2001 honda accord lx.
My car wasnt starting the other day. It would just click when trying to start. I got a jump and it still wasnt working( just one click when trying to start). Then I noticed the D4 light was on while in Park. I moved my automatic shifter up and down and then the car started. I let the car run for a little after the jump to charge the battery as i thought it was a battery problem. I turned the car off and tried to start again and it wasnt working anymore. I went to get a new battery because my battery was old and thought it was my battery still. I put the new battery in and the D4 light is still lighting up for 2-3 seconds and turning off. The car still wont start, just clicks once. Any ideas for a fix?

 

I know your post is a little old, but I got the same issue and have had it happen many times. I’ll know it’ll happen when I turn my key to the “run” position the light for park will not be lit up. I just jiggle the shifter, there’s a sensor/switch that basically tells the car if it’s in park or neutral that the starter can engage, if not I believe it must default into thinking it’s in drive for safety reasons. I also notice that when my car is cranking before it fires up that park and D4 will be lit up, but since that occurs during normal starts I’ve always assumed it’s normal. I imagine that a few decades of dust will plug whatever switch is in the console shifter, I recently replaced my shifter light and it was pretty gross under the console.

 

In fact, after looking into it, there is a solenoid on the shifter itself in the console. Specifically the shift interlock solenoid, it has a connector at the top which may just be loose, and it also has a shaft that moves and is spring loaded. Unfortunately a bunch of transmission solenoids also come up on a google search. I can’t think of anything else that would be the culprit for you/my issue, I’ve just gotten used to giving the shifter a little shake when I start the car. I suppose if it fails completely I can use the shift release to go buy a new one. Anyways I hope this info is helpful in some way.