2007 Subaru Impreza - Stuck in park

I tried pressing the shift lock release several times and this did not work - with the engine off and emergency brake on, as instructed in the manual.

After a bit of research I decided to check the wiring harness where I found wires unplugged. After connecting them and the check engine light was flashing at which point I researched again and realized that these wires (green) were for diagnostics only and shouldn’t be connected and immediately disconnected. HOWEVER, after doing this I was finally able to shift out of park. This feels like a coincidence, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Also, over the last week I’ve been hearing an intermittent grinding from the rear passenger side brakes. Again, I’m not sure that this is related, but thought it was worth mentioning.

The next time this happens, see if your brake lights are working or not. If not, then you probably have a problem with the electrical switch at the top of the brake pedal.