the Brake Light switch is the issue or if its just because the brake light switch is tied into the TCM? Thanks in advance
Kicking out of drive when any of the lights turn on or just the brake light? So if she is driving normally and turns head lights on, it will also kick out of drive if she is not on the brake? The brake light switch ties into brake lights, cruise control, ABS, and Transmission control module.
@@XterraRob From what shes saying, she cant seem to drive with the head lights, tail, brake lights, on. My first thought after looking at the wiring diagrams was the brake lamp switch, I do see its tied into the tcm, and this seems to be a huge problem with these vehicles. Obviously she would have to press the brake pedal to put it in drive, There was one suggestion to remove the DRL Relay as a temporary fix, not sure how that applies. Very strange issue, Im not at the vehicle so I cant do any testing, but the dealership must know about some recall or TSB with so many having this issue.
Headlights don't go through the brake switch so I am thinking it has to be something else other than the brake switch. I'd have to dig into the vehicle wire schematic to venture a guess at what. Any check engine light codes for transmission shifting or solenoids? The transmission control wire harness is known for cracking solder joints and doing funny things....but I wouldn't expect that to be tied to lighting. I'm wondering if it's something weird tied to the electrical load of having the lights on that causes it to lose gear. Maybe any electrical load could do it but she only noticed it with lighting so far.
@@XterraRob Yeah I was considering electrical load as well, trying to come up with something in common on this one is difficult. I dont have anymore information on vehicle. I thought it was a super strange case, and wanted to come up with some theory as to why its happening, She wrote the only lights that do work are the reverse lights, so even driving this thing with no brake lights is eventually going to get her pulled over. Ive read over a ton of case studies and it looks like this model/year have a lot of electrical gremlins. But none had a fix. Im gonna search the all data community for anything. I guess I just enjoy the weird electronic ones. I was thinking too that if all the lights are out, does that include the check engine light and maybe there are codes but she wouldnt know. =/
Are you referring to cracking solder joints in the tcm circuit board itself or harness splices?
Hi there! Love the video. However I’m having an issue with my kids 2008 Kia spectra. I’m not a mechanic so my part names are vague. Down in the floor shift column there is that little white arm that can only be moved when break is depressed. That arm moves a cable that goes all the way up to the ignition. When I open that up all that’s there is the other end of the cable. It looks like there should be something else in there with it like a spring assembly or something. Basically my issue is that I can’t get the shift column back in park because the arm will not retract. Any thoughts on that?
I think I followed all of your text. I will try to look tomorrow to follow the 2nd cable amd see where the other end goes. So you are saying your brake cable pulls the block back, and you can push the button on the side of the shift knob all the way down...but the interlocks don't work right because the lever arm never resets, and as a result, the button on the shifter neve pops back out? Is that what is happening? I will try to look on my car tomorrow.
@@XterraRob correct. I filled my cable up behind the dash and it ends up attached to the under side of the ignition. Not sure what should be in that little compartment. Once I push my brake all the way in I can get my shifter to move but my transmission doesn’t engage..280k on the car, not sure if it’s just fried or what
Ok that cable goes up to the key switch. It is tied to an interlock to make sure your key is in the ignition before you shift out of park. Basically, to get out of park, you must have the brake pedal pressed...AND key inserted into the ignition. If you can get your shifter out of park, then that cable is not your problem
@@XterraRob 100% correct. Turns out there literally was no transmission fluid in the car.. I know I know amateur move! So I filled it up and whamo it moves. Came out an hour later and there is a puddle under the car. Looks like tomorrow I get it up on the stands for a closer look! I really do appreciate your help man!! Keep up the good videos
@@deandurfey4715 uh oh! Good find and happy to help!
Out of curiosity, do you know what the is th name of the cable next to the shift lock cable. It seems to come from under the wheel
Good question. I don't know that one!
Mine is in neutral I need to no how to remove the transmission shifter lever cable
Took the center console off and popped the white cover off. The spring works fine. It’s the cable left of it that won’t move. What is that and where does it go? How do I fix that?
Edit: Ummm...duh. You have to have the key on for the arm to move. Now on to re-greasing and crossing fingers.
Hope that works for you!
Xterra Rob So the spring never really moved out of the way enough for the arm to clear, so I just left the spring off altogether. Worked like a charm. I just had to remember to put my foot on the brake when shifting. Anyway, I put it all together and put the shift knob back on. Started it up and boom. It won’t shift. I’m trying to push the button and still won’t move. Frustrated, I sleep on it.
The next morning, I took it all apart again to see why it wasn’t moving properly. When I took off the shift knob, I noticed that I wasn’t able to fully depress the button on the knob. When I turned it upside down to look into it, I heard a rattling. There’s a piece of something inside the shift knob that was preventing the button from going all the way in, so I shook it until it rattled itself out of the way. Now, it moves freely and I can fully depress the button. Weird, but it now works fine. There’s always something unexpected fixing cars. Lol!
great news thanks for letting me know!
The brake cable on my kia spectra has broken off from the plastic plunger so that it doesn't pull clear of the pivot arm. Does anybody know how I can replace just that piece? The cable itself it still in good working order and I don't want to replace the whole thing.
Hi, thanks for this video! It was the only one that was close to helpful when my kia spectra was stuck in park. Now, I can't honestly think that you'll proffer free further advice, but in the event that you wouldn't mind giving my particular issue some thought . . . I took off the center console, and, well, I honestly didn't do much of anything at all--just tried to work the pivot arm and the spring already exposed. I depressed the brake by hand, and I think it was actually doing that that allowed me to shift out of park. My problem is just that the gear shift knob won't press the linkage down anymore, but I can see that the gear shift knob is fine, it looks like the one you show in this video. Is it possible that the linkage itself shortened somehow, meaning that the gear shift knob won't depress it enough to allow it to shift? Or is the knob maybe just not aligning with the linkage in the right way? I have been shifting and driving the car... just without a gear shift knob. Any thoughts you have would be very much appreciated.
Thanks for watching. I always like to help if I can. With everything disassembled and the spring and block out of the way similar to 2:18 in my video...does the arm pivot at all with the handle removed from the shifter and you pushing down on the ramped surface? If it actuates fine with the spring and block out of the way and you pushing down manually...then it is either 1) the handle and button are worn in a way that they don't push down enough...or the cable cant pull the block back far enough. If it Doesn't actuate even when manually pushing it...then you have a binding on the lower linkages somewhere...bur I don't know what.
Also...when you are stuck in park, is it because the button on the shifter WONT push in? Or does the button push in, but the actual lever is stuck?
@@XterraRob Thank you for responding! I think it's funny that i took off the whole center console, and i didn't take off that plastic cover; when i was actually looking at mine, i thought i needed a wrench. So unfortunately i cannot say anything about the spring with the block at the moment. i know i'm getting it to actuate just because i have been able to shift consistently, but i'll need to disassemble it again to see the full interaction. I'll let you know what i see when i do, if you don't mind! :) I can say that i have to press the linkage as far down as it will go in order to shift.. but right now i don't know how much of that is necessity for the mechanics or just because it is kind of hard to grip the ramped plastic piece.. haha
@@XterraRob The one time it was stuck in park, i took the knob off eventually and found that the actual lever was stuck. i was, of course, trying to press the button prior to that and it wouldn't push in. i forced it in once probably, so i guess i shouldn't be surprised if i did some sort of damage to the knob itself that i just can't see..
let me know if you have any thoughts. thanks again for volunteering your help! i'm always trying hard to keep my old little kia alive and well
Just needs a little flat blade screw driver to pry the cover off! Super easy!
Couldnt you just pull up the cable at pedal?
You mean to remove the slack in the cable? Yup that should work too. Mine wasn't actually stuck in park so I never actually made a repair... but that should work if you are.
I can’t get the key out the igition
Does that white plastic cover (removed at the 2:05 mark) just pop off?
Kary Krismer as I recall, it just pops up with a flat blade screw driver. It has a little barbed tab on the bottom piece that hooks into a slot on the cover. I think thats all it was, but it was pretty clear by looking at it if you are somewhat familiar with plastic clips and snaps
Thanks!
Yep, there are three clips. If you start with the middle one, using a small flat blade screwdriver, and then the front, it comes off easily. The third one in back just sort of takes care of itself.
Brake light switch
just purchased used Kia 2003, hood will not open
Shirleyann Gilbreath thanks for the comment. I don't know much about the hood release mechanism but I will take a look at my car tomorrow to see if I can help. the release lever is on the bottom left under the dash and has two screws that hold it in. I'd start there by removing it to make sure the cable looks attached to the lever and isn't clearly broken. Beyond that, you are tasked with finding an alternate way to pop the hood to look at the latch.
Shirleyann Gilbreath another obvious thing...but you mention that the car is new to you. are you pulling the lever all the way? it gets tight right before the hood pops. The lever is plastic and feels a little flimsy ... but you have to pull through the resistance to pop it open.