yjmoose89 Posted May 10, 2019 So today I lost the “baby tooth” from the steering column. Normally I would take it to the dealer and have it fixed under warranty (2018 3500 SL with 8357 miles) but I was just at the dealer today (1 hour away) for an oil change and front end alignment check. Now I was not overly worried as I have read many people have lost the baby tooth and never replaced it with no ongoing issues. But I am leaving for a trip to Yellowstone and expect to put over 2500 miles on and was not really looking forward to my wife worrying the entire time. So, I thought I would tackle it myself. I am fairly well mechanically inclined but really enjoy the thought that I am not the mechanic for this vehicle (yet). But that went out the window. So into the meat of the post. The fix 1. Remove the knee/kick panel below the steering wheel. There are two screw holding it in place, one behind the fuse panel cover and one behind the hood release. Then the panel will just pull out. 2. Disconnect the power mirror connector, traction control plug, then remove the temp sensor (one Phillips head screw) so that you can move the kick panel out of the way. 3. Look straight up to the bottom of the steering column, if you have lost the baby tooth, you will see two loose philips head screws, loser those up a bit.4. There is a black metal flat spring, help in place with one screw, I believe it is on the end of a cable but not 100% sure, loosen that screw too5. Fit the baby tooth back into place, it will only go in one way due to the location and staggering of the screws. In hindsight, a little locktite on those acres that hold the baby tooth in would probably be a good idea, any way put it in and tighten them up. 6. Adjust the black flat metal spring so that it fits snug into the first groove of the baby tooth. 7. Now reinstall everything in reverse order (HA I have read a chiltons manual8. Go back into your house. Took me 15 minutes total time, and 30 minutes to write this up! I will try to attach some pictures. No promises 3 radin2son, ASD Dad and Mark Rogers reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yjmoose89 Posted May 10, 2019 Not the best picture, it was dark and I wanted it fixed. On the center of the screen is one of the two screw that hold the baby tooth in. You can also almost see the black metal spring clip that rear on the baby tooth when it’s all back together, it has some yellow grease/paint on it in the picture. It really is an easy fix. Good luck. 3 ASD Dad, radin2son and Mark Rogers reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yjmoose89 Posted May 10, 2019 And the picture rotated 90degrees left. Sorry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted May 10, 2019 (edited) Nice write up! I see this complaint all the time on the FB groups. Nice to know it is that easy to fix vs. a long visit at the dealer. I am pinning this to the top of the forum for future reference. I plan on linking back to it from the FB forums. Edited May 10, 2019 by ASD Dad 2 radin2son and Mark Rogers reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted May 10, 2019 Am I the only one who doesn’t know what a “baby tooth” is or does? What is its function? 1 hawk259 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yjmoose89 Posted May 10, 2019 (edited) I believe it’s proper name may be a shift detent but am not sure. It is my understanding it stiffens the shift lever so that it is more difficult to change gears from park, reverse, neutral, drive. But I am not sure. Whatever it does am engineer who is hopefully smarter than me designed it to be in the system, I would like to keep it. Edited May 10, 2019 by yjmoose89 3 radin2son, ASD Dad and Mark Rogers reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted May 10, 2019 Am I the only one who doesn’t know what a “baby tooth” is or does? What is its function? There is a complaint about every other day on the FB forums about it falling out. It can be brand new or 5 years old with 100 miles or 100,000 miles. People shift and it pops out onto the floor. It got nicknamed the "baby tooth" and it has turned into a running joke when it happens. Some dealers dont even know what it is until people tell them. 2 Mark Rogers and radin2son reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radin2son Posted May 10, 2019 If this is the same part, there was a recall (13V-795), gear selector plate lock clip, to check if the U shaped metal piece was installed correctly. Most were installed correctly. Or did they change the part, creating a new problem.., Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simon & B Posted May 24, 2019 Ha! After a search for an image of the 'baby tooth', I realized that ours fell out a year ago, with no issues since. I guess that we'll get it fixed under warranty when we get back from our imminent trip. https://tenor.com/view/baby-tooth-nissan-nv-nv3500-gif-14168551 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
