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Shifting from Drive to Park

6K views 51 replies 21 participants last post by  MDBones 
#1 ·
This has been happening more recently and I'm not sure why. Sometimes when I'm trying to put the vehicle from Drive into Park, I have to do it gear by gear. Meaning I can't do one solid push of the gear shift to put it into park but rather cycle through N, R, then finally P.

Has anyone had this happen to them? Is it something I might be doing wrong or is this of bigger concern?

Note: car isn't moving, foot on brake. I'm not trying to throw it into park while rolling.
 
#2 ·
Are you holding the shifter forward long enough for it to go into park? It does take some getting used to. I usually watch the gear indicator in the cluster to visually confirm it went into park.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Ive gotten pretty used to the shifter. I owned a 2014 with the same style shifter and now the 2015. Im sure its something stupid that I am doing, like not holding the button on the shifter long enough or something similar.

Just wanted to see if other people were having the same occurrence and (more importantly) if it is a sign of a bigger problem.
 
#6 ·
I just push the lever forward until I see it is in Park on the dashboard, then i release it. I don't have problems with that. I sometimes have problems going from park to reverse backing out of my garage or a parking space or going from reverse to drive without being in DS. The shifter has no feel, so you can be sure what it is doing just by how the position of the shifter. I rely on what I see on the dashboard, and I don't do anything until I see the transmission is in the right position.
 
#7 ·
Never have had that problem on my '14 Summit V8. I push and hold the button and push the shifter 3 clicks forwards. At the same time you see the dash indicator quickly cycle through N R then into P. There is no delay with anything just 3 clicks forward and I release the shifter and its in park.
Not sure what you could be doing wrong, but like mentioned above if you aren't pushing 3 clicks forward then it's not gonna go all the way into park. For example if you are in drive and push 1 click forward and release it will be in neutral. 2 clicks forward and release it will be in reverse. If anything else is happening during this process then it sounds like something is wrong.
 
#8 ·
I have the same issue, but I kinda just live with it. I always have to do 1 extra click to get into park.
 
#9 ·
I've had this issue before with mine. It hasn't happened to me in a while but whenever it did I would just go hear by gear until it's in park. Not sure what causes it and I never told the dealer about it but if you're getting an oil change or something done at the dealer ask them about it.
 
#11 ·
By (poor) design this shifter requires checking the dash indicator to make sure you know what gear you are in. Any hesitation going from drive to park will leave you in reverse. Enough people either have an issue, or had to get used to this shifter, to make it pretty obvious that it was Jeep designers that did something wrong, not the drivers.

Some like it because "new must be better", but there has been enough backlash to this shifter that after a short, two year, lifespan it will be gone. No auto manufacturer designs something to last for such a short time, they goofed.

But not as bad as VW! :lol:


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#12 ·
Other than this one thing that happens randomly, I have no real issue with the shifter. Yes it can be a pain in the ass and I understand why people want it changed, but it wouldn't deter me from buying the vehicle.

That being said, I'm glad they switched it for 16. It will make life easier for everyone.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Yes... there is a "problem" with the shifter on the 2014/2015 models.

There is even an investigation underway regarding the shifter. Here is just one of the threads on it:

http://www.jeepgarage.org/f107/grand-cherokee-under-investigation-90279.html


I've had it not go into Park when I expected it to. The 2016 models will be getting a different shifter & that is no surprise.
 
#14 ·
I get the same shifter issue occasionally. Normally, you can feel the 3 clicks to park. But sometimes, it just won't let me go more than 1 gear at a time. I never took it to the dealer, because you know how that goes when something only happens occasionally. "Sorry, sir, we couldn't replicate the problem."
 
#16 ·
After 1000 miles, I am now used to my shifter. Every now and then I throw it into reverse instead of park. I think if you pause for too long or don't make one consistent push all the way forward it will go into reverse. I've just trained myself to push a second time and look at gear indicator to ensure I'm in park.

Unfortunately, everything has to be designed to the lowest common denominator for society.

Personally, I think a dial knob would have been better for these electronic shifters.

I drove my inlaw's Mercedes GLK and it has the gear shift on the steering column. I had a few issues making sure it was in park/drive or reverse as it wasn't intuitive either. After a day or two I got used to it. Had some funky requirement that you push it in to go into park, so I left it in reverse a few times thinking I had moved it up to park.
 
#43 ·
Personally, I think a dial knob would have been better for these electronic shifters.
If Jeep employs a rotary knob, this will be my first and last Jeep.

Rotary knobs suck.

When I can flick from Park to Drive and back again in one shot with the current system, there's no way I'll want a rotary system that requires me to flick through all the gears in between.

No. Freaking. Way.

I'll take a push button system before I ever submit to a rotary knob.
 
#17 ·
I have a similar issue with my 2015 Summit V6. Sometimes I can go from D to P with no issues, and other times I can only go from D to N or R and have to keep moving it one click at a time or reverse the process and try again.

I need to make sure I'm always pressing the button on the shifter before moving it because sometimes I think I try to do it without pressing the button the entire time. It's a funky shifter but I knew it before I bought it so I'll just keep working to get used to it.
 
#18 ·
This may sound funny after reading all these responses but I've never held the shifter to move it through multiple gears. If I want to go from Park to Drive (or vice versa), I just knock it back 3 quick times. Took a little getting use to but I like the shifter and very rarely do not end up in the intended gear (and I regularly park in the city so am constantly shifting between Reverse and Drive to parallel park). I'll have to experiment with holding it, the thought honestly never crossed my mind.
 
#24 ·
Going from Park to Drive and Drive to Park isn't bad.
But it's annoying going from Drive to Reverse.


Like someone said make sure you hold it pushed forward long enough and it should go into park with one gesture. If it doesn't it's broken.
 
#25 ·
I don't think a lot of you guys really get how the shifter works.

The shifter path has detents in it just like the old style mechanical shifters, except it always returns to center. When you shift from P to D, you don't have to hold it back or anything. You push the button and pull back on the shifter all the way, then let go. When you move the shifter though, you should be able to feel the detents for R and N. So it'll be a rapid click, click, click going into D.

Going from D to R, is two clicks forward. It's not a joystick that only goes one click at a time in either direction. Yes, you can do it that way, moving the shifter one click 2 or 3 times to shift in between gears, but it's slow and not necessary.

It definitely requires some learning and feel to get used to, but so did the old style shifter like the WJ, which was straight forward and back with no gates or side-to-side movement. You just felt the clicks and knew what gear you were in.


And no, the only 'issue' I've had with my shifter is it completely locking me in park and not letting me shift to any gear. Maybe I didn't have the brake depressed enough, I dunno.
 
#26 ·
I'm with Beacon and Billt. I know it can shift quicker by holding it, but three clicks forward, I know it's in park. Have had my 2014 for a couple of years, and driving slightly longer then that, with no problems.

Also, when are you guys putting on the parking brake? One click forward into N, parking brake set, two clicks forward into P. No need to look at the visual indicator.

So far so good. Haven't contributed to the " it rolled back by itself", " left the car running", or "my dog drove it into the lake" threads:)
 
#27 ·
I fully understand how the shifter works. After more than 2 years and over 50k miles, I think I've got it figured out. Had it figured out on the test drive actually.

The problem with it is that it's electronic, so it's destined to be glitchy at times. How often does a simple reboot, or close and reopen a program, work for your computer? I know a lot of people don't have issues, and some others do. Mine, for one, works fine most of the time, but is glitchy once in awhile. Next time I shift, it's fine again.
 
#28 ·
Not sure where you guys are getting this "hold it to shift" thing either. I tried with mine yesterday. Move forward one click from drive and hold it there, it stays in neutral. If you move the shifter all the way forward (3 clicks), it doesn't matter if you hold it or not, the shifter will go to Park.

You either move the shifter one notch at a time or multiple. There is no holding it and letting the shifter go to a different gear without moving it another click.
 
#29 ·
I'm not calling anyone a liar, but I look at it this way. If this thing was so easy and simply to operate, we wouldn't have 3 pages and 29 posts about guys telling what a PITA it is. I've driven automatic transmissions for the last 45+ years. Column, counsel, push button, as well as "Dual Gate" type shifters. This is the first one I've had any issues with.
 
#30 ·
AGREED!

And if this shifter was so great (or even moderately good), Jeep probably wouldn't be changing to a different design in the 2016+ models. There probably also wouldn't be a government probe involving problems with it.
 
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