Stuck In Park!!

My 1998 Chevy Malibu starts and runs, but I cannot push the button to move the gearshift. THe car is stuck in PARK!!

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bengirlxD

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November 5th, 2012

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Check Stop lights--if they are not working vehicle will not shift out of "park" check fuse Here are opinions and answers from FAQ Farmers:

Check under the shifting mechanism for loose change or other small items that might have gotten stuck between the gears and baseplate. Fixing this only costs time.

You may have a safety switch where you have to press the brake it may have gone bad or your ignition switch also has a safety interlock that could have gone bad.

Have you ever wondered why you had so much trouble shifting out of PARK on a steep grade? An automatic transmission, when in PARK position, locks the driving wheels. On a steep grade you'll need more than normal pressure to move the shift lever. This is because the transmission's parking pawl resists the vehicle's tendency to roll.

The last answer was cut from Parts America.com and I have to add I am looking for more than this answer since until the transmission rebuild two months ago this van has never had a problem on the slight slope of my driveway. I had to push her up the drive way a bit to get the parking paul off the lock. The pawl wears and I have to ask my tranny guy if he replaced those pawls or not. How many thousands of miles does the tranny have - mine has 120,000.

Your pawl probably got a groove cut into it because if you don't use your parking brake, hence the name, when parking on ANY incline you put pressure on it and bit by bit wear down the metal.

The reason your car would be stuck in park is because you did not use the parking brake. The purpose of a parking brake is to hold the vehicle, many use the transmission to hold the vehicle but then it will evntually result in spending 2,000 dollars on a new transmission. A transmission is made to shift gears, not to hold a vehicle. That's why they call the parking brake, the PARKING brake. Park or P on the gearshift selector means just plain park it is to show that's where you put it when you stop your vehicle and turn it off. If it were to hold the vehicle I would imagine it would say park brake. The way I apply the parking brake is I stop then before putting it in park I FIRMLY apply the parking brake, then put it in park. You need to push it down hard or else it is pointless to use it.

Don't forget to let off the foot brake before putting the transmission into park. My steps: 1) Stop vehicle; 2) Firmly set Parking Brake; 3) Put transmission in Neutral; 4) Let off foot brakes (slowly, to make sure Parking Brake is holding); and 5) Put transmission into park. This puts literally no strain on the transmission.

Feel free to resubmit the question if you didn't find it useful.