I would check your fluid level first.

Make sure to check it with the engine running.

 

Seems like the shift selector on the front of the transmission could be loose or broken. The cable comes down the front and connect to the lever. Visually inspect for problems in the linkage and connection to the lever.

 

Only when I about to pull off in drive I have to give it gas for the car to move is it cause that sensor not hook up

 

I just discovered that although I can put the gear selector in Neutral, the car still can not roll by pushing it, which means it is stuck in Park regardless of what gear the selector is in. I'm getting my car towed to my house so I can jack it up and get a light and look around for the cable/linkage connection and also the connection at the gear selector.

 

OK, got my car towed. The linkage at the transmission right behind the radiator is fine. The tow truck driver showed me how to move the linkage by hand to get it in the gear you want. The brake has to be depressed while you pull up on the linkage and you can move it into R, N, D, etc. I was able to drive the car into my garage from the street. I'm thinking the gear selector linkage is broken or the cable snapped somewhere in between. Not going to be looking at it tonight. Good thing I have an old 1987 Toyota pickup to use tomorrow so I can go to work. I'll let you all know what I find. Anyone else can pipe in with ideas, as I've never done this repair before.

 

I was going to suggest moving it by hand but that's too dangerous if it goes in gear. Seems like it should be easy to fix now.

 

Yeah, once it was towed home, I tried it and I made sure to have the E-brake on really tight and I used wheel chocks. I put a rod between the brake pedal and the seat to engage the brake so it would move out of Park when I pulled on the linkage. I've never replaced a shift cable assembly, so it might take me some time (if that's what it is).

 

It's not very difficult. Have you diagnosed it further? Care to upload a photo?

 

It took me a while to get the tow from San Antonio to the outer suburbs in an adjacent county where I live and come home and have dinner. I have to get up early in the morning, so I'm not doing anything further tonight. Hopefully tomorrow. Thank goodness I have my old truck as a backup.

Yes, I will post any photos if I can. Thanks very much!

 

My 2003 broke grommet for the shift select cable at the shifter around 3 years ago. Exact same symptoms as yours. My BIL (owner at the time) replace the cable.

For you, it may be a $5 fix (see page 1 for symptoms and page 2 for the fix) :

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1.../640050-gear-shift-doesn-t-actually-change-gears-linkage-problem-automatic.html

 

Well, I popped off the top console bezel and found that the shift cable assembly has come apart from that pin. There is a plastic bushing type object that holds it in place, but it's all worn off. The red arrow points to the plastic eyelet that is connected to the shift cable that goes all the way to the front of the car to operate the trans lever. The blue arrow points to the pin (or whatever it's called) on which the eyelet should be residing. The smeared black stuff is what's left of the plastic grommet or bushing clip that holds the eyelet to the pin. Here's the photo:




Looks like I'll be getting some clips at the hardware store tonight to get this back together. I'll let you all know how it goes. Gotta go back to my job now.

Skip to post #14 to continue the DIY with photos.

 

Good to hear you found the problem. Please let us know how it goes

 

Got it fixed. I had to improvise a little and will see if I can post a couple of photos tomorrow (my camera was taking lousy photos for some reason). I can now drive my car to work tomorrow, instead of my bouncy old truck. I mostly followed the method used in the thread that HardTopTe72 linked in his last post. It worked.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1.../640050-gear-shift-doesn-t-actually-change-gears-linkage-problem-automatic.html

 

How I fixed the gear selector cable linkage

I fixed this for $1.93, which is probably about $300 cheaper than your friendly neighborhood Toyota dealer would charge to do this. Toyota WILL NOT sell just this small plastic grommet/clip retainer without you also buying the complete cable assembly for upwards of $250.

Here's what was left of the grommet/clip. It's suppposed to be longer with some kind of end that keeps the eyelet on the gear selector pin. The red arrow is pointing to it:


As you can see it's all worn away:


The repair thread (originally by Daboa) that Hardtopte72 posted/copied onto this thread uses a small piece of 3/8" vinyl tubing cut at one side to go around the pin. The tubing that I had was much too thick, so the eyelet would not fit around it:

So I used a nylon clamp that came with a zip tie:


I snipped off the tabs to make it look like this:

I also snipped it so it wasn't so wide and I put it on the pin and then put the eylet on it. It fit well, not too tight, but it takes up the space:

Next I put a 5/16" E-clip in between the eyelet with the nylon spacer and the thicker part of the outside tip of the pin. It took me a while, but I forced it on with a needle nose pliers. The white finger is pointing to the e-clip:


Lastly, I hammered on a 5/16" axle cap nut to hold it all in place:

EDIT: July 2019. I just did this job again on my buddy's Corolla. Using a small C-clamp to press the axle cap nut on is a lot easier than hammering it on. It can slip off the contact points of the C-clamp, so put a piece of cloth, piece of rubber, or piece of paper towel on the contact points of the clamp and it won't slip so easily.

Thanks to forum member Daboa, who was the one who posted the original thread with photos and the ideas to fix this problem. Thanks again to CorollaCharlie for diagnosing a cable linkage problem and to Hardtopte72 who had this exact problem on his car and posted on this thread the link to the first thread that Daboa started.

 

The addition of that cap at the end is a really nice touch. Good to see you got it fixed and offered the readers another in-depth look at this problem.

I am going to add both to the DIY sticky!

 

Thread is old but helped me! Haven't fixed it yet, but it is nice knowing what the issue is, AND how to fix it! Thanks!