F3 limited Paddle shifter will not shift into reverse or neutral

[RazzleH]

This weakness in the left hand module is well known and well denied by those responsible. My 2020 F3L has had a warranty replacement on order for months with Can Am stating (in writing) that no replacement is available 'in the world'. Unbelievable!!

This solution has worked in mine: after soaking the switch block in WD40 and another brand the result was good for a short time then back to zero down shifting. Next I soaked the block with a lanolin base spray and problem fixed. No shifting problems at all now. That was 4k km ago.

I simply held a rag beneath to catch any drips, and there were many with WD40 but very little with the lanolin spray. Liberally squirt the can into every switch orifice ... lots of it. Paddle switching problem was completely gone after a few rydes through the hills with lots of gear changing. In Australia the product is called Lanox or Inox MX4.

 

[LastHalf]

This weakness in the left hand module is well known and well denied by those responsible. My 2020 F3L has had a warranty replacement on order for months with Can Am stating (in writing) that no replacement is available 'in the world'. Unbelievable!!

This solution has worked in mine: after soaking the switch block in WD40 and another brand the result was good for a short time then back to zero down shifting. Next I soaked the block with a lanolin base spray and problem fixed. No shifting problems at all now. That was 4k km ago.

I simply held a rag beneath to catch any drips, and there were many with WD40 but very little with the lanolin spray. Liberally squirt the can into every switch orifice ... lots of it. Paddle switching problem was completely gone after a few rydes through the hills with lots of gear changing. In Australia the product is called Lanox or Inox MX4.

I'm resurrecting this from 4 years ago but did your lanolin spray fix work much after the first 4,000 km? My 2018 F3's switch is doing the exact thing the OP's did, out of the blue after storing for the winter (was fine last year during use). The dealer said you can't replace the paddle unit that comes off with 3 screws and you have to buy the entire $570 CAD shifter control pod and pay for 2 hours labor. It's about $1,000 with labor and taxes when the shifter works when I press it with my finger. It's just that the paddle shifter side doesn't press the buttons like my fingers can and cleaning with alcohol worked once but never again. We just bought this thing and already had to fix the stuck parking brake, done with WD40 thankfully, a 10 hour labor recall on the drive shaft and now this with the shifter. Not off to a good start on what appeared to be a babied, low mileage example I expected would be trouble free for many years. Hopefully this isn't a sign of more things to come.

 

[greer]

Might be worth a look, he adds a dab of silicone. Good luck.

Sarah

 

[LastHalf]

Might be worth a look, he adds a dab of silicone. Good luck.

Sarah

Perfect! That's a great idea and that stuff is at Canadian Tire stores and many others, as opposed to that LANEX MP4 lanolin spray from Australia. I was thinking of something similar, but instead of adding the silicone, I was thinking of shaving some of the plastic off on 'bottom' of the black piece the bearings move up and down in, to effectively bring the bearings closer to the white plastic 'nubs', but that's irreversible and more work.

I'll do this for sure and I am pretty confident it'll do the trick, since when I press the white nubs with my fingers, it shifts. I can't see why it wouldn't work, because the entire problem is that for whatever reason, the ball bearings are no longer making sufficient contact with the white nubs to make that positive 'click' sound and make it shift. Maybe over time something (surely the tops of the white plastic nubs, since it wouldn't be the bearings) wears juuuuust enough that it doesn't move enough.

Odd that it takes a youtuber to figure that out rather than replacing the entire $570 CAD piece; or not so weird since they make money on each part they sell and on the 1-2 hours of shop time every time someone has the problem.

You saved the day, since two other videos from the same guy helped me first clean this area up (which worked temporarily, like for a few shifts) and fix my stuck parking brake with WD40, but I didn't look through all his other videos to see this one, and several searches about this problem didn't bring this particular video up.

 

[greer]

Hope it works, let us know!

Sarah

 

[Mikey]

Perfect! That's a great idea and that stuff is at Canadian Tire stores and many others, as opposed to that LANEX MP4 lanolin spray from Australia. I was thinking of something similar, but instead of adding the silicone, I was thinking of shaving some of the plastic off on 'bottom' of the black piece the bearings move up and down in, to effectively bring the bearings closer to the white plastic 'nubs', but that's irreversible and more work.

I'll do this for sure and I am pretty confident it'll do the trick, since when I press the white nubs with my fingers, it shifts. I can't see why it wouldn't work, because the entire problem is that for whatever reason, the ball bearings are no longer making sufficient contact with the white nubs to make that positive 'click' sound and make it shift. Maybe over time something (surely the tops of the white plastic nubs, since it wouldn't be the bearings) wears juuuuust enough that it doesn't move enough.

Odd that it takes a youtuber to figure that out rather than replacing the entire $570 CAD piece; or not so weird since they make money on each part they sell and on the 1-2 hours of shop time every time someone has the problem.

You saved the day, since two other videos from the same guy helped me first clean this area up (which worked temporarily, like for a few shifts) and fix my stuck parking brake with WD40, but I didn't look through all his other videos to see this one, and several searches about this problem didn't bring this particular video up.

I have in the past used a dab of JB Weld to take up some air space on things before. The nice part about that is, that you can shape it and mold it, file it to the shape you want it!

 

[LastHalf]

Hope it works, let us know!

Sarah

Just got home and adding the dabs to dry overnight now.

 

[greer]

Just got home and adding the dabs to dry overnight now.

Sarah