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2008 Smart Passion won't go into park. Shows blinking N on dash.


simplex17

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My 2008 smart passion won't go into park. This just happened today. I was coming home and pulled into my driveway and put the car in park and instead of showing P on the dash it showed a blinking N. It drives and shifts fine. I moved through the gears a few times and still comes up a blinking N. After trying a few times I left it in park with the N still blinking and let off the break to see if it would roll back and it didn't. It felt as if it was in park. I also can not remove the key. It will not turn all the way back to the removal position. That really bothers me because I only have one key right now and have to leave it unlocked. The car will not start in the park position. I have to move the shifter to neutral in order to start the car. On another note when in N, R, or D the small lights what show what gear you are in near the bottom of the shifter come on, but the small P does not light up when I put it in park. Any ideas what could be the problem?

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Your transmission thinks it's a potato, rather than a transmission. I had this happen to me before on two separate occasions. The first time MB replaced my clutch because it was sticking (under warranty at about 16000 miles on the odo.). The second time it happened was two years ago (off warranty 50000 miles) I got MB to remove clean and inspect the clutch actuator. After the clean and inspection, the transmission behaved like a transmission. I have performed this remove clean and reinstall precedure every year and have not had it come back. Though just to day, oddly enough, the tranny forgot to shift to park. I have to move through all the gears and back a couple of times to make it remember. I think it is time to replace my clutch actuator. At 50000 miles MB stated that it was half worn.(?)

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Most of the 2008 transmission issues were due to software, lubrication lacking in the shifter mechanism and the earlier clutch materials used. Disconnecting the battery for several minutes or working through the gears several times may sometimes offer a temporary fix for software issues. The permanent solution is to have the most current TCU software installed.

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