Stuck in P

[F1EA]

Hey all

Right now my Explorer is parked halfway into my garage (slightly sloping) and won't come out of P. I had to stop halfway in because my puppy wouldnt move out of the way, so i had to get out of the car... when i went back in, it was stuck in P.

I tried doing the Shift interlock manual override, but it didn't work. All brake lights work normally, and the engine cranks and starts fine.

Puzzled :S

Could it still be the interlock solenoid, is it the steering column, is it the transmission.... ?

 

[guitarfrk741]

I know you said you tried the Interlock over ride but you might wanna check the fuse for the brake shift interlock anyway .check your manual to see what one it is.. I blew this fuse once and I couldn't shift outta park either till I changed it.. Didn't think about the override though

 

[F1EA]

Finally got it to shift

Ok i was able to shift... what i did was gently rock the truck while gently moving the gear lever, while pressing slightly on the brakes... otherwise the lever wouldn't have moved, right?... it was kinda like getting a car out of mud.

Made sure not to apply too much force to the gear lever. I know there's an aluminum piece that breaks easily.

It is dark already, so tomorrow I will check the fuses. But if they are all ok then what else could it be?

i have been having some mild difficulty getting out of P (specially on inclines) but never actually got stuck. I really hope there isnt a broken tooth somewhere around......

 

[Gus Gorilla]

Your parking pawl probably had a fierce grip on the parking gear. If you got it out of park by rocking and all that, then it's not your electrical. Parking on slopes puts all the pressure of the weight of your truck on your parking pawl which is nothing more than a little metal finger that locks the transmission output shaft. Literally the size of your finger. If you really yank it in that situation you'll get a kind of PANG! metallic sound. Why it's harder now than usual?? no clue.

 

[F1EA]

I also think it is something more complicated than a simple fuse or solenoid.
The thing is, how do I check the parking pawl is ok?

It ussually takes more effort to get out of P than to put it in P, particularily on on slopes, but i have parked on steeper slops than my garage and it never got stuck like this. Once it is out of P all gears go about smoothly. So if anyone has ideas about what it could be, be glad to hear....

 

[DeRocha]

I also think it is something more complicated than a simple fuse or solenoid.
The thing is, how do I check the parking pawl is ok?

It ussually takes more effort to get out of P than to put it in P, particularily on on slopes, but i have parked on steeper slops than my garage and it never got stuck like this. Once it is out of P all gears go about smoothly. So if anyone has ideas about what it could be, be glad to hear....

To prevent the parking prawl from getting all the weight of your vehicle you just need to use the E-Brake before shifting into park..

 

[Willard]

I'll confirm this is definitely a mechanical thing related to the parking pawl. It's completely normal as far as I can tell too. Every automatic I've ever driven is hard to get out of park when you park on a hill.

If you've ever physically seen the parking pawl on these transmissions before you wouldn't trust it with much...

 

[F1EA]

To prevent the parking prawl from getting all the weight of your vehicle you just need to use the E-Brake before shifting into park.

Yes, i ussually do this, but i think this one time i either didnt push the e-brake, besides my ebrake is not working too good (i think it is also common on explorers), so i guess i should fix it.

I'll confirm this is definitely a mechanical thing related to the parking pawl. It's completely normal as far as I can tell too. Every automatic I've ever driven is hard to get out of park when you park on a hill.

So its more or less normal? i think it is more common on steering column shifters... I also have an Xterra and it has never happened or at least it hasnt been as noticeable. i'm going to try fixing the e-brake and see how much easier it is to disengage P. What frightens me the most is breaking that lever.

Well thanks to all. Will post back once i find a solution...