P
PButler111
Okay, this is one of those things that a mechanical minded person might find
obvious, but I'm stumped.
As I've mentioned, I just replaced my 1989 240 wagon with a 1992 240 wagon I
purchased from a dealer in New Jersey via eBay. I had the car delivered to my
sister's house in Michigan, where it sat in their driveway for a few weeks. I
drove my 89 wagon to Michigan, left that wagon with them, and drove me "new"
car home to Chicago. The car drove great the whole way home, with many stops
along the way and no trouble at all starting it up again each time. Air
conditioner was wonderful, stereo fabulous, seats comfy, ride smooth. I got
home Sunday night without incident, and parked the car in my garage.
Monday morning I get in the car to go to work, start it up, and I can't get the
gearshift to move. I tried everything I could think of, but the button on top
seemed frozen, and the stick wouldn't budge. I called my mechanic (I go to
Rolf's in Evanston, IL) and Rolf himself drove out to my house. While I was
waiting for him, I called the dealer in New Jersey, and he had me feel from
some button inside the gearshift housing (that's probably not the correct name
for it, but hopefully you know where I mean). Rolf came up about then, so I
just handed the phone to him and waited wile they talked. Long story short,
Rolf was able to put the car in drive and get it out of the car no problem. He
said it wasn't anything important, and I kind of let it go at that, as, to be
quite honest, his accent is so heavy I have a hard time following him. Car
drove with no problem at all the rest of the day.
This morning -- same scenario. Car's parked in the garage overnight, start it
up this morning, gearshift won't move. This time I knew to feel for that
button inside the housing, and that solved the problem. But here are the
questions:
1) Why does it do this?
2) Why has it only done this when it's been parked in my garage overnight? It
was parked in my sister's driveway for weeks and didn't do this; I had it
parked overnight in the hotel parking lot in Michigan and it didn't do this.
Why only when it's been parked overnight in my garage?
3) Is there some way to prevent this so I'm not constantly sticking my finger
inside the gearshift housing every morning?
I never had this situation with any of my older 240 wagons. I would be really,
really interested if someone could provide some insight.
By the way, I am taking the car to Rolf's tomorrow morning for a thorough used
car inspection. Just FYI, FWIW.
Thanks much,
Patricia
P.S. Barring some horrific finding by the guys at Rolf, other than this
little mystery, the car seems to be jim dandy.
obvious, but I'm stumped.
As I've mentioned, I just replaced my 1989 240 wagon with a 1992 240 wagon I
purchased from a dealer in New Jersey via eBay. I had the car delivered to my
sister's house in Michigan, where it sat in their driveway for a few weeks. I
drove my 89 wagon to Michigan, left that wagon with them, and drove me "new"
car home to Chicago. The car drove great the whole way home, with many stops
along the way and no trouble at all starting it up again each time. Air
conditioner was wonderful, stereo fabulous, seats comfy, ride smooth. I got
home Sunday night without incident, and parked the car in my garage.
Monday morning I get in the car to go to work, start it up, and I can't get the
gearshift to move. I tried everything I could think of, but the button on top
seemed frozen, and the stick wouldn't budge. I called my mechanic (I go to
Rolf's in Evanston, IL) and Rolf himself drove out to my house. While I was
waiting for him, I called the dealer in New Jersey, and he had me feel from
some button inside the gearshift housing (that's probably not the correct name
for it, but hopefully you know where I mean). Rolf came up about then, so I
just handed the phone to him and waited wile they talked. Long story short,
Rolf was able to put the car in drive and get it out of the car no problem. He
said it wasn't anything important, and I kind of let it go at that, as, to be
quite honest, his accent is so heavy I have a hard time following him. Car
drove with no problem at all the rest of the day.
This morning -- same scenario. Car's parked in the garage overnight, start it
up this morning, gearshift won't move. This time I knew to feel for that
button inside the housing, and that solved the problem. But here are the
questions:
1) Why does it do this?
2) Why has it only done this when it's been parked in my garage overnight? It
was parked in my sister's driveway for weeks and didn't do this; I had it
parked overnight in the hotel parking lot in Michigan and it didn't do this.
Why only when it's been parked overnight in my garage?
3) Is there some way to prevent this so I'm not constantly sticking my finger
inside the gearshift housing every morning?
I never had this situation with any of my older 240 wagons. I would be really,
really interested if someone could provide some insight.
By the way, I am taking the car to Rolf's tomorrow morning for a thorough used
car inspection. Just FYI, FWIW.
Thanks much,
Patricia
P.S. Barring some horrific finding by the guys at Rolf, other than this
little mystery, the car seems to be jim dandy.