hard shifting 2000 mustang

da9k1ne said:

i have a 2000 automatic mustang, and it is starting to hard shift. when i put it into reverse or drive out of park, it kind of jerks. does anyone know why this is happening or how i can fix it.

please let me know, thanks

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Have you been shifting manually?

no i havent been shifting manully, it just seems to jerk when i change gears out of park....other than that it rides smooth....i guess its something dealing with the transmisson, but im wondering how to fix it....

da9k1ne said:

no i havent been shifting manully, it just seems to jerk when i change gears out of park....other than that it rides smooth....i guess its something dealing with the transmisson, but im wondering how to fix it....

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1) do you park on a hill?

2) do you park right up on the curb?

3) how many miles are on the car?

4) is the wheel turned when you park?

i just recently bought this car about a month ago, and a day or two after i got it i parked it on a hill....when i got back inside and went to pull away, the sound of the gears shifting to drive from park was loud and terrible....also there are approx 87k on the car.....

da9k1ne said:

i just recently bought this car about a month ago, and a day or two after i got it i parked it on a hill....when i got back inside and went to pull away, the sound of the gears shifting to drive from park was loud and terrible....also there are approx 87k on the car.....

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Is it a thump, or a grating sound?

its hard to explain, but its more of a thump than a grading sound....

da9k1ne said:

its hard to explain, but its more of a thump than a grading sound....

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Ok, it's one of 3 things.

1) U-joint (not likely)
2) motor/transmission mount (also not likely)
3) brake lockout switch malfunction (more likely than the other two)


What did you drive before?

If you drove a FWD vehicle, you may not be used to the driveshaft/torque combination of RWD vehicles. A thump is normal, due to the driveshaft massXtorque and the momentum of the engagement.

i drove my moms 2005 dodge durango before i got this....i'm only 17 so i dont really know what the brake lockout switch is....what is it, and is it easily fixable?

da9k1ne said:

i drove my moms 2005 dodge durango before i got this....i'm only 17 so i dont really know what the brake lockout switch is....what is it, and is it easily fixable?

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It's a solenoid that keep you from shifting unless the brake is engaged.

The durango has a lot more mass . .. so it may be less noticeable.

Run it to the dealership for an oil change/checkup, and casually mention it without asking them to diagnose the problem.

It's probably the only way to find out if it's normal, or if something's wrong.

HArd to diagnose a noise when there isn't any way of hearing it.

okay thanks for your help....ill try and get it in for a checkup asap....its not really the noise thats the problem, becuase when it is on flat ground, theres no noise at all....it just jerks backwards, or fowards (depending if you shift into drive or reverse)

da9k1ne said:

okay thanks for your help....ill try and get it in for a checkup asap....its not really the noise thats the problem, becuase when it is on flat ground, theres no noise at all....it just jerks backwards, or fowards (depending if you shift into drive or reverse)

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Some jerkiness is normal, it's a light car, with a heavy driveshaft and a fairly torquey engine.

An SUV has a lot of mass to offset the driveshaft effect.

The question is how far out of range is it?

it almost seems like the swtiching of gears is delayed a couple seconds, like ill put it into reverse, and then like 2 seconds later it actaully jerks back, and it shifts to reverse.

da9k1ne said:

it almost seems like the swtiching of gears is delayed a couple seconds, like ill put it into reverse, and then like 2 seconds later it actaully jerks back, and it shifts to reverse.

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The guy who had it before you may have used it manually, and gotten tranny fluids in the bands, or it could be a worn u-joint, or any of the other things. Or it may just be a different car that you're not used to . . .

I can't say without driving the car, which it is . .. .