myrmzht

Hi,
I am new to this but really need help trying to figure out what is wrong with my car before taking it to a mechanic since I can't even drive it anymore and I do not want them to think I am dumb since I am a girl.

Earlier today, I put my 2005 Mustang in park and it would either go in reverse or move forward so I just put the handbrake up and turned it off. When I went back to turn on my car it wouldn't let me because I had to have it in park. I moved the gear all the way back to the 1 and moved it back to park, this seemed to have solved the issue. I drove home, parked and when I needed to use the car again, I reversed the car put it in drive and when I put it back in reverse to adjust myself, it would just go forward. I managed to get out of the driveway and as soon as I got on the road, I noticed my car would not shift gears. It is an automatic so it should do this by itself. I continued driving to my destination but when I would drive over 25mph it would make a loud humming sound (I know this can't be a good sound). Once I got home, I was only able to turn off the car by using the handbrake and it would not let me put it in reverse. I let it sit for a while and went back to see if maybe it worked but now it won't turn on and what I did earlier won't work either. =(

07 Cervini

Not sure what is going on with the transmission gear selector, but to get the handle to release from park you need to flip open the oval panel near the handle and press the button to get it out of park

wayne613

Never owned or even driven an automatic in many years, never even test-drove a mustang with the option, but I don´t think it´ll even let you take it out of park without holding the usual button in, so I´m assuming unless this is the first time she´s driven the car or any automatic she knows to do this.

I´ll admit from the description it´s a bit confusing exactly how and what is going on here, but if it´s still rolling after putting it in park, not allowing you to put it in park holding the button in to move the shifter while at a complete stop, and it´s not shifting correctly when you put it in Drive(D), something is really FUBAR.

Check the auto transmission fluid levels before you even attempt to start it again. There´s a stick to check it in the engine compartment, ask a relative or something to check it for you if you can´t find it. And ask ´em to give you a ride to the store to buy a few quarts if it´s extremely low. Then if that´s not the issue, or doesn´t solve it right away if your going to drive it anywhere, drive it to a shop. Better to be thought a fool, than having to pay a few thousand bucks to have further damage fixed. Vanity will just get you from being thought a fool to being one in practice. Complete with a price-tag associated with it.

To check it properly, pull the stick out, wipe it off with a clean rag, (the right one will have green fluid on it) a paper towel will do in a pinch, then put it back in all the way, leave it for 2 or 3 seconds, pull it back out and see if it´s in between the marked points on the stick for the proper level. Put it back in. You´ll need to buy a funnel for this if you need to add more automatic transmission fluid.

If your really worried about them ripping you off because your female, and/or young, then bring along a bf, relative or the like. It isn´t paranoia in this case usually, as they tend to take things a bit more serious if your male and over the age of 30.

mayo

Thought you had a shifter malfunction until you said "loud humming sound". Always check your a/t fluid as stated before, but weird sounds in transmissions are not good and you should make arrangements to get her to the shop. The more you drive it at this point, the more damage you could be doing. Sorry to hear about the trouble, hope its nothing major.

alkemist

When was the last time you had maintenance done on the car?

I've only had my auto not shift gears once, and it was when I manually shifted. I was in 3rd and was stuck in 3rd gear even though I shifted to D (4th) and turned OD (5th) back on. The issue was resolved after I shut the car off and back on. Now you do have something more serious, but if it does get stuck in gear, you can try doing that.

Since you were stuck in 1st gear, I hope you weren't trying to push it. The loud hum you might have heard was you hitting the rev limiter or your rpms were very high.

157dB

Another 05 with problems...

Go figure.

kevinmalec

Yikes! I have a manual and only had issues when my E-brake froze to my rear caliper. I couldn't move forward or backwards until the ice thawed.
Sorry I am not much help......Good luck getting this issue resolved!

ziperhead

For those that are unaware, the 5R55s is a sealed transmission and has no stick to check it.

wayne613

Just googled it, I wasn't even remotely aware of that one. That's possibly the lamest thing I've noted in some time. So you can't even manually tell, you have to drag it into the dealership to check/change. Just wow.

157dB

Yep, no stick, but there IS a procedure to check it...

A big tranny fluid slick in the driveway would indicate a leak
and that service would be needed. Not a trip to the stealership.
No leaks, the level is proper for proper operation.
Now a used stang that previously occupied someone elses
driveway before yours is a different story.
I like knowing the history of my 'bought new' stang.

Its also user servicable if the user is knowledgable.