Car won’t shift out of park?
11-09-2017, 05:06 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Texas
Posts: 3
Car won’t shift out of park?
Now i was going to post this on the V6 Mustang board for the 99-04, but i’m posting here so that a wider audience can maybe see this and have answer.
I have an 04 Mustang V6 automatic, and the shifter won’t shift out of park. I have already changed the brake light switch and no fuses are blown. I can obviously start the car in neutral or turn the key a little bit past the START position and shift out, but there must be a permanent fix.
Anyone have any idea whatsoever? Is it possible that i messed something up while changing the switch?
PS after i changed the brake light switch, the shifter worked fine for a couple weeks then got stuck again. Then a couple more weeks went by where it would shift out, but i’d have to use the strength of two hands to push the button in. Now it won’t shift at all unless i do one of the two procedures above.
Thanks in advance!
I have an 04 Mustang V6 automatic, and the shifter won’t shift out of park. I have already changed the brake light switch and no fuses are blown. I can obviously start the car in neutral or turn the key a little bit past the START position and shift out, but there must be a permanent fix.
Anyone have any idea whatsoever? Is it possible that i messed something up while changing the switch?
PS after i changed the brake light switch, the shifter worked fine for a couple weeks then got stuck again. Then a couple more weeks went by where it would shift out, but i’d have to use the strength of two hands to push the button in. Now it won’t shift at all unless i do one of the two procedures above.
Thanks in advance!
11-10-2017, 12:04 PM
#2
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,826
I'm not super familiar with it since my car has a manual transmission, but there is what's generally called a shift interlock solenoid that will be located on the shifter mechanism (remove the shifter trim panel bezel to access it). When you depress the brake pedal, it unlocks and allows the shifter to move out of Park. Sounds to me as though that part is failing. If something has been spilled there (morning coffee, maybe some Dr Pepper or whatever) you may be able to remove the solenoid and clean it up if it just has something sticky gunking it up. Also may try giving the shifter a light smack or two to the side of it while depressing the brake pedal; my wife spilled some coffee years ago on the shifter of our '08 Explorer which caused this same problem and giving it a couple light taps as necessary always made it start working correctly again - sounds halfassed, and it is, but I never had or made the time to deal with it and after a while the issue just went away on its own.
11-10-2017, 12:08 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Texas
Posts: 3
I'm not super familiar with it since my car has a manual transmission, but there is what's generally called a shift interlock solenoid that will be located on the shifter mechanism (remove the shifter trim panel bezel to access it). When you depress the brake pedal, it unlocks and allows the shifter to move out of Park. Sounds to me as though that part is failing. If something has been spilled there (morning coffee, maybe some Dr Pepper or whatever) you may be able to remove the solenoid and clean it up if it just has something sticky gunking it up. Also may try giving the shifter a light smack or two to the side of it while depressing the brake pedal; my wife spilled some coffee years ago on the shifter of our '08 Explorer which caused this same problem and giving it a couple light taps as necessary always made it start working correctly again - sounds halfassed, and it is, but I never had or made the time to deal with it and after a while the issue just went away on its own.
I recently took off the whole shifter trim panel to change my head unit and didn’t even think of checking it out then
11-11-2017, 06:16 PM
#5
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Texas
Posts: 3