I have a 2008 Dodge Avenger and just the other day a little piece of plastic in the gear shifter broke, luckily it was in park and no one was driving the car when it broke. I spoke to Dodge and the explained to me because the car was out of warranty that it was not a defective part but if you look on the internet the is a major problem. So either this plastic piece is defective or Dodge makes parts just to last until the warranty runs out where they can get more money out of the consumer. The part can be replaced but you have to buy the hole assembly for one little plastic piece.

- Cabot, AR, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Avenger rt. After starting the vehicle the contact noticed that the gear shifter would not shift out of the parking gear. The vehicle has not been diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 126,704. I live 65 miles from my work and nearest dealership. Vehicle will be towed to dealership tomorrow to be fixed. From the many complaints I feel this is a Dodge defect and should be recalled.

- Pioneer, LA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Avenger. After starting the vehicle the contact noticed that the gear shifter would not shift out of the parking gear. The failure was not diagnosed by the dealer. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 52,000. Updated 09/15/10. Updated 09/16/10

- Montz, LA, USA

Automatic transmission: I was not able to put the car into drive, reverse or neutral.

- Aurora, CO, USA

I got off work yesterday July 17 2010 and attempted 2 leave. Except I couldn't because without warning my 2008 Dodge Avenger would not shift out of park..I. have only 36,056 miles on it and because I do when I called Dodge 24 hr roadside assistance they wanted me 2 pay for the tow fee..but luckily it was a Saturday so the dealership service dept was closed. I had 2 find a ride home and when I did I googled the problem and it took me 2 a website car complaints.com and its plenty other people who have had the same exact problem..so I read threw most of them and every 1 was saying how they pressed a pink button under the gearshift module 2 get the car out of park..so I got excited went back 2 my job where my car sat in the parking lot and pressed da pink button with a flat head screw driver jst 2 get the car out of park and drove it home where I got it sitting till Monday morning wen I call the Dodge dealership and complain bout their faulty piece of plastic that's messing every 1S 08 Avenger up..I'm happy I'm avoiding a $105 towing fee but so unhappy at what I prepared 2 hear from the dealership 2 morrow. This problem is Chrysler Dodge fault and should B recalled. I take great care of my vehicle and I've been its only owner..if they don't offer 2 pay 4 it which I'm guessing they won't since majority of the complainers had 2 pay over $300 labor fees plus for a $45 part it would B highly unacceptable. Please make sure Dodge recalls this and give their once happy loyal customers their money back.

- Hanford, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Avenger. The contact started the ignition and attempted to shift from park into the drive position. However, the gear selector would not shift into drive. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The technician advised the contact that he would notify him by the end of the week to inform the vehicle cause of failure. The vehicle was being diagnosed at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 48,800.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Very many 2008 Dodge Avengers are having an issue with the gear shifters getting stuck in park, including mine. (see website at the link pasted for proof: www.carcomplaints.com/Dodge/Avenger/2008/transmission/gear_shift_module_lock_up.shtml) since my car was just under the 36,000 mile cutoff for the factory warranty I was able to get the dealership to cover towing and fixing it for free. However, this apparently happens pretty often with these cars so what am I going to do the next time this happens and the time after that"?" there is a spring attached to a pink button on the gear shifter that keeps popping off of everybody's car. There needs to be a major recall on this!!

- Shawnee, KS, USA

My 2008 Dodge Avenger has locked itself into park and will not disengage unless I take apart the console and use the override switch ti disengage the lock. I am worried this may happen when driving.

- Anderson, SC, USA

Unable to use pink release switch on transaxle to reset transaxle and put vehicle in drive. 2008 Dodge Avenger starts but refuses to go into gear due to transaxle being locked. All remedies that are in owners manual failed to work and dealership service unavailable.

- West Columbia, SC, USA

After research, this complaint has been filed as early as July of 2008. Then very aggressively within the past 6 months. Went to leave a park with my 2 daughters Friday and could not back out of parking spot due to shifter locking up. Searched manual for answer and tried the over-ride switch to no avail. Tow driver told me he had seen this problem just days before with a Dodge. Informed me of the color and purpose of the culprit and after research? lo and behold, complaint after complaint filed for the past 2 years (next month) about the little plastic pink piece that renders shifter useless. This site proclaims to "administer safety recalls to support the NHTSA's mission to improve safety on our nation's roadways, your complaint is important to us and if warranted, the (ODI) will open an investigation to determine if a safety defect trend exists." Well how many people have to be left stranded, miss a days pay, fail to pick up their children and/or borrow money for this repair (as I have had to do), or flat out be left without transportation. Because they have no means for repairs that are due to a factory flaw that everyone (dealerships and O.D.I.) refuse to acknowledge" lets see one of you head out to work, jump in the car to pick up your child and or pack the trunk for vacation. Only to discover that you can't shift out of park due to Dodge's arrogance. Think you see a defect trend then? recall warranted? two years folks! and complaints being filed more consecutively by the day. As for the lifetime powertrain warranty? talk about false advertising and misleading a consumer. Buy american" think I'll go with Toyota next round thank you. At least they will fix their defect trends. Though it appears that they were pushed to do so out of prejudice. Dodge can get by with the very same act of ignorance. Since the tow man couldn't get my car in gear, when he lifted it for hook up. The front bumper dragged the parking curb and scarred it major.

- Wichita, KS, USA

We were on our first day of vacation. We ordered some take out and were going to pick it up. We pulled over into a parking lot to grab our debit card out of our console. We put it in park and then tried to continue on our way when it wouldn't come out of park. The car no warnings that anything was wrong. We ended up having to call our sister and broth in law to help us. Our two year old was in the back seat. We had to take her out and put the car seat in our sisters car. Then we had to call and cancel our take out. We eventually put the car in drive manually tearing apart the console and driving it to Dodge. This was the worst start of ant vacation we have ever been on. With all these complaints about the gear shift locking up and there is no recall yet. Seriously, this is hard to believe. Now I just blew 300$ of our vacation money. Something needs to be done.

- Evansville, IN, USA

2008 Dodge Avenger stuck in park and will not shift. Car drove fine to work and when I moved it at lunchtime, but when I went to leave work it would not shift out of park.

- Bethalto, IL, USA

2008 Dodge Avenger SXT shift module locks up stuck in park. Many people have this problem. Average repair by Dodge, parts + labor = about $360. Annoying and dangerous.

- New Brighton, PA, USA

I have a 2008 Dodge Avenger that I could not get out of park. A mechanic friend removed the gear shift cover and notices a pink piece of plastic that appeared to be broken from somewhere inside the gearshift. After further investigation this pink piece of plastic is what is needed to move the car out of park. This is a dangerous situation and should be considered a recall item.

- Chuluota, FL, USA

My car was acting fine yesterday and then today when I went to leave for work it would not come out of park. This has never happen since I bought the car two years ago. But I tried everything to make it work and the car still wouldn't come out of park. My sister's boyfriend took the console apart and removed the area covering the gear and there was this pink button that would allow the gear to move. The whole shift assembly will need to be replaced but the problem can happen at any given time without warning. No indicator light or anything to let you know that the part is broken. The car just won't move!!

- Richmond, VA, USA

I have a 2008 Dodge Avenger and was not able to shift the car out of park. Using a good deal of force I was finally able to get the car to shift out of park. While doing this I heard a piece of plastic break off. I researched this problem on the internet and found 33 other 2008 Dodge Avenger owners reported a similar problem. I called a local dealerships service department and the service manager said he was well aware of the problem. He stated that there was a problem with the shift lock mechanism and that the repair would run approximately $300. With so many complaints regarding the same problem, which can result in the car not being able to be driven, I feel that an investigation into this manufacturing defect is warranted.

- Sugar Land, TX, USA

I have a 2008 Dodge Avenger and the vehicle will not shift into gear from park. There are no warning indicators on the dash indicating a problem and it was operating fine when I drove it to work. It will shift into reverse if forced but will not go into neutral at all. This is apparently a widespread problem according to the website autobeef.

- Van Buren, AR, USA

I am having the same issue where my car is stuck in park. I found this site after researching the issue which appears to be quite common. I will have a friend who is a mechanic look at it to see if we can fix this. However, I am concerned that this defect could be a safety issue. Seems that it could be quite possible that if it could be stuck in park, it could also get stuck in drive or reverse. Please investigate this issue and make Dodge do a recall.

- Fairdale, KY, USA

My 2008 Dodge Avenger will not come out of park. This occurs randomly without warning, as I attempted to start my vehicle and leave on June 2, 2010.

- Lexington, KY, USA

03jun10 while attempting to leave for work, I could not get my vehicle out of park. I called a Dodge dealership and the service department claimed they knew nothing about this. I called a few different mechanics and they both stated it could be a brake safety switch and to try a manual over ride switch near the gear shifter. Tried the over ride with negative results. Car is still stuck in park. Did an internet search and this seems to be a very common occurrence, one that it seems Dodge is doing nothing to correct. There needs to be a recall issued for this defective part.

- Waltham, MA, USA