I read all of the posts about being stuck in park, as my 1998 was also stuck in park. As a result, I tried turning on the heater in order to warm up the interior as it was a brisk 42 here this morning (San Diego) and I thought that the colder temp might be a factor with the solenoid sticking.

That seemed to work, as it released, so then I began the process of seeking a reliable repair. It appears that the problem is the solenoid located on the shifter, which prevents you from shifting the car without your foot on the brake.

Several dealerships that I called in the San Diego area, all said that the solenoid was not available as a separate part that I would have to buy the whole shifter assembly for $303.

I contacted Bob, the Service Manager at Fichtner Chevrolet, and he was kind enough to order the part for me and told me that it would be about $33 plus shipping!

In the mean time, I took the old one apart, which seems to now work OK. That was not too hard but it was a bit difficult to get the shifter bracket apart as I did not quite understand that it was held together by three VERY STIFF retainers. Once I figured that out and got everything apart, it was pretty easy to get to the solenoid.

After reading all of the posts, I have a stupid question. Until I replace the solenoid and even after it is replaced, why not put a circuit to disable the solenoid if it should fail again?

It would be easy to put a small switch right next to the aux power receptacle in the consol. In this way, if the solenoid should fail, you could "turn off the power", by flipping the switch, and the transmission would shift into gear." Seems simple to me.....

Your thoughts on this "MOD?"

Scot

 

I thought many GM's have a mechanical bypass for auto's if this happens. Have to look in the manual. My wife's Grans Prix has a tiny cover next to the shifter that pops out and you insert a screwdriver to unlock the shifter in case the electrics get sick.

 

Thanks for my learing of the day....

 

This is the temporary fix.

Good Luck

 

I had the same problem with my '98. The best advice I received was simply to disconnect the wire connector going to the solenoid. I took mine all the apart including the boot. After I got this far I dicovered a connection right ahead of the shifter that in turn goes to the solenoid. Thats where I dis-connected. (Don't have to take the boot up)

Works like a charm. You don't have to apply the brake to shift out of Park. No down side that I've seen.

Good Luck!

 

So, if I understand the 'fix', the solenoid can be removed (or disconnected) and the only penalty is you don't have to put your foot on the brake to shift out of park?

I'm doing a conversion of sorts to put in a C2's T-Handle shifter and this would solve a small problem I'm having on getting the lockout to 'unlock'.

Padrino

 

I had the SAME problem and was going to remove the solenoid under the boot which took a long time to get to after taking half of the car apart. Simply REMOVING the one terminal from the park solenid SOLVES THE PROBLEM. Screw the $300. Just UNPLUG it. Do you NORMALLY have your foot on the brake when starting. I DO. Remove the plug and you are HOME FREE. I've done this on my 98 and its never failed in the last 4 years. GO FOR IT.
BIGHANK

 

That is what I did. However after everything was back together I noticed my my PRNDL light doesn't work anymore. I did some more research and I believe the only wire needing to be disconnected is the one dark green/white wire. Can anybody confirm that before I take the car apart again.

 

Wiring diagram of this area?