8 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHTiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Reported or suspected cause
shift piston in the valve body
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
The next problem was the Shift piston in the Valve body.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Read full discussion summary
Leading evidence: 'shift piston in the valve body' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'shift piston in the valve body' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check automatic transmission fluid level' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
The cable seems to be ok, and the shift knob in the cabin moves freely through all gears including park with the cable disconnected from the rear.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Disconnect shift cable
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
He disconnected the shift cable from the lever at the rear of the car and we pressed on the rear lever to change gears but were still unable to make it shift into P.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace gears
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
He disconnected the shift cable from the lever at the rear of the car and we pressed on the rear lever to change gears but were still unable to make it shift into P.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
As you move the shifter between D, R and N, the lights on the instrument display change accordingly and the engine idle seems to change as though the transmission had changed gears, but the the wheels do not turn.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace shift linkage
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Shift linkage was replaced, but still unable to engage gears.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Check would be the multifunction switch located
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
The info that I have read online seems to suggest that the next thing to check would be the multifunction switch located on the left side of the tranny, but my repair manual says you need to remove the transmission lower cover, catalytic converter, suspension, etc to get at the multifunction switch.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Disconnect shift cable
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
He disconnected the shift cable from the lever at the rear of the car and we pressed on the rear lever to change gears but were still unable to make it shift into P.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Repair manual says you need
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
The info that I have read online seems to suggest that the next thing to check would be the multifunction switch located on the left side of the tranny, but my repair manual says you need to remove the transmission lower cover, catalytic converter, suspension, etc to get at the multifunction switch.
Tiptronic Boxster Won't Go Into Park - Cable seems fine - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Coverage and how to read this overview
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
8 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
986Forum: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Hi all, I am a new owner of a 1997 Boxster automatic with tiptronic (95000km/60K miles) and a new member of the forum.
I am hoping someone can help with a problem I am having. The car will not shift into park. I am able to force the shift lever into the park position (with a fair amount of force) but the instrument display shows it being in reverse. The instrument display does show the correct gear for D, R and N.
I had a mechanic friend look at the problem. He disconnected the shift cable from the lever at the rear of the car and we pressed on the rear lever to change gears but were still unable to make it shift into P. The cable seems to be ok, and the shift knob in the cabin moves freely through all gears including park with the cable disconnected from the rear.
Another thing to add is that I did have a previous instance a couple of months ago where the car was stuck in Park and wouldn't shift into gear. I finally gave up and left it alone for a while and it somehow worked several hours later. The transmission seems to shift just fine while driving so I think the problem is something related to the 'park' mechanism only.
The info that I have read online seems to suggest that the next thing to check would be the multifunction switch located on the left side of the tranny, but my repair manual says you need to remove the transmission lower cover, catalytic converter, suspension, etc to get at the multifunction switch. Has anyone had to replace one and is there an easy way to test it before going through all that work?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
It gets worse...
While the car seems to be able to shift between all gears except Park, it seems that none of the gears actually engage. When you press the gas pedal while in drive or reverse, the engine revs but the car doesn't move.
As you move the shifter between D, R and N, the lights on the instrument display change accordingly and the engine idle seems to change as though the transmission had changed gears, but the the wheels do not turn.
The car is presently stranded in a friend's driveway. The only thing left that I can think for me to do (within my capabilities) is to check the automatic transmission fluid level. I know this is supposed to be 'life time' ATF but perhaps the transmission has lost some fluid over the years. I just don't understand why I was able to drive it there and now suddenly it won't drive at all.
Does anyone have any suggestions on anything else I can check? Could the problem be the multi function switch? I would like to check all obvious things before I tow it to the dealer or independent euro mechanic.
Check for corrosion and dirt on the lever pin on the tranny. Mine did the same and my guy did the same trouble shooting. Mine had corrosion on the pin where the lever is attached so he cleaned it with some sandpaper and lubed it. All good now.
To check the Tiptronic fluid level the car has to be up in the air and some under-car components have to be removed (to gain access to the fill port). Then, with the transmission warmed up to between 90 and 100 F, you have to pump more fluid in through the fill-tower. When the fluid starts raining down on you from the fill tower, it's full. Has to be done in this temp range. If colder you'll overfill it. If warmer you won't be able to add fluid.
As far as I know, there's no other way to do it.
It's a royal pain, but there it is.
As to the "lifetime" fluid, don't believe it. The manufacturer now says to change it (I can't remember if it's at 50K miles or 75K miles).
Try what Xpit77 did. I hope it works for you!
I'm happy to post that I found a solution to this problem. I had the same problem on my 1998 Boxster. The first problem I found was the linkage to the NSS. I replaced it and soon realized this was not the only problem.
The next problem was the Shift piston in the Valve body. Don’t worry it was easy to replace and it cost $23.00 Shipped. I have attached a link to an article that explains it all. It says 1997 only but mine is a 1998, it may be an early 1998 so that could be the reason I had the same problem.
https://www.transmissiondigest.com/1997-zf-manual-valves/
I hope this helps you!
I own a 97 Boxster equipped with the Tiptronic (ZF5HP19 / A86.00) transmission. I am experiencing heat related shifter/interlock problems. As the operating temperature rises, the Shift Selector becomes very difficult to move and does not consistently engage the proper gear. Eventually the car will not start in P until it cools down. When in gear, the transmission performs flawlessly.
After driving during a hot day, the shifter became extremely stiff. It eventually moved to N but would not move to P without considerable force. The shift linkage attaching ball socket was broken at transmission shift pivot. Shift linkage was replaced, but still unable to engage gears. Pan was dropped and the shift linkage pin was not attached to the valve body selector valve. The linkage was reattached and adjusted. This made the car road worthy, but did not address the heat related problem.
The transmission digest link that Sirius posted on 12/26/22 seems to match my problem exactly. Sirius mentions this valve can be replaced. Can anyone advise where a replacement selector valve / shift piston can be obtained?
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
