Gear Shift Sticks

[bigmck]

I have a 2004 Explorer XLS. I am in Houston and the land here is generally flat. Going from the street to my driveway is a slight incline. Yesterday I went from the street to my driveway, stopped and put it in Park. My truck rolled backwards a few inches and there was a slight noise. The gear shift was stuck in Park. This has happened a couple times before as I do not stop in the driveway often. Before I had managed to work the shift and get it out of Park, but not this time. I called a tow truck (AAA so it was free) and he came and moved my truck a couple inches forward and the shift unlocked and it was fine. The obvious solution to this is don't park on inclines. It also seems that if I put the Parking Brake on while still in Drive, the truck will not roll backwards and lock. I was just curious if this has been a problem for anyone else and if my theory about putting the Parking Brake on while still in Drive has solved the problem for anyone? Thanks,

 

[transman304]

Apply parking brake while still in drive before putting in park will help. Chrysler had this issue few years back in the Caravan. The same transmission was used in the vans and the Neons yet only had complaints on the heavier base vehicles. Later they changed the design of the parking pawl slightly to help out this issue. Good luck

 

[TechGuru]

Whenever I park on a incline...

Step 1: Set Parking Brake
Step 2: Place Gear Shift in Neutral
Step 3: Slowly Release Service Brake Allowing Parking Brake to Take Over
Step 4: Place Gear Shift In Park

When ready to leave...

Step 1: Apply Service Brake
Step 2: Place Gear Shift in Drive or Reverse (depending on which way you're going to be going).
Step 3: Release the Parking Brake