Has anyone encountered a problem getting the shift lever out of PARK? I paid a Ford Dealership about $500 to fix this about a year ago; now its happening again. Shift lever is on the column. F-150 SuperCrew Lariat edition with Triton engine. Has most of the available bells and whistles.
Can get it out of Park by stomping hard on the brake pedal hard one or more times.
you probably have a bad safety interlock. It’s a device that checks to be sure you’re stepping on the brake before it lets you shift out of park.
Thank you. Could the safety interlock cost $500 to replace? Would it fail for a second time in less than a year? Could there be anything I am doing to create the problem? I’m pretty easy on the truck; I use it more as a giant sedan than as a pickup.
I can’t speak accurately to the cost to replace it. It depends on the part price, and how much your mechanic charges for labor. I will say it’s probably a relatively inexpensive part, and it shouldn’t take very much time to replace it. $500 seems a bit steep to me, but I could be wrong. Shop around.
It could break a second time in less than a year if 1) you got lucky and got a defective replacement part or 2) something is breaking it that hasn’t been caught yet, such as electrical surges burning it out. But if that were the case, I would imagine more than just the interlock would be blinking out on you.
I really doubt you’re doing anything to create the problem. Even if you were hard on the truck, I think you’d break a whole lot of other stuff long before you broke that.
Thanks again. Appreciate the input.
Check the adjustment of the brake light switch, under the dashboard. It sounds like it’s not contacting the brake pedal arm correctly.
Also make sure your brake lights are working correctly. The switch serves two functions; brake lights and transmission shift interlock.
Thank yo. I’ll check the adjustment. The brake lights are working.
Odds are that you will find a fuse listing for the “shift lock actuator” in your owners manual.
If any of the other items that are wired to that same fuse are also not working, swap the fuse & cross your fingers.