# 2007 BMW 320 won't crank or shift

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2007-bmw-320-wont-crank-or-shift/133755>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** bmw, 320\
**Created:** [February 1, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2007-bmw-320-wont-crank-or-shift/133755 "2019-02-01T15:03:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Naemi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/aca169/32.png) [@Naemi](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Naemi)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2007-bmw-320-wont-crank-or-shift/133755/1 "2019-02-01T15:03:32Z")

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Please help. My car would start but wont crank. It won’t shift into any other gear, only in Park. What could be the problem ?

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2007-bmw-320-wont-crank-or-shift/133755/2 "2019-02-01T15:18:18Z")

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> [@Naemi](#):
>
> My car would start but wont crank

Not possible. If the car won’t crank with the starter, how are you getting it to start?

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**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2007-bmw-320-wont-crank-or-shift/133755/3 "2019-02-01T15:26:11Z")

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From [cars.com](http://cars.com):  
Vehicles with an [automatic transmission](https://www.cars.com/articles/what-do-the-numbers-and-letters-mean-on-an-automatic-transmission-1420690417141/) might not have a clutch and a stick shift, but they can still have trouble shifting. At times, drivers may have trouble getting the car out of Park and into gear. Problems with shifting your automatic transmission can come from a few different places, starting with the shift interlock feature. This is the part of an automatic transmission which requires you to step on the brake pedal to prevent unintentional shifting out of Park. If you are having trouble shifting the transmission, the interlock could be malfunctioning.

Another possible cause is that when a vehicle is parked on even a slight incline, it will put more load on the transmission parking pawl (a bar that engages teeth in a transmission gear to prevent the vehicle from rolling). This is more likely to happen if you didn’t engage the parking brake before releasing the brake pedal. The weight of the vehicle rolling onto the parking pawl makes it harder to shift out of Park. To avoid this, engage the parking brake when on an incline _before_ shifting into Park or releasing the brake pedal. That way the parking brake, not the transmission pawl, bears the load and will allow you to shift freely. Another possible cause is that when a vehicle is parked on even a slight incline, it will put more load on the transmission parking pawl (a bar that engages teeth in a transmission gear to prevent the vehicle from rolling). This is more likely to happen if you didn’t engage the parking brake before releasing the brake pedal. The weight of the vehicle rolling onto the parking pawl makes it harder to shift out of Park. To avoid this, engage the parking brake when on an incline _before_ shifting into Park or releasing the brake pedal. That way the parking brake, not the transmission pawl, bears the load and will allow you to shift freely.[quote=“Naemi, post:1, topic:133755, full:true”]  
Please help. My car would start but wont crank. It won’t shift into any other gear, only in Park. What could be the problem ?  
[/quote]