Car shift lever is stuck and have a trip to take

Your advice has been appreciated in the past. Can you help with a 2001 Honda (automatic transmission)that the shift lever won’t move. The normal was to push in the brake, push in the button on the shift lever on the floor, and then the shift lever can be moved into gear.The lever will move when we hear a click when brake is depressed or if we stick the key in slot by lever to bypass the problem. Brake lights work. Is this serious to cause a brake problem, etc.? Any ideas what it to fix? Have a trip to take tomorrow and it acted up tonight more. Thanks for the help.

I called my family about the Honda Accord I mentioned above and they are not sure. what is up. They mentioned their Ford Explorer (about 1997) shifter won’t go into Drive 2 or Park either. Could anyone help us determine what these two cars’ problems could be as we are trying to work on them and are puzzled? Thanks for reading this.

Its not going to affect your brakes so you have nothing to worry about. When you press on the brake, it is supposed to flip the switch to unlock the shifter. It didn’t work so the override is to put a key in the slot by the shifter to unlock it. Its just another unnecessary safety device so you can’t put the car in gear without having your foot on the brake. There is either something wrong with the switch at the brake or the one at the shifter, or just out of adjustment or gummed up. The worst that can happen is that you have to keep putting the key in the slot every time you want to take it out of park but it has no relation to how the brakes operate.

The explorer has a different set-up…Sometimes rocks, thrown up from the road, can get in behind the shift linkage next to the transmission and jam it…

Thank you. It is reassuring about the shift lever for the trip that had to be today and the linkage help is needed as they have been unable to figure that out too.

“just another unnecessary safety device”

Yes, there are special offices that exist in all corporations and state regulatory agencies that are set up specially to think up outlandish and unnecessary safety devices. I’m pretty sure the offices are usually called “Dept of Unnecessary Safety Devices.”

Sorry - but I just couldn’t resist. I have witnessed too many “stupid people tricks” in cars (see them everyday). And seeing the drivers I have to share space with I’m quite glad that there are shift interlock switches. They just might, for example, contribute to my children surviving to adulthood despite many visits to parking lots and walks along urban and suburban side walks.

Either way - ImpalaSue, Bing’s advice addressing the problem is right on as far as the Honda is concerned. Someone will just have to check out the system. It isn’t that complicated - anyone who is reasonably handy can check out the switches & mechanisms.

The Explorer may, indeed, be a different story - but there is still a basic system that interlocks with the brake switch.

Oh Cig, Cig, Cig. Chill out a little. Air bags yes, safety glass yes, seat belts yes, crush zones yes, etc. etc., but shift interlocks for me are in the same class as lawn mower seat interlocks. I know we have to save the 2% of the population that need to wear helmets walking but for me its not necessary. By the way I happen to work at one of those agencies and see how sausage is made and the people that come up with some of this stuff.