My car won't move!!

[critterpainter]

Hopped in my 02 this aft, started the engine, fastened my seatbelt, stepped on the brake and grabbed the shift lever.
HUH??? the derned thing would not move. The car is stuck in park
I guess its a ride to the dealer tomorrow Thank goodness it has the 5 year warantee under it and only 4K miles on it.
I really wanted to drive it today

Bill

[Skylark]

When the ignition is in the OFF position the transmission shift lever can be moved from the park position. The engine can then be started with the lever in the N position. You can shift gears from the neutral position. You probably have a defective brake light switch or a loose wire on the switch. Hope this helps and saves you a tow... Ken

[critterpainter]

Thanks, didn't think to try shifting the car with the ign unlocked. That will make things a bunch easier.

Bill

[George]

Critter:
Not sure if this will help since it was reversed of your situation, but at least it's information.

"I lost my ability to put the car in Park. Between the transmission mechanic's vacation and my own, today is the first day I've been able to have him look at it.
He pulled the transmission pan assuming he could reach the pawl from there. Ended up going to the computer and found the Parking Pawl was mentioned specifically on our birds.....and the entire transmission has to come out to reach it. He thought that was odd, and thought Ford knew there was a problem with the pawls. He has a call in to Ford.
I should also mention that a month or so ago, I had the front rubber U-joint replaced, and he found it very loose. I don't know if the dealership didn't tighten it properly as the mechanic said it required a special tool. He feels this could have caused the parking pawl problem."

Now for those who don't know what a Pawl is:

"A parking pawl is a device fitted to a car's automatic transmission that locks up the transmission. It is engaged when the shift selector is placed in the Park position, which is always the first position (topmost on a column shift, frontmost on a floor shift) in all cars sold in the United States since 1965 (when the order was standardised by the SAE) and in most other vehicles worldwide.
The parking pawl locks the transmission's output shaft to the transmission casing by engaging a pawl (a pin) that engages in a notched wheel on the shaft, stopping it (and thus the driven wheels) from turning.
Most manufacturers and mechanics do not recommend using the transmission's parking pawl as the sole means of securing a parked car, instead recommending it should be used as a backup for the car's parking brake. Constant use of the parking pawl only, especially when parking on an incline, means that driveline components are kept constantly under stress, and can cause wear and eventual failure of the parking pawl. Replacement can be an expensive operation since it generally requires removing the transmission from the car.
To keep the tension off the pawl, it's a good idea to first apply the parking brake and let the car "rest" on it before putting the car in Park position."
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_pawl"

I hope this is helpful for you

[Ed Martin]

If you can't get the transmission out of park as above put the ignition key in the "run " position.(one notch back from "start") and it usually will release the tranmission.Had this happen on a Sable and this is the way I released it from Park.BTW it was a neutral safety switch.

[critterpainter]

Picked up the car yesterday ( I was out of town for 2 1/2 weeks). I didn't find ut what the problem was, but I did learn that it was NOT related to the problem that generated the letter from ford extending the waranttee for certain trans parts.
The good news is that the dealer said that the hardtop leak I have is covered by a TSB and will be fixed under waranttee

Time to pull the hardtop and rig for summer driving

bill