Shifting into park on my 02 XLS

[prerunner02]

disconnect the cable from the tranny and try shifting. Issue goes away problem is inside tranny. Then disconnect the cable from the shift lever, problem goes away then cable is the issue. If not then the shift solenoid.

 

[RickM]

FYI, I removed the covering for my shift column, as described in the TSB, and the original BSI switch (Shift Solenoid?) works fine.

When the brake pedal is pressed the little pin in the BSI retracts and allows the shift lever mechanism to come out of Park and go into the desired gear. When pressure is taken off the brake pedal the BSI pin extends and locks the lever into place.

I also looked at what was happening on the top of the column and nothing was obviously out of whack.....of course.

So, the problem described in the original post, of having a tough time getting back into Park, is not solved for me...yet.

 

[tfde21]

hang up into park

hello, i'm new to the forum and have seen alot of good info in here! as i was searching for some help with issues that my wife's newly acquired mountaineer has, and according to some of these threads may very soon have, i saw this thread and can actually "give something back".

We had the very same problem. I took the plastic housing off of the steering column to investigate. the problem IS the "brake lock", but not with the lock itself. If you look closely at where the break lock "pin" makes contact with the gear selector assy (just behind the ignition key) you will probably find that the brake lock "pin" has worn a very small "pit" in the "slide" section (for lack of a better name) of the gear selector and as you try to move the gear selector from D, N, R etc. into Park the break lock pin gets caught in this little worn pit.

I was able to disconnect a linkage or two (including the actual gear selector handle and the small diameter cord that connects to the gear position indicator in the instrument cluster, this allows you to move the part with the "pit" freely to help with filing) and take a flat jewelers file and file the pit out without taking this completely out of the column. I was initially going to take it completely out to do this but quickly found that it was pretty much impossible with out dissassembling the entire steering column. But with a little patience and a little elbow grease i was able to get the pit filed out. it didn't take much time. ours is now working perfectly.

 

[wog1958]

I also am having this same issue on my 03 XLT 4x4....from Park to anything (Reverse, Neutral, Drive) goes smoothly without any hangups....however going from anything back to park it wants to stop at Reverse....I have to engage it completely in Reverse and then go to park.

My 04 XLT RWD has done this for nearly 20 years. Had it looked at under warranty years ago and unable to fix. We've just gotten use to engaging Reverse before Park. Feature?