I purchased a secondhand Renault Scenic MPV in 2010 (manufactured in 2007). Overall it works fine except for the Gearstick. If the weather gets cold, particularly if it is minus 3 or below, and if I keep the car outside overnight or for more than 24 hours, the Gearstick freezes. It takes a minimum of 10 minutes or a maximum of 30 minutes to unfreeze the gearstick, by turning on the car and putting the aircon/heating at full blast. I sent the car to the Renault garage 3 times now and they tried different things (changing the gearbox oil/fluid, cleaning rust etc...). But unfortunately, I still experience this problem every winter.

My questions to you are,

1. Have you ever come across this problem before, particularly with Renaults?

2. Is there a permanent solution to this problem?

3. Are there any short term solutions, to get the car moving in the cold/winter weather? Cheers.