SOME drivers may go to shift their car only to find that their gear lever is locked.
Fortunately, a driving expert has come up with a handy trick on YouTube to help you shift gears if this vital vehicle component won’t move.
The video begins with @dashishuoche filming a car’s stuck transmission button containing a dust cover.
After pulling the dust cover over the shifter, we see several mechanical components.
But all you have to do is press the bright yellow button below the shifter with a key or similar object.
This yellow button is a release switch that overrides the shift lock on cars with automatic transmissions.
Release is achieved when the button unlocks the vehicle’s drive shaft.
But not all cars have dust covers surrounding their shifter.
Most modern automatic vehicles have a hole near the gear lever.
Open these slots with something like a screwdriver and insert the tool into the hole to unlock it.
The most common cause of a stuck shifter is failure to replace the transmission fluid on time.
Transmission fluid lubricates moving parts and provides hydraulic pressure and friction for internal parts to operate.
Like motor oil, old transmission fluid will break down and lose its lubricating and cleaning properties.
Without lubrication and cleaning properties it can mean high transmission temperatures, sludge build-up and excess part friction.
Conventional automatic transmissions, dual-clutch automatics, and continuously variable automatic transmissions use a specific type of fluid.
Consult your owner’s manual if you are not sure which fluid is used in your transmission.
