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Can't
get your shifter out of Park Position? Today's Automatic transmission cars have a starter interlock that won't allow the shifter to move from park unless the brakes are applied. The electrical signal from the brake lights is the thing that allows all this to happen when the motor is running. In this instance, the owner had a malfunction and the brake lights were not coming on, thus the car could not get out of park after starting the car. The first thing to check is that the brake light switch on the brake pedal is intact, making contact with the brake pedal and that the wires are hooked up. All seemed well in this instance after a quick inspection. A mechanic knew of a trick to get the owner moving. In this case you put the ignition in run, but don't try to start the car. this unlocks the steering wheel. Then apply the brakes and take the car out of Park and put it in Neutral. THEN you can use the starter to start the car and shift without having to apply the brakes. Now, in this instance, the car still had no brake lights, but the owner was able to carefully get the car to a service shop where a broken wire to the brake light switch was fixed. Just one more thing on today's complicated cars that can and sometimes does go wrong, and now you know how to possibly get moving in an emergency and what to look for. SHO Club |
