What causes car to start when in park but not in neutral?

Title. MD inspection failed me because car has to start in both park AND neutral. Car only starts in park but not in neutral. I hate MD inspection but this is a rant for another day…anyway what part is the culprit?

The "neutral safety switch is bad.

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Or possibly needs adjustment.

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Also they failed me because the little red dot/gear shift indicator that tells you whether it’s in P, R, N, D does not move out of park but the shifter (automatic) itself moves through the gears just fine. Do i need a whole new shift assembly or is there an easier fix? For a 2005 mustang gt

Ford has had some problems like this. Your dealer should know if there is a Ford-recommended fix that you won’t have to pay for. Don’t call it a recall - that’s a limiting term. Tell them your car’s symptoms and its VIN.

You might be able to find out yourself on line if your car is covered by some special program.

@Mustangman , what say you?

The transmission range sensor provides gear position input to the TCM/Instrument cluster. The range sensor in located on the gear selector shaft on the transmission. Inspect for broken wires before replacing the range sensor.

The gear selector shaft on the transmission has an adjustment procedure so that the gear selector cable and shifter position the input shaft correctly. I’d adjust that as a first step.

A scanner that can read the IPC (instrument cluster) can read the selected gear. If you pull the shifter into neutral and the IPC doesn’t show neutral, the cable needs adjustment. The procedure doesn’t require a scanner, though.

The procedure, page 1, for a 2014, the 2011 (?) should be similar.

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