Gearbox Fault Parklock Failure - DB9 - Help :(

[AMDB9]

Morning folks - just had this message pop up and my DB9 last night will now not go in to P mode. It's stuck on neutral. I can drive normally no issues, reverse and neutral buttons both work as do the paddle shifters. It's just when I stop and try and hit P it will come up with this error message. Tried turning off etc and left it all night but same again this morning....any ideas?

[pilgrim7777]

This has symptoms of problems with the P switch possibly detached connection or the contacts within the switch. If it is simple replacement of the P switch.
Hopefully a simple fix.

[thetees]

AMDB9 said:

Morning folks - just had this message pop up and my DB9 last night will now not go in to P mode. It's stuck on neutral. I can drive normally no issues, reverse and neutral buttons both work as do the paddle shifters. It's just when I stop and try and hit P it will come up with this error message. Tried turning off etc and left it all night but same again this morning....any ideas?

Had exactly the same issue with mine about two years ago. The problem was traced to the cable which engages the park mechanism. It runs down to the gear box area and is quite tight. What happens is that it get mis-aligned which results in it not initiating park correctly.
It just needed slight re-routing - problem solved. Pretty sure it'll be an easy fix for you as well.

[AMDB9]

Thanks guys. Sounds like it shouldn't be too serious then (hopefully!).

Only just bought her privately last week and was going to post pics and an intro etc up this weekend before this happened!

Will take her to Chiltern tomorrow as they are pretty local to me. Does anyone know if they look at cars the same day or will i need to leave the car with them?

[AMDB9]

thetees said:

Had exactly the same issue with mine about two years ago. The problem was traced to the cable which engages the park mechanism. It runs down to the gear box area and is quite tight. What happens is that it get mis-aligned which results in it not initiating park correctly.
It just needed slight re-routing - problem solved. Pretty sure it'll be an easy fix for you as well.

Had the switch changed today but the problem remains!

May I ask where you had this work carried out?

[Gibberish]

If you're having a few electrical problems, perhaps it's worth checking the fuse box under the bonnet for corrosion.

It's a known cause of random electrical faults on DB9s.

Never had any problems myself, but I've seen a few threads like this one: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Russwhitehouse]

As above. I seemed to solve an electrical issue by giving the fuse box under the bonnet and in the boot a little TLC. May just have been coincidence but so far so good. Worth a try.

[thetees]

AMDB9 said:

Had the switch changed today but the problem remains!

May I ask where you had this work carried out?

JCT 600.

[craig e]

There was a recall early on in the 9 production to replace the park lock glide plate, i seem to remember that it was not hard enough and during is operation it deformed enough to prevent it sliding along its housing to lock the trans.

As this is a version of the ZF hp22 box this mechanism is external and fairly accessible.

Im sure ive seen a picture of it somewhere and it looks easy to fix. will have a look through my manuals and send you the pic.

craig elam

[AMDB9]

That would be great thanks

[craig e]

just had another thought, is it actually locking but just giving you a duff error message, put it on level ground park brake off,engine off , can you push it or is it solid and wont move,
if it moves back to plan A, if its solid there is a sensor that detects the locking plate being engaged and locking trans.

[AMDB9]

Engine off it goes in to P mode anyway. I cant push the car anywhere. With the Engine on the car stays in N and does not engage P it only engages P when the engine is turned off. With the engine on I can push the car as P is not engaged.

[AMDB9]

Update: I took the car in to Stratstone Aston Martin in Amersham today after speaking with their service advisor Matthew Cole (Matt) - what a chap! So down to earth and friendly! He asked me to bring the car in so that they can plug it in to the system and see what messages come up. I asked what they would charge for diagnosis and he told me not to worry they would do this as a goodwill gesture as I live in the area and now own an Aston Martin

I got there around 3.45pm and Matt was out to see me within a couple of mins along with one of his technicians. They had a play around with the buttons and eventually within minutes diagnosed it to be a wire that runs under the car (parking break wire or something :???: ) being too tight. After a slight adjustment it was all sorted and no more error messages on the dash! P also engages without problem now.

Put the car up on to a ramp and sorted it all within 15 mins! After a slight adjustment it was all sorted and no more error messages on the dash! P also engages without problem now. Seriously impressive customer service here....I know where I'll be taking my car from now on!

Alls well that ends well but seriously makes me wonder how good Chiltern Aston actually are!? They wanted me to rebook the car in for a day to diagnose this fault!

Stratstone Amersham

[thetees]

AMDB9 said:

... within minutes diagnosed it to be a wire that runs under the car (parking break wire or something :???: ) being too tight. After a slight adjustment it was all sorted and no more error messages on the dash! P also engages without problem now.

Errr...as I said originally then!

[AMDB9]

Yes sir absolutely and thank you so much for your input. I mentioned that to Chiltern when the car was in the first time round and their response was "this is very unlikely"!!!!

[thetees]

AMDB9 said:

Yes sir absolutely and thank you so much for your input. I mentioned that to Chiltern when the car was in the first time round and their response was "this is very unlikely"!!!!

No problem. Just glad it was an 'easy fix' for you.

[waaaall-e]

Hi there, found this old thread because the same message popped up to me. I usually do all the work in my DB9, and would like to see if I can fix this one.
The same message popped up to me. AMDB9 Would you be able to provide some extra details on where did they find the issue?
Thanks!

[paulrog1]

Have you touched the gearbox neutral lever under the rear seat?

If this cable is too tight or if the neutral handle under the rear seat has been used the gearbox will stay in neutral as it still thinks the manual neutral lever has been activated.

Go under the car check the cable at the gearbox, make sure it's not too tight and the arm is fully in the disengaged position.

Edited by paulrog1 on Wednesday 4th June 17:38