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OT: shift lever stuck in park

scojen

scojen

Stainless
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Zellwood, Fl.
Wife just called about her 2002 ford taurus the shift lever is stuck in park anybody had this problem before on a taurus.

Scott
 
Does this car have a brake pedal interlock? Many cars nowadays require the
driver to step on the brake to get it out of park.

Jim
 
The AAA guy just did that and got it to release the shift lever plus now she does not have any brakes lights. Got to be some kind of interlock in there controlling it, man I hate to work on that car.:angry:

Scott
 
If the brake lights are inop the AAA guy probably disconnected the interlock switch at the top of the brake pedal. Not to bad to change, just be careful some of these switches (Bosch) you only get one chance to install
 
2000 and newer Taurus and Sables are known for both problems...stuck in park and brake light issues. Although you have it free now, eventually it will stick to the point that nothing will free it. Been so long since I fixed ours I can't remember how I fixed it but I vaguely recall a pin or something I removed in the shift lever area.

As to the brake lights, there was a recall on the light switch mechanism at the foot pedal and you can get it fixed for free. Ironically I fixed ours before I found out about the recall and then had to get it replaced offically due to insurance issues !! (i.e. I fixed it for nothing)
 
Thanks for the input guys I will be crawling around in the column tonight.
Come on Don your not that old locate that pin for me. :D

Scott
 
I had a Countour with the same issue, I think. If so, there's a TSB floating around on the web with procedures. Not sure if there was a recall (free fix) or not.
 
Blown Fuse

Same problem with an Aerostar, a fried wiring harness in the tailgate caused a blown fuse that included the interlock. I broke the shifter right out of that column. So don't do that. Jim
 
GM-Land as Well

The same thing can happen in GM-Land as well. On my '97 Blazer a trailer wiring problem blew a fuse (tail lights). That would not let the shifter out of park since the solenoid that released the shifter was powered by the tail light fuse. This happened in a scenic lookout in Yellowstone park. Fortunately I figured it out in a few minutes.

A different but similar issue with the same vehicle: With a completely dead battery (the interior lights were left on for two weeks), once the key was in the ignition, and I found out that there no battery power at all, it was impossible to remove the key again without power. When I put a charger on for a few minutes the key could be removed. I don't know why they design them this way.
 
Many modern cars have a defeat for the brake interlock which allows the
user to bring the car out of park without the brake pedal depressed.

On toyotas it's a button covered by a snap-on cover on the center console.

Jim
 
Still not working !

Guys,
Sorry for the late reply, took the truck and went out of town for a long weekend. The problem still exist I did check the fuses and tried to get the ignition module out of the column. Think I need a bigger piece of wire for that.
I did run a continuity check on the brake switch under trhe dash and found it works but still no brake lights. I checked the websites everyone posted but nothing definitive found on the problem. I will keep looking this is the kind of problem that causes one to pause and ponder or should that be grrr and dammit.

Scott
 
Scott, re the brake issue seems to me that since Ford will replace your solenoid for free you might as well do that anyway and I suspect in the process they would fix whatever else might be the issue in the process, also for free since it's part of the overall picture.

I still can't remember how I fixed the shift lock issue but 50K miles later it's still fine (150K on 2000 Sable total)
 
Don't know if it applies in this case, but our Kia uses a simple cable that pulls a detent pin in the shift quadrant to free the shifter. The Kia has a small access hole where you can push a screwdriver in to manually actuate the detent pin.

dennis
 
jim rozen said:
Many modern cars have a defeat for the brake interlock which allows the
user to bring the car out of park without the brake pedal depressed.

On toyotas it's a button covered by a snap-on cover on the center console.

Jim
Click to expand...

My 2000 Ford Escort has the same small cover beside the gear shift. Pull the cover off and stick a screwdriver in there to push the button down.

Andrew
 
I had this trouble with a chevy Blazer, Turned out to be the ingnition not making contact--I still have the cover off it--Just tapped on it ( Ignition) with something metal to get the lights on the dash to come on. Then it would shift
pushing the button on the shifter works also. If you know where to push.
TRR.
 
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