1992 Ford Escort won't go into gear

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I have a 1992 Ford Escort. It’s a junker (literally - it has a recovered title, the car having been totaled at some time in the past), but it gets me around. Or, it did.

The battery went dead a while back, and I’d been using the wife’s car. She had to be out of town, so I got a new battery. Car started right up, but I couldn’t get the transmission out of Park. I think there are switches to make sure that the brake is on, etc., that have to be made before the car can be put into gear. Is there anything I can do? Where are these switches? Obviously, I can’t drive the car to a shop, and I’d prefer not to have it towed unless there’s no alternative.

2

Most cars have an “emergency override” function to get around this…Check the owners manual or download a manual and then check for 'Gear Selector Override", something like that…

3

There is indeed. Thank you.

Not only did that enable me to get it into gear, but it seems that the problem was fixed by doing so. Works fine now. Again, thanks.