starter motor fault

lezmtaylor · Post by **lezmtaylor** » Thu Jul 16, 2026 11:35 am

I have a fault on starting my 4.4 2002 v8 .
It will not engage the start motor and start the engine when I turn the key in park.
It will engage the motor and start the engine when I select Neutral.
Any ideas ????

Lez

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Thu Jul 16, 2026 2:40 pm

Sounds like the park position sensor isn’t working in ‘P’ so the start interlock is on.

Have you tried nudging the selector lever to see if it’s just on the edge of picking up the lever position?

If it is the switch, I think it’s here:

IMG_3935.jpeg

lezmtaylor · Post by **lezmtaylor** » Mon Aug 10, 2026 11:09 am

Thankyou for your reply, but the fault seems to have cured itself, so will keep your helpful possible causes to mind.

Lez

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Mon Aug 10, 2026 3:19 pm

If I remember accurately - difficult as my age grows! - we had several of these in years (might be decades) past, and giving the shift lever a bit of exercise cleared it up. At least with the E53 you can do that. The E70 and newer it’s all electronic and some of the latest models don’t even have a shifter but a small switch instead.

lezmtaylor · Post by **lezmtaylor** » Tue Aug 11, 2026 11:30 am

At least the older E53's had a few things going for them, must admit it has been a reliable car. ( that has caused a few ripples ).

Lez

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