I have a 2004 coupe with 162k. I went to drive it for the first time in a couple of months yesterday and the car wouldn't shift. I was also unable to engage the auto shift and when I tried to the car just stayed in D. It felt like I wasn't starting out in 1st gear either. Do I need to replace the tranny or is it the shift control module that went bad? Suggestions?!?!?!

 

The car doesn't drive out of 1st? Or is the shifter stuck in the D position? If you went from Park to Drive and it got stuck there, most likely sounds like a bad shift linkage.

 

Just shooting from the hip here, but if the car has been sitting for a long time, the battery may be weak. You might want to disconnect the battery for 15 minutes or so to "reset" everything and then give it a good slow charge to make sure it's fully up to the tack of this "electrically sensitive" car.

If it feels like it is NOT starting in 1st, is your switch set to "W" or "S"? If it is in "W", you will start in 2nd which might be a bit more sluggish.

The car has 162K on the clock. Has the transmission fluid ever been changed? It needed to be done at 80K. If it was done then (or sometime between 80K and now) you should be good on fluid.

Just some thoughts.

RL