picked up my 2003 G35 coupe last Monday,only 80000 miles and nice condition.Drove it 30 miles home,nice drive home.
did not have chance to drive it in the week with work . went to go for a blast today only to fiend that the auto box will not shift from drive through to reverse ? so cant even get the key out....any one had this problem or any idea what the problem might be.

 

There is a cable interlock that goes between the ignition switch and the shifter assembly that might be damaged. At the front of the shifter is a little access square piece of plastic you can remove and and the shift interlock override can be depressed with a small screwdriver or the tool next to the spare tire I would try that first to see if the override will work and if so then you probably have a damaged cable.

 

thanks that's a great help will try that in the morning.

 

Adding on to what Cleric said, the cable is in the upper left area of the shift assembly once you remove the cover, if looking straight down at the shift ****. There's a circular white piece of plastic that holds it in the correct place; if that piece gets loose somehow, the cable won't have the correct tension. The white plate on a spring directly below that is what's pressed to override the interlock.

Another common problem that can cause troubles moving the shifter is the shift **** physically blocking the rod inside; that rod is moved whenever you press the button on the shift **** to change position (this is especially common with aftermarket *****). To check that, pop the silver rectangle down from the ****, remove the little gold pin, then pull the **** up (assuming you have the shifter with the leather cover). Make sure the blue piece of plastic on top of the rod is able to slide freely.

 

tried that today,no joy.
I got the car from a garage and have given him a phone call.
he will get back to me on Monday but thanks to all your help I have printed all your helpful tips which I am shore will help as he will take the car to a auto specialist.But not happy that I cant take the key out of the ignition as cant put the car in park.

 

Just to make sure, did you try to put the car in park while holding the over-ride? The over-ride is what lets you move the car from/into park without the engine being on; no matter what, the key can only be turned left to the "Off" position (assuming it was put in while the car was parked) while the shifter is in park.

If the over-ride isn't the issue, worst case is probably something in the actual ignition, which is out of my area of expertise.

 

thanks for all your help.the car was picked up on Tuesday.
had a phone call today and it has been to the auto specialist and the car has no probs at all ? all works fine and goes into park ?
cant work this out at all.
the garage sent a lad down to pick the car up and drive it back,i don't know if some thing had lodged and blocked park and the drive back had moved it,or it might have been because the car had been parked up for over 2 months before I picked up the car ?
the garage will keep the car for a few days and the owner will use it to drive to and from work for the next few days just to see.

 

Definitely possible something had just corroded a bit from sitting, maybe that lad they sent down to get it had the magic touch.

Good lad.

 

just a update on my auto box ?
well the car has been fine for the last few months until now ? first time my auto box played up I did not think any thing of it but I just had a slow puncture and jacked up the back end to fix it.
the box was fine as it just seemed to fix it self after a week ?
just jacked the back end up last week to put on some 25mm wheel spacers,and yes the same old problem came back ,,,,, the car would not go through park ? after a week it was fine again ?
this has got to be more than a coincidence.Any one else had or heard of this.

 

I have had the car on a ramp and jacked up the back end on a beam so both wheels are lifted at the same time to do rear drop links and D bushes with no probs.
but when I did the wheel spacers I jacked the car up one side at a time and this is when I have the problem with the gear box not shifting through reverse and into park.I have also jacked up the front one side at a time to do the front spacers with no problem . So the issue only seams to be with back end ?

 

Could be something on the shift linkage that's worn and only presents a problem when the chassis is flexed. You should be using the jack points to lift the vehicle though, on the front it's in the middle of the center member, on the rear you jack directly on the differential. This keeps the chassis properly loaded and without any torsional flex.

 

I use the safety stand points to jack the car as would think most people . I would think this would not cause a problem . as in your picture it says safety stand points are the same as jacking points,
any one else with this problem I would love to know.

 

thanks for all your help the car is now sorted.It was down to a faulty gear ***. I picked up a second hand gear shift mechanism for £30 off EBAY. When I removed the gear *** I found it was damaged inside and had been glued,just swapped over the gear *** and all good.
just the rattle from the front end to fiend and I will be happy as I have replaced almost all the parts...…
drop links
D bushes
steering rack and rack ends
just ordered top control wish bone so hope that works.

 

you were spot on about the gear shift ***,,,,,thanks