QuestionMy daughter's 2007 PT Cruiser has been freezing up at the shifter mechanism in very cold weather. When it warms up it will shift, when it freezes again, the car will not shift. If I warm up the car for 20 minutes it will then shift. Do you think there is moisture somewhere that is freezing? How can we eliminate this problem? We have no garage to keep it warm. Please help.
AnswerHi Stacey,
I would open the hood and observe the moving parts as your daughter shifts the lever. Notice all the places where there is a moving joint that connects parts in the linkage the runs between the cabin and the transmission. Mainly the connection is a cable with a metal sheath around it.
I suspect that there may be water inside that, between the cable and sheath. You will find that there is an opening at the place where the sheath/cable attaches to the transmission. The sheath is clamped in place at that point but the cable is free to move the vertical shift rod that changes the gear setting of the transmission.
At that point spray somw WD-40 (available at hardware store) from its spray can (via the straw applicator that it comes with) into the opening space between the cable and the sheath which will lubricate them and also displace water that might be inside the sheath along its length from the cabin to that point. Once the water is displaced the freezing up should cease.
If that doesn't free it up, then you may have to go to the other end of the sheathe (in the cabin at the shift lever where is connects the cable) and shoot some WD-40 there as well. But that will require some disassembly, and to tell you about that I will need to know about whether this ia steering column shifter or a floor shifter.
But see if spraying from the engine compartment end of the sheath/cable opening solves your problem.
Roland
PS Please 'rate' my answer. Thank you.
