Yikes! My TCS light will not go off?

My TCS light will not turn off. The light comes on when the car is turned on and I apply my foot to the break. Once it is on, I can not put the car in gear unless I push the gear release on the gear shift. I do not have a service light or any other light on the dash.

Check your owner’s manual. The TCS light will go on and stay on if there is a problem with the traction control system. You’ll need to get it checked out. If it is still under warranty, the dealer would be the best place to start.

The TCS uses the brakes, so a fault in the braking system will cause a fault in the TCS.

The gear release thing is a little weird. Does your car have a brake safety interlock that prevents you from putting the car in gear unless your foot is on the brake?

Can you turn off TCS on your car? Many (most?) cars have a TCS switch that allows you to turn it off. I’ll bet that if you turn off the TCS, you will still not be able to shift your car normally, because the fault is somewhere in the brake pedal itself or in the brake/transmission safety interlock system.

Before you get too far along, check to see if the brake lights are coming on when the brake pedal is pushed. Failure of the brake light switch or it circuit is one of the classic causes of the shifter not moving out of Park.

The dealer can scan the ABS/TCS computer module for diagnostic codes. This should narrow down the problem. On a quick perusal, I did not see any codes where the module is sensing the position of the brake pedal or the brake light switch.

BTW what year is your Accord?