effing car got stuck in reverse

Shift518 Automotive Shift518 Off Topic
1

So apparently there’s a common problem with 90 miatas where the shifter gets stuck in reverse gear while shifting out of 5th or out of reverse. The failure mode leaves the shift lever drifting, out of the shift gates, in no man’s land. The shift lever can not be moved into the position for 3rd, 4th, 5th, or reverse. 1st and 2nd gear may be selected, but the gearbox is “locked”.

This happened to me today teaching my friend how to drive stick, FIRST time he’s driving and he manages to shift that perfect shift too fast out of 5th and locks it in reverse. I just got it fixed, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

2

how do you get that fixed?

3

Well first you remove the reverse light switch in the tranny, then have someone press down on the clutch, shove a stubby flathead in the reverse light switch hole and pry backwards. That pulls the 5-R shift lever back to where it should be and the shifter is fixed.

4

sounds like a pain in the ass