Unable to shift from park...?

[ExplosiveAbe]

Just wondering if anyone else has run into this problemo & if there's any easy fix. Yesterday, the button on the top of the shifter wouldn't press in, no matter how many f-bombs I dropped. After a few minutes of jiggling the shifter while pressing the button & pressing the button while jiggling the shifter it finally worked. Would be rather embarassing if this were to happen getting off the ferry, or being the get-away van in a bank robbery.

[mararmeisto]

Check the switch from the brake. Use some contact cleaner and that should fix it up.

Sorry I don't have a picture for that, but maybe someone else can post one--this problem has popped up a couple of times on this forum.

[MardyDelica]

Hi, abe, one point is that i guess, is that maybe you have to press the brake to release this lock linkage.
now try not to put the the gear in park when the car is not level or when the car is still runiing forward a little bit,
as its tendency is to lock the linkage to park. sometime happen like this,
or maybe you just have to press the brake a little bit harder to release the lock.
your be o.k.
cheers;

[ExplosiveAbe]

Thanks for the replies.

I always wait for the vehicle to come to a full stop before changing gears, whether it's from reverse to drive, or drive to park & always have my foot on the brake when shifting from park. (I know some people who will shift into drive while they're still reversing) I pressed pretty hard on the brake when it happened, but no luck. If it happens again, I'll press a little harder.

Mararmeisto, where is the switch from the brake located? I tried searching for the previous posts but no luck.

[mararmeisto]

Mararmeisto, where is the switch from the brake located? I tried searching for the previous posts but no luck.

The brake switch itself is right next to/above the pedal (looks like a little cylinder with two prongs). This is the device which tells the rest of the vehicle the brakes have been applied (brake lights come on and deactivates the locking relay in the parking circuit). Now, where that second relay is, not sure, but I suspect it is inside the shifter housing (the plastic shell around the linkage).

[Green1]

The brake switch itself is right next to/above the pedal (looks like a little cylinder with two prongs). This is the device which tells the rest of the vehicle the brakes have been applied (brake lights come on and deactivates the locking relay in the parking circuit). Now, where that second relay is, not sure, but I suspect it is inside the shifter housing (the plastic shell around the linkage).

ummm... something wrong here, I removed that switch all-together (it wasn't working and the brake lights wouldn't come on) and had no trouble shifting from park, yet without the brakes applied it won't go...
So I'm pretty sure that particular switch is only for the brake lights. there must be something else for the parking lock...