Trying to help my neighbor with her 88 Accord. It's currently in the shop with a huge jerk of a ripoff mechanic her insurance company sent her too and the guy is holding her car hostage telling her he needs 2K to replace her transmission. The guy is about as shady as they come. It only has 100K and is in very good condition. Poor lady is a recent widow with three children and zero income at the moment. It's a sad situation to say the least so I am trying to do whatever I can to help her.

She tells me she is sitting in her Accord at the light the other day and while the car is idling, she all of a sudden hears/feels a clunk toward the firewall of the car. When the light turns green she gives it some pedal and the car immediately starts to go into reverse. She proceeds to try to shift into all the other gears but to no avail. each time it is still stuck in reverse. My thought is that her gear selector cable or linkage is broken/damaged in some way.

Has anyone dealt with this issue before on this car? Do you know the part numbers/official names for these parts? Is their a sticky or DIY section for this repair anywhere?

Thank you very much for your help in advance.

 

Don't think a simple FAQ answer will cover this. You'll have to get the car & see what's going on. It might be a simple fix (transmission shift cable came loose??) but it's not so common that we can say without more information.

If the mechanic is a ripoff, I bet her insurance company will be interested to know that.

 

Is her car an automatic or manual transmission?