Transmission Stuck In Park

This is a situation where you cannot physically move the shift lever out of Park in to any other position. This can either be a shift cable issue or a brake switch interlock problem. Cars are designed to prevent the movement of the shift lever out of park without pushing the brake first. The brake light switch and a small solenoid play a big part here. Check to be sure the brake lights are operating. If not, then you may have found the problem. If it is, the problem could be with the transmission, but more likely with the solenoid that unlocks the shifter. Often, this can be (temporarily) remedied by pushing repeatedly on the brake pedal, or using the override function. On many cars, you can override the solenoid by inserting a spare key near the shifter. Refer to your cars owners' manual to see if you can do this and what the procedure would be.

If you still can't get it operating, you'll have to be towed in, and get our Free Diagnostic to determine just why the shift lever is stuck. Fortunately, 99% of the time, this is a very minor repair.

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