98 AW4

Had to shift quickly from Drive to Reverse to avoid another car in School Parking Lot. Drive Speed was less than 5 MPH. After going about 30 feet in Reverse, shift back to Drive was loose and Shift Selector traveled freely between Drive and Neutral. I now have to start in Drive and Reverse is found in Park position. On Start, Shift Selector is still unlocked from key, although I have to shift down to Drive which is now Neutral to start. I can still downshift to 3 if needed but selector displays 1/2. What did I do and how do I repair? Any help is greatly appreciated!

i would guess that u need to adjust the shift cable under the shifter handle, if u search on here i am sure someone has a write up on it, or u need to adjust the nuetral safety switch hth

Thanks!!! Those are great places to begin! HappyTrails!!!

Looking in the Factory Service Manual, I can't tell for sure. There is a bracket underneath the could be bent that holds the cable end. I guess I would look underneath where the cable hooks up to the transmission and see if the cable sheath end is damaged or popped out. But I think it's most likely that something happened in the shifter mechanism under the console, so you'd have to pull that out and take a look.

Additional Kudos!!! Great Resource!!!

Still leaning towards Shift Cable Adjustment ?

Thing is, something probably bent to put it out of adjustment. You may need to straighten out a bracket. There is one holding each end of the cable. I know it's winter out, but if you can get underneath and take a look. That's where you need to adjust it anyway. Then if you can't get it to adjust in, you need to pull the console to take a look at the shifter side of the cable.