Today, my vehicle's transmission shifter moves freely without shifting gears. I'm stuck in park, in a parking lot, unable to even put it into neutral to push the vehicle out of the way of several parked cars. The old lady screaming at me just outside my door doesn't understand logic either. FML
Tarlachia tells us more.
Tarlachia 33
OP here. A little backstory... The vehicle I was driving is my work vehicle- a professional carpet cleaning van. I had driven the van to a job, realized there were no available parking spots to back it into and was thus forced to park it in the street and blocking two vehicles. I pulled the cleaning hoses and supplies to clean the apartment, finished the job, wrapped up and got back into the van. Only then when I shifted to 'drive' did the problem make itself known. Yes, it is an automatic. Not sure as to what was happening mechanically, I called our company's mechanic and it took him over an hour to get to me with the necessary part- a tiny little pin that pulls the shifter between gears and only takes a few minutes to replace without having to take it to a dealership or repair shop. So, in that hour long wait, an old lady came out to drive her vehicle to a store. As luck would have it, her vehicle was one of two that my van was blocking. She asked me to move the van, to which I replied that I couldn't as it was stuck in park. I explained I couldn't even shift it to neutral to push the vehicle out of the way. I explained I was waiting on someone to come help me. That made her day, and she started screaming at me for several minutes. Logic has failed to defuse the situation and since I am not a Vulcan and cannot sleep hold a bitch, I, treasuring the security of this job to provide for my family, chose to then get back into my van, roll up the window, and said "**** it. Time to FML." She left to go back inside after a few minutes. About 20 minutes later, the mechanic showed up, fixed my van, and I was back up and running to finish the day's work.
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
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Top comments
writerchic85 26
I'd be pissed too if someone illegally parked me in and then broke down.
TheBadAndGnarly 19
If this has just started happening, as in whilst in the car then that's just really bad luck, but if you've been driving around with it like this for some time then you deserve it because it sounds like the car shouldn't be on the road.
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Comments (84)
rhiley 26
just cry
Mauskau 36
That's what I would do, as soon as someone notices they've made you cry they will often feel guilty and be a little more understanding.
finalyearsofhate 22
Yeah, that solves everything.
TheBadAndGnarly 19
If this has just started happening, as in whilst in the car then that's just really bad luck, but if you've been driving around with it like this for some time then you deserve it because it sounds like the car shouldn't be on the road.
Swibeda 5
You cant drive a manual if you cant put it in gear.
TheBadAndGnarly 19
My understanding of the FML is that OP has an automatic transmission, hence why it is stuck in park.
Lalala579121 28
I would assume it just started since if it were an old problem they would know how to fix it at least long enough to drive to get it fixed.
onlychildFTW 34
Until the little "fixes" stop working. Band aids don't hold forever. Some people don't take care of their cars and it can lead to major safety problems for them and other road users.
Lalala579121 28
And in that case OP would be an idiot and deserves it.
Steve97 32
Fyl hard that's an expensive job or just put Lucas oil in the transmission :p
SouthernSmartass 5
It's highly likely is just happened, as OP wouldn't have been able to get it into park in the first place otherwise.
shessohighh 10
This happened to me randomly on my old car. The screw inside the shifter had broken off and I was stuck in reverse after i had backed out into the road. It was probably completely out of the blue so I'd say OP definitely doesn't deserve it. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
kirkaygri 18
This isn't a transmission problem. It's a shifter problem. And a sucky (but usually not god awfully expensive) fix. It just happened to my sister's car. She was on her way back from an hour's long highway trip, stopped for gas and nope. Not going anywhere. My husband's a mechanic and fixed it for her.
vegemute 24
Sounds like you're in a sticky situation.
saba_ajira 29
Why not just push in the clutch and have someone push it for you? Or vice versa
Stooby61 18
OP said the car was stuck in Park, therefore it must be an automatic so it doesn't have a clutch you could push in!
logicnazi 18
:)
saba_ajira 29
Oh geez, i read that as "stuck in a park" my mistake
drunkturtle 14
I'm sure there's someone you can call op
Lalala579121 28
Ghost Busters!
MakeTodayADTR 20
Stuck in a parking lot with people yelling at me?! This is a perfect time to post an FML!
Tarlachia 33
Yep. That's exactly what I did. See my longer post-reply as to why.
wobbly1 16
depending on the car, if you can get under it, look for were the linkage hooks up to the transmission. sometimes the clip that holds it on breaks. if so you can move it manually. engine off of course. then start it, put it in gear and go .if all looks good. looks like a transmission repair. also check out the trans fluid. first.
Colon_Man 17
Should have had the old lady (from your longer post) climb under there to look around. ...and then run her over if she figured it out.
saffy66 34
Whoever is yelling should be invited to have a go at moving it. And to whoever said push the clutch in - in a manual car, which gear do you suppose OP refers to as 'park'? Pretty sure it's an automatic transmission...
Nekonyu23 11
Been there Bro... Been there
Schnixon 5
This is why I drive a manual
alkoy 4
why did you even put it in park in a spot where you are blocking other cars?