Floppy Shifter On Standard Transmission

I have a Pontiac Vibe, 2003, with a 5 speed transmission. While driving yesterday suddenly, without warning, the shifter could be moved from any gear to any other gear, without using the clutch. I also had no gears and could not go forward or backward. The car just sat like a big blue roach in the middle of the road. Anyone have any idea what the problem might be? Thanks, Robert

I believe most of these more modern standard-shift transmissions have all the shift linkages inside the transmission case. This will mean getting the transmission removed and cracked open to discover why the shift linkages are not working.

Our 1982 Saab 900 had a similar sounding problem. One Friday morning, just before a getaway weekend trip
(ha ha), the shift lever went “limp.” The lever itself of course remained rigid but the limpness made it hard to place it in the gear locations. I could do it but it was very strange. We managed to drive it.

On Monday, our local Saab guy fixed it in minutes - a broken spring that is used to keep tension on the lever. It was a $40 fix. I think it was the only thing that ever went wrong with that car in eight years.

Are you actually able to get the transmision to change gears? Can you feel it engage. The clutch is possibly broken?
~Michael

You may have broken the pin on the shifter fork lever. some transmissions rely on a rolled pin to hold the shift lever to the shifter fork. this is if all the levers are inside the tranny. Does the clutch still feel the same and what were you doing when this happened? the more information the better it is to help someone figure out a problem.