Honda Car Forum

Hi all,

I am having major troubles with my 90 Acura Legend LS (has about 180,000
miles on it).

1) Transmission stuck in Park: I start the engine and then can't move the
automatic transmission out of Park. I press the brakes down fully, press
the silver "trigger" on the gear shift lever, try to press in the button
on the left side of the gear shift lever, and still can't get it out of
Park.

The steering wheel ISN'T locked, meaning once I start the engine, I can
turn the steering wheel and then the tires from side to side. Just the
transmission is stuck in park.

I CAN move the gear shift lever if (before I start the engine) I put the
key in the transmission release slot that is immediately behind the gear
shift lever, put it into neutral, tkae the key out of the slot and then
start the engine while in neutral.

I can't say exactly when this started. I loaned my car to my dad for about
6 weeks, and just got it back from him. He said that the problem developed
"sometime" in those 6 weeks. I hadn't had this problem before loaning it
to my dad.

Before that, I had just taken it into a service shop to have an oil change
/ 15,000 mile tune up (replace / fill transmission and other fluids). So it
couldn't be more than a couple hundred miles since the last time the
Automatic Transmission Fluid was changed / filled.

2) Rear Brake Lights / Reverse Lights Not Working:

Also sometime while my dad had the car, the rear tail lights / brake
lights / reverse lights stopped working. The front lights and turn signals
seem to be okay.

I tried changing around the fuses and that didn't make a difference. I
have also had some weired electrical stuff in the past (bizzare static
from the radio, starter engine not cranking the first time you turn the
key). Plus my dad said that he had to disconnect the battery over night
otherwise it would drain and be hard to start in the morning (I think my
dad might have disconnected the battery simply because he is almost 80 and
likes to tinker with stuff, since I have noticed this at all in the last
few days since he returned the car to me).

One other thing happened while my dad had the car. When he was parked at
the supermarket, somebody hit the car just behind the front wheel well /
driver side door. It must have been low speed, because it is a wide dent
(about 16 inches) but very shallow. The front of the rubber trim on the
drivers side is now loose. But I don't think that this could have caused
any of the above problems, could it?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. ANY HELP you can provide
would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

it sounds like the interlock solenoid has failed, or the neutral safety
switch. If you have no brake lights, it could also be the brake light switch
that is located above the brake pedal (higher up)....this also activates the
interlock solenoid.

If you start the car in neutral, can you shift into any of the gears while
the engine is on?




"DownTurn" <mark@siamese-dream-dot-com> wrote in message
news:adb80e366d0c82bc42749e81b9217365@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I am having major troubles with my 90 Acura Legend LS (has about 180,000
> miles on it).
>
> 1) Transmission stuck in Park: I start the engine and then can't move the
> automatic transmission out of Park. I press the brakes down fully, press
> the silver "trigger" on the gear shift lever, try to press in the button
> on the left side of the gear shift lever, and still can't get it out of
> Park.
>
> The steering wheel ISN'T locked, meaning once I start the engine, I can
> turn the steering wheel and then the tires from side to side. Just the
> transmission is stuck in park.
>
> I CAN move the gear shift lever if (before I start the engine) I put the
> key in the transmission release slot that is immediately behind the gear
> shift lever, put it into neutral, tkae the key out of the slot and then
> start the engine while in neutral.
>
> I can't say exactly when this started. I loaned my car to my dad for about
> 6 weeks, and just got it back from him. He said that the problem developed
> "sometime" in those 6 weeks. I hadn't had this problem before loaning it
> to my dad.
>
> Before that, I had just taken it into a service shop to have an oil change
> / 15,000 mile tune up (replace / fill transmission and other fluids). So
it
> couldn't be more than a couple hundred miles since the last time the
> Automatic Transmission Fluid was changed / filled.
>
> 2) Rear Brake Lights / Reverse Lights Not Working:
>
> Also sometime while my dad had the car, the rear tail lights / brake
> lights / reverse lights stopped working. The front lights and turn signals
> seem to be okay.
>
> I tried changing around the fuses and that didn't make a difference. I
> have also had some weired electrical stuff in the past (bizzare static
> from the radio, starter engine not cranking the first time you turn the
> key). Plus my dad said that he had to disconnect the battery over night
> otherwise it would drain and be hard to start in the morning (I think my
> dad might have disconnected the battery simply because he is almost 80 and
> likes to tinker with stuff, since I have noticed this at all in the last
> few days since he returned the car to me).
>
> One other thing happened while my dad had the car. When he was parked at
> the supermarket, somebody hit the car just behind the front wheel well /
> driver side door. It must have been low speed, because it is a wide dent
> (about 16 inches) but very shallow. The front of the rubber trim on the
> drivers side is now loose. But I don't think that this could have caused
> any of the above problems, could it?
>
> Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. ANY HELP you can provide
> would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mark
>

Check fuse in under hood fuse box that says Stop or horn. My guess is that
it is blown.

David Short
Acura God


"DownTurn" <mark@siamese-dream-dot-com> wrote in message
news:adb80e366d0c82bc42749e81b9217365@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I am having major troubles with my 90 Acura Legend LS (has about 180,000
> miles on it).
>
> 1) Transmission stuck in Park: I start the engine and then can't move the
> automatic transmission out of Park. I press the brakes down fully, press
> the silver "trigger" on the gear shift lever, try to press in the button
> on the left side of the gear shift lever, and still can't get it out of
> Park.
>
> The steering wheel ISN'T locked, meaning once I start the engine, I can
> turn the steering wheel and then the tires from side to side. Just the
> transmission is stuck in park.
>
> I CAN move the gear shift lever if (before I start the engine) I put the
> key in the transmission release slot that is immediately behind the gear
> shift lever, put it into neutral, tkae the key out of the slot and then
> start the engine while in neutral.
>
> I can't say exactly when this started. I loaned my car to my dad for about
> 6 weeks, and just got it back from him. He said that the problem developed
> "sometime" in those 6 weeks. I hadn't had this problem before loaning it
> to my dad.
>
> Before that, I had just taken it into a service shop to have an oil change
> / 15,000 mile tune up (replace / fill transmission and other fluids). So
> it
> couldn't be more than a couple hundred miles since the last time the
> Automatic Transmission Fluid was changed / filled.
>
> 2) Rear Brake Lights / Reverse Lights Not Working:
>
> Also sometime while my dad had the car, the rear tail lights / brake
> lights / reverse lights stopped working. The front lights and turn signals
> seem to be okay.
>
> I tried changing around the fuses and that didn't make a difference. I
> have also had some weired electrical stuff in the past (bizzare static
> from the radio, starter engine not cranking the first time you turn the
> key). Plus my dad said that he had to disconnect the battery over night
> otherwise it would drain and be hard to start in the morning (I think my
> dad might have disconnected the battery simply because he is almost 80 and
> likes to tinker with stuff, since I have noticed this at all in the last
> few days since he returned the car to me).
>
> One other thing happened while my dad had the car. When he was parked at
> the supermarket, somebody hit the car just behind the front wheel well /
> driver side door. It must have been low speed, because it is a wide dent
> (about 16 inches) but very shallow. The front of the rubber trim on the
> drivers side is now loose. But I don't think that this could have caused
> any of the above problems, could it?
>
> Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. ANY HELP you can provide
> would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mark
>

> If you start the car in neutral, can you shift > into any of the gears
while
> the engine is on?

Yes, if I start in Neutral, I can basically drive the car fine, and am
able toshift into any of the other gears, including park (but once I shift
it into park, then I am stuck there, since I won't be able to shift it out
of park.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

> Check fuse in under hood fuse box that says
> Stop or horn. My guess is that it is blown.

Thank You, David: I will check that on Sunday because that seems like the
easiest, least expensive approach - and I am quite likely the laziest,
cheapest guy you will ever meet on this forum!!!

One thing though; why the heck would Acura label it Stop or Horn?!?!? Does
the Brake fuse affect, say, the CD Player???

I'd check the switch attached to your brake pedal -- not sure if this is the
same on your car, but usually this controls the brake lights and the
solenoid in the shift stick.