I have a 2003 Chevy Cavalier automatic.

Asked by ksmith21 Mar 12, 2013 at 09:12 PM about the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

i need hellpppppppp. . . I was told it could be that the gear stick is off track or that the transmission could have slipped. The car starts perfect. Only thing is when i purchased the car i noticed that the gear stick had been changed but now the car wont move when its in drive you have to put it in third gear for it to go. what could this be. I had a friend check everything he said if it were the transmission the car would not be on lol. it goes in reverse perfectly it has moved in drive a few times but now it wont. HELP

9 Answers

69,015

Try to very slowly pull the shifter from 4th to 3rd and see where it catches. Sounds like something is misaligned.

18,975

find the shift cable on the driver's side of the transmission top under the hood. does it look connected and is there any wire damage/stretching??? there is something wrong with that cable that routs to the shifter..

2 people found this helpful.
18,975

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/fb/challenge/autoclub/view Topic.action? view=CLUB&discussion=ds526919&autoClub=629&anchorDis cussionMessage=225623&from=dashboardNewsItem&pid=a nswer#msg225623 ..i hope u can copy get out the spaces and get link to work.

69,015

Looks like a link to a message and if it is it won't work. If its a question you answered ou have to go to it and click the person who asked it. View their profile find the questions asked and go into it that way. Then you can get the correct link.

69,015

Spaces will still have to be deleted and the mobile version of this site is suddenly broken

2 people found this helpful.
18,975

Jason answered 6 months ago the center console can you get off the shifter panel face or the side carpeted trim around the shifter? if u can, look at the cable inside that center shift compartment. is the cable attached to assembly? ========================== if it looks good.... ========================== look for the cable (usually) at the driver's side of the engine bay it will be on top of the transmission. (location might be below the throttle-body/ intake area.) see if you can spot the cable housing that exits the firewall area to the engine/transmission. it attaches to the cable assembly by a nylon insert on the cable. this part has gotten worn. there is a post that it attaches to to turn the bar to park , rev, & drive. have someone move the shift lever while you find the cable & shift assembly. good luck and hope you get it going! 1 out of 1 people think this is helpful. =============65 veeps answered 6 months ago Thanks guys. It was the linkage cable connecting to an assembly atop the engine, and I accessed it under the hood (after first getting to see what my shifter looks like sans a counsole). Jason, I think that's what you meant by "drivers side of the engine bay...top of the transmission". Honestly, I should have checked that first, since it didn't take any disassembly. The linkage was detached/broken, so until I can replace it, I was able to get it home by manually putting it in neutral from under the hood (Park being the adjustment nearest the front of the car, then neutral, then reverse...etc). I kept my emergency brake on while exiting the car to put it in park, after driving home - to lift the hood again and put into park. For those like me (who don't know much about modern cars), test your emergency brake before counting on it when you exit the vehicle. I'll try to add a photo later if I can. It's dark now. Mark helpful ========65 veeps answered 6 months ago Clarification. When I said, "manually put into neutral", I meant that I used that instead of reverse, just to get back out of my parking spot. Then I manually put it into Drive, closed the hood, unlocked my emergency brake, and drove home. 1 out of 1 people think this is helpful. You think this is helpful. ====1,485 Jason answered 6 months ago i'm glad you got the transmission shifted without it running away. i was kinda thinkin about that when i wrote it. i thought about the shifter first since you said plastic flew outta the shifter. after 20 years of use, my 89 riviera did the same thing. glad all went well. ======65 veeps answered 6 months ago Here is the photo of the pic, for two reasons. I want to know if this is, as it seems, a fairly simple fix - replacing a bushing or something, or if it's something more. Second, anybody else having this problem can see. Please, Jason (or other car ninjas), let me know if this is something you think I can fix myself. This photo is of the broken, transmission-side linkage to my shifter. Mark helpful===== 65 veeps answered 6 months ago Here is the shifter-side, where I believe I can see what the linkage SHOULD look like 1 out of 1 people think this is helpful. Mark helpful ======0 joyus1 answered 4 days ago I have a 1997 chevy cavalier and the Dorman Help part #74040 worked for my car perfectly. I thought I fixed it myself but it popped off half way through my day. So I took it to my mechanic and he put it on for free! He quoted me a $230 price to change the whole shift cable because he said that the suppliers don't sell just the rubber piece alone. Thanks to this thread and my long relationship with my mechanic, I saved that money all together. FIY: Non of the bushings in the brushing kit worked. The one that was similar to the #74040 didn't work because it was plastic and not rubber. For my car, it had to have some flexibility. https://d3m77u1tzcw5kp.cloudfront.net/images/site/2012/08 /23/12/03/pic-7993316584873416689-tmb.jpeg

3 people found this helpful.
18,975

the black linkage is the gear shifter

2 people found this helpful.

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