BMW 535xi Car does not shift from park to drive Inspection at your home or office.

Our certified mobile mechanics come to you 7 days a week between 7 AM and 9 PM.

Estimate price near me

Service Location

Customer Ratings

(22)

How A Diagnostic Works

Instantly book a certified mobile mechanic to come to you

Mechanic diagnoses the problem and quotes necessary repairs

Your vehicle is ready to go

Fair, upfront & transparent pricing for all services

Our certified mobile mechanics can come to you now.

Customer Ratings

(22)

Car does not shift from park to drive Inspection Service

How much does a Car does not shift from park to drive Inspection cost?

On average, the cost for a BMW 535xi Car does not shift from park to drive Inspection is $95 with $0 for parts and $95 for labor. Prices may vary depending on your location.

CarServiceEstimateShop/Dealer Price
2008 BMW 535xiL6-3.0L TurboService typeCar does not shift from park to drive InspectionEstimate$114.99Shop/Dealer Price$132.49 - $145.62
Show example BMW 535xi Car does not shift from park to drive Inspection prices

You start the car up, put your foot the brake, push the button on the shifter and it won’t shift out of park. What do you do now? Don’t force the shifter. Forcing the shifter out of park may cause more damage. The shifter is connected to the transmission in some cars mechanically or electronically. If an electrical or mechanical component has failed between the shifter and transmission, you won’t be able to shift the car out of park. A top-rated mobile mechanic will come to your home or office to diagnose the problem with your vehicle. The mechanic will then provide an inspection report detailing the scope and cost of the necessary repairs

When to have your shifter inspected or replaced:

Have this system inspected only when a part in the shifter or part of the system that operates the transmission breaks] . There is no scheduled time frame for replacing parts in the shifting system. However, all parts can wear out and have the potential to fail, and in a perfect situation, all the parts in the shifting system would last the life of the vehicle.

Symptoms that may indicate your shifter will fail include:

  • Shifter can be moved but has a lot of resistance
  • When shifting into a gear, drive or reverse, it feels difficult to find the right spot. The transmission ends up in neutral instead. You may notice that the engine will accelerate when stepping on the gas pedal but the car doesn’t move.
  • When starting the car with the key, the ignition cylinder feels loose and has play.
  • No brake lights in the vehicle, brake pedal switch could be faulty.
  • Shifter feels completely loose -- like it’s not connected to the transmission at all.

How a mechanic will inspect a car that won’t shift from park:

There are a number of reasons why a car will not move from park to drive. They can range from the shifter being locked to a broken shifter cable. Mechanics will check for these things:

  • Failed brake light switch

  • Bad shift interlock solenoid or wiring: The shift interlock solenoid is a safety feature that has been added to all modern automatic-transmission cars. It prevents the driver from shifting out of park without a foot on the brake.

  • Broken transmission shift cable: A cable connects the shifter handle to the transmission, and if that is broken, the shifter will be inoperable

  • Ignition key tumbler is worn out: The ignition switch not only starts your car, but it also locks the steering wheel when the key is taken out. In cars with automatic transmissions, a shift interlock solenoid is also part of the ignition system, and it locks the transmission so it cannot be shifted out of park (as described above).

  • Broken shifter mechanism: It is also possible that the shifter itself is broken. A mechanic will remove the center console to examine the actual shifter mechanism.

Is it safe to drive with this problem?

Since you can’t move the car without shifting from park to drive, it’s important to enlist the help of one of our mechanics as soon as possible to inspect and then repair the issue.

Fast and easy service at your home or office

Backed by 12-month, 12.000-mile guarantee


Meet some of our expert BMW mechanics

Real customer reviews from BMW owners like you.

Excellent Rating

(22)

Rating Summary
22
0
0
0
0
22
0
0
0
0

Mario

17 years of experience
6 reviews
Mario
17 years of experience
BMW 535xi L6-3.0L Turbo - Brake Pads Replacement (Front, Rear) - Highland, Indiana
Mario got my 535xi brake job done with quality work. He took time to make sure everything worked. He even saved me some money from some unused parts. Very satisfied!

Fred

17 years of experience
389 reviews
Fred
17 years of experience
BMW 535xi L6-3.0L Turbo - Pre-purchase Car Inspection - Conroe, Texas
Fred was a great help looking at a used BMW. He walked me through the entire vehicle, identified multiple things that i simply would not have picked up and used the diagnostics equipment to look at previous faults with the vehicle. Highly recommended.

Travis

13 years of experience
582 reviews
Travis
13 years of experience
BMW 535xi L6-3.0L Turbo - Oil/Fluid Leak - Saint Paul, Minnesota
Vary cool guy, he helped in seconds. Thanks Traviss!!!

Brian

24 years of experience
201 reviews
Brian
24 years of experience
BMW 535xi L6-3.0L Turbo - Oil Change - Hagerstown, Maryland
Brian was on time and completed my oil change quickly. This was my first time using this mechanic service and I am very pleased that I did.

Excellent Rating

(22)

Rating Summary
22
0
0
0
0
22
0
0
0
0
Number of BMW 535xi services completed
242+
services done by our mechanics
TOTAL NUMBER OF EXPERT BMW MECHANICS
1100+
experts on our platform

Recent articles & questions

A Buyer's Guide to the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan
If If you’re in the market for a concept SUV, you’ve probably noticed a few more options sprouting up every year. However, the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan should still make the decision a relatively easy one. Key Features Being compact means...
P0040 OBD-II Trouble Code: O2 Sensor Signals Swapped Sensor 1
P0040 P0040 code definition P0040 indicates that there is an issue with the oxygen sensor sensor 1 circuit. This code can be in conjunction with P0041 What the P0040 code means P0040 is a specific code indicating a problem with...
Industry News for Automotive Techs: September 24-30
Uber enters trucking market, Land Rover takes autonomous off road, and VW introduces a long range electric concept.

disaster

Leaks can be repaired and some leaks are frankly trivial issues in terms of difficulty of repair and cost. So, it's only a disaster if it's a "bad" leak where bad means "costly" to repair. As long as you didn't...

Temperature sensor

Hi There, It sounds like you may have a faulty coolant temperature sensor (https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/coolant-temperature-switch-sensor-replacement) which may be providing a false reading to the temperature gauge. When the car is cold, it relies heavily on the engine coolant temperature sensor. If...

My drivers side back break grinds when I press the break. Do I need to replace my breaks

Typically, the grinding sound indicates that the material on the brake pads (https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/brake-pads-replacement) has ground down to a minimal amount resulting in the grinding sound you are hearing. I would suggest having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location...

How can we help?

Our service team is available 7 days a week, Monday - Friday from 6 AM to 5 PM PST, Saturday - Sunday 7 AM - 4 PM PST.

1 (844) 997-3624 · hi@yourmechanic.com