1999 9-3 shift occasionally getting "stuck" in gear

Jun 29, 2005 2 Replies

Hi,



I have a 99 9-3 manual transmission, and recently I have had my shift get "stuck" in gear a few times while driving. The first time I was trying to shift from 3rd to 4th, and the shifter would not come out of 3rd gear. After pulling over and "forcing it" a little, I managed to get it to shift through all of the gears again. I assumed it was the clutch and took it in to the local repair shop (thought it was low on fluid, and I didn't know at the time that the clutch and brake share a reservoir). The shop could not find anything wrong, and they sent me packing. It happened again a few days later when trying to shift out of reverse. This time I noticed that, even with the clutch pedal fully depressed, it still was engaged in reverse. I managed to get it out, but then I couldn't get it back into reverse (though it would shift from 1st to 5th). Took it back again, and ($80 later) again the shop could not find anything wrong. I had tried to pump the clutch each time it happened, thinking the fluid was low, but that didn't help.



Haven't seen anything in the postings here for a similar problem, so I thought I'd try my luck. When it is working, it works fine; has 72K on it right now. Any clues would be appreciated....


Interesting. In my 2001 9-3, the shift lever sometimes requires a bit of a shove to come out of 4th gear. Not nearly as severe as the problem you describe though. I have no idea what the problem might be, especially if the clutch feels firm.

John

After taking this into the shop for the third time, they determined it was either the clutch master or slave cylinder (they could not tell which). They ordered both, but I had them only replace the master after I found out that replacing the slave would have cost another $500 (guess the slave is inside the transmission, and taking that apart is a big ticket item). I figured I had a 50 / 50 chance of getting the right one, but will wait and see.

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