just thought i`d share my nightmare morning with you!i got up for work as usual this morning and went out to start the townie for my short journey to work.after i scraped the surprise ice off the windscreen,i climbed in,shutting the door,then re-opening it as usual,to retrieve the seatbelt!i then inserted the key,and..........NOTHING!completely dead,no clicks or anything from the starter motor,but the clock and doorlight dimmed when i tried to start.mmmmmmmmm.flat battery,i think,and get a multi meter,lift the battery cover and check the voltage of the battery.not exceptional,but still over 12 volts.then i think it must be a stuck starter motor,and move the seats ,lift them up and look at the engine,not really knowing what to look for(only my 3rd look at the engine since buying it a week ago,and can`t remember even seeing the starter motor,in case i need to give it a whack to unstick it!!!)then,i`m running out of ideas,my torch is flat,i left my push-bike at work the day i fetched the townie,and i`m stuck!i wonder about sticking the gearstick into`drive`and rocking the car back and forth to free the starter,then look down and notice...........it`s already in `DRIVE`!ooops!!!
has anyone ever done this??i certainly won`t again!

- (#8627) jamie white, 18 Feb 04 10:30

Yep, got the t shirt.

- (#8627) Clive (Bristol), 18 Feb 04 11:31

yes, My good friend did this and he didn't realize he had until AFTER he had it towed to his mechanic, they claimed it was a burned out Alternator and charged him 300 dollars American. He went home and tried to start it and the SAME thing...no power at all.

In his deffense he has NEVER owned an automatic and didn't know of this feature.

- (#8627) hansi, 18 Feb 04 15:01

A good reason for the interlock that won't let you remove the key unless it's in "P".

Yes, been there. Another one is "I can't move it out of "P" - press the brake. Or the windows don't work - square windows-disable switch has been accidentally pressed.

A funny thing though ... when I had the floor pan out last week I was still able to start the engine. It was in neutral but the gearchanges were electrically disconnected. How did it know it was in Neutral?

- (#8627) Dave (Sussex), 19 Feb 04 05:03

Because the inhibitor switch is on the gearbox!

- (#8627) david miller, 19 Feb 04 06:24