COLD weather - Can't shift out of park
 

This morning it was REALLY cold up here in Eastern Canada (-32 Celcius, -26 Farenheit). I kept the battery on the charge overnight and still had some trouble to start it this morning.

After letting it run for about 10 minutes, I moved the shifter into "R" and proceeded to give some gas to get moving. The transmission did not engage into gear although the shifter had moved and the dash showed "R". I tried moving it from park to drive, to reverse, nothing. Transmission would not engage.

Has anyone had this happen to them? Any advice to give?

I'm at 60,000 miles and not sure if the previous owner did any sort of transmission fluid flush.

Thanks in advance!

2011 Infiniti G37x sedan

Update:

Once the temperature warmed up a few degrees, it was able to shift out of park. Although it rarely gets colder than that in the winter here, I'd still like to get some input and thoughts on the matter.

Thanks.

Trans fluid probably very thick at that temp. Automatic transmissions rely on hydraulic pressure to engage gears/solenoids. Fluid needs to flow freely for the trans to work correctly.

Manual cars can also be challenging to shift in the cold. Syncro's don't spin up as fast, clutch can feel is different because brake fluid is more viscous.

Keep your car in the garage

Telcoman

Thanks. AT is new to me, I've always had manual which does get hard to shift but you can always get it done. It's a pretty helpless feeling when your car won't move!

Yes, it would be ideal if I had one. Future project.

If you pop off that little plastic cover next to your shift knob you can use a screwdriver to disengage it if all else fails. Also always use your parking brake prior to shifting to park, and always shift out of park before releasing parking brake (if you're on an incline), this will keep the load off the transmission when on an incline.

Our cars suck in cold weather, Infiniti seems to have issues cold weather proofing their cars. I assume it's fixed now, but the Q50 had tons of issues with the electric steering and our winters too.

I've had it not want to move a couple times over the years, letting it warm up more has fixed it for me.

@blnewt, if i'm reading the op correctly, the shifter does indeed shift from P, but the trans does not actually engage.

+++++1 - This trick is so underrated lol

Was up at the cottage over the holidays and the temp hit -26C over night. Left to go skiing at 10am and temp was still -20C. Felt like sludge while moving the shifter but it shifted OK. Also, my airbag light was on for the first 10-15 minutes of the drive. :/ I hate doing that to my car that lives 95% of it's nights in my attached garage.

Thanks J, I had to give that another read, that's what I get for not getting my brain out of park :banghead:

Flashing airbag light? Mine does that too for the first 10-15 minutes once it's colder than -25.

Our cars might "suck" in cold weather but I still love it!

Thanks guys.

Totally agree. I've religiously made sure of this every time I park it, so much that I'm looking for the parking brake pedal on every other car I drive!