Tried to put it into reverse too fast... now car won't start

Ed_Collins

Hi Gang,

Help, suggestions needed.

I just did something I've never done before... probably because I was in a hurry. I started my car as I always do, by putting my foot on the brake pedal and then pressing the START button. But before the engine fully engaged, I made an attempt to put it into reverse.

Whoops.

As I said, I've never done that before. Ever.

Anyway, in doing so, the engine disengaged entirely - it turned off. And NOW the vehicle won't start at all. Oh, I have power... I can lock the door and the automatic windows work, etc. And when I attempt to start it, I can see that normal icon we all see, that's asking me to put my foot on the pedal and press start... but it just doesn't start. Instead, about every light on the dashboard lights up. It doesn't even try to turn over. I do hear some kind of a HUM.

I tried disconnecting the battery for 20 or so seconds, thinking I would "reset" everything and in doing so, that would fix this. Alas, that didn't work.

This MUST be something simple. Any ideas?

As always, thanks in advance.

MZ DAIZY

I’m only guessing here, but make sure the trans is (fully) in park.

Zingston

If this were Family Feud, I'd bet Survey would say your answer is #1, or #2.

NISMO IX

That HUM is your fuel pump turning on and priming the fuel line. Just a guess or two, check your fuses (inside and under the hood), or maybe somehow the sensor that sends a single to the car saying it's ok to start has a fault, in the pedals maybe?

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MZ DAIZY

Survey says!! Yea, I would try to start it in neutral. If that doesn’t work, slam it back in park and try again.

Ed_Collins

Thanks. It's definitely fully in park... but I THINK maybe the car "believes" it's in reverse. If so, how to force it to be in truly park (or neutral) ?

Ed_Collins

I'll go out and play around with it some more. Thanks for the suggestions so far.

MZ DAIZY

I don’t have an auto but does it need to be in the “on” position to move the gear lever?

Ed_Collins

Yes, I believe so. But earlier, when it was in the ON position, I attempted to put it into neutral and it wouldn't shift out of the park gear. It wouldn't shift at all.

I'll try again.

I'll also look at the dashboard more closely, when all of the lights come on, and see if the drive indicator says it's still in reverse. (If so, I would have thought disconnecting the battery would have reset that, but maybe not.)

MZ DAIZY

Ok, there’s the problem. I’d try to start in neutral. Foot on the brake before you try to shift?

MZ DAIZY

There is also a button hidden under a plastic trim piece somewhere around the gear shifter. You can push that to get it into neutral. At least every auto I’ve ever had has one. I don’t think you even need the on position either, but I could be wrong.

Ed_Collins

MZ DAIZY, Thank you!

I got it started!!

It finally started after I figured out how to put it in neutral. Yea, I knew about that little trim piece before you mentioned it, and how to take it off and then use a screwdriver to push down and put it into neutral at the same time. (Earlier I watched a Nissan video explaining its function and how to force it into neutral.) But those steps, initially, weren't working for me. I'm not sure why.

I kept trying and by sheer force got it to work. (The parking brake wasn't on the first time, and the video said it should be on. Maybe that was it.)

But even after I got it into neutral, initially it did the same thing.... wouldn't start! Then I tried again and it finally started right up.

Jeez, what an ordeal. Good news is this happened here at my home, and didn't make me late for anything. And now I know how careful one must be after starting it up... and not to shift too soon. God, I feel like an idiot.

If you have a PayPal account I'd like to buy you cup of coffee. If you send me your PayPal address I'd like to show my appreciation and buy you enough for your favorite drink.

Thanks to everyone else who responded too. I appreciate it.

Ed_Collins

By the way, the dashlights DID say it was in park! So maybe the "dash" part of the car, the electronic part of the car, thought it was in park, but the actual, physical part was still in Reverse. And maybe that''s why physically putting it into neutral is what solved the problem.

MZ DAIZY

I appreciate the thought, Ed, but not necessary. Glad you got it worked out!

PS: don’t do that again!!

SouthArk370Z

FWIW, 20 seconds in not long enough to drain backup power in the ECU - it can take 5-10 minutes. You can shorten the time to 1-2 seconds by pressing on the brake pedal while the battery terminal is off. This puts a load on the electrical system (the brake lights) and drains the backup power almost instantly.

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