1996 A6 avant will not shift into gear. key can be removed from igntiton.
when key in accessory position shift lever will move freely, once car starts it will not move. it will start in neutral and once runnung will not move.

does anyone have any ideas? fuses?, break switch?, lock out selanoid?
are there any other fuse locations other than the end of the driver side dash and in the engine bay?

thanks

anthony

 

Check your brake light switch. When you press the brake pedal, the brake lights go on.
Next with the "key on engine off", press the brake pedal. You should hear a noise from a solenoid or relay.
Next, check that something as small a coin did not fall in to the slot at the stickshift lever.

 

I agree I'll bet it's that switch. I think they're adjustable but it's probably cracked or broken in some way.

 

Let's get this straight --

1.The key comes out easily so it can be put into park!
2. when the key is in the accessory position the shifter moves easly.
3. When the motor is running the shifter will not move.
4. There are no donuts in the cup holder...

OK I don't think this is a brake light switch problem..
And I don't think it is coins in the shifter box.

My quess is that a mechanical interlock between the key position and shifter is out of alignment because the shift moves OK when in the acessory position but not in the other positions. My 89 Audi had a cable between the key and the trans - the 97 has the brake light solenoid but I don't know about the cable..

If you stand on one foot and place your hand in your pocket - does it work?

 

FWD, right? It sounds like the TCM to me. It might also need a transmission, but about 70% of the time the TCM will get it going again. If it's quattro, it might still need a transmission. Otherwise, the brake light switches are total junk and cause all kinds of problems, so if it's quattro, you might get lucky. If I'm misunderstanding the concern and you have extremely weird positioning with the key and shift just to start the car, the shift interlock cable could be it, too. I recommend having it towed into your favorite repair facility and handing them a blank check. What I mean by "favorite repair facility" I mean the dealership. If you choose something other than the dealership, make sure it's near the dealer so the towing charge from the other shop to the dealer will be small when they admit that they can't fix it there. Come to think of it, I don't know if the A6 avant was available in FWD. You're probably hosed anyway, though. Small price to pay for the privilege of driving a German-made status symbol.

 

There is a mechanical interlock cable between the back of the ignition switch and the shifting mechanism. My daughter's 1998 Audi A6 wagon with C4 chassis had a quarter get into the shifting mechanism, so that the key would not come out of the ignition cylinder. So, if a foreign object falls through the slit at the shift leaver and gets in to the shift mechanism it will interfere with normal operation. It may also be impossible to see the foreign object once it works it's way deep in to the shift mechanism even with the cover removed.

 

a6hcw Been there - done the quarter problem ( it was really a $0.65 problem)

If it were the solenoid lock he would not be able to move the shifter in any key position.

If it were the coin issue the key position would not affect how it worked.

Since you say the it has an interlock cable the problem has to be the cable adjustment....

Not rocket science -- It's just an Audi

 

x2, I feel your reasoning is sound

 

That's the second time this year !! ---

I have to be careful or hell will freeze over and the government will begin making logical decisions.

 

Unfortunately, the labor involved in correcting such a simple Audi malfunction may be rather high. The ignition switch, interlock cable, interlock solenoid, and shift mechanism are well protected, except for that slit at the shift lever. The cover at the shifter is removed by prying the rear of the cover with a very thin putty knife. Once you get the cover off you will see that there is almost no room to get at the mechanical interlock cable without removing the front and rear center counsel. So how would the interlock cable be adjusted? With the cover off, you may or may not be able to find a foreign object in the shift mechanism. You will need the BentleyPublishers manual if you want to do the work yourself or have the work done by an independent. However, the Bentley is known for small important ommisions, such as where a component such as the shift lock solenoid is located. So, the wiring diagram will refer to a component, but where is it, what is it's part number, and what does it look like?
Did you check so see if you are getting any TCM error codes with VAG-COM?
Logic fails, if there are too many unknowns. Is the transmission nuetral position switch or it's wiring malfunctioning?