Stuck in park, 2005 C6
 

The threads on this problem all seem to be years old. I'm looking for any new info on how to resolve this. Old posts seemed to fall into two fixes, expensive replace of shifter or fiddle with it till it starts working. The two times it has happened to me the fiddle with it has worked but I sure don't want to get stuck somewhere if the next time that does not work. I would like to be armed with the latest info if I have to go into a dealer. Thanks

Hi gas five. I have a 2005 coupe ,had the same problem.started out once in a while then got worse. had extended warrante . dealer had to replace shifter.so they said.this was few months ago. now all is good.

This is a quick fix to get you going, most floor mounted automatics have a switch below the boot. Try lifting up the boot and look for the switch. Once you press it you should be able to shift out of park.

If you are not clear, just call any chevy service dept and ask about this switch. I have not checked but it might be in the manual.

Again, not sure if the Vette has one, but all others I have owned did.

Once you are on the move, you can drive it in for repair.

We are not fortunate enough to have that switch. That would have been too easy.
Replacing the shifter is the only solution I've ever read about.

boot
 

Thanks to all for the input. Question about The Boot. Is that the cover over the shift? The boot was what some folks called the trunk when I was young, and since I now don't have a real trunk my guess is that it's the leather cover. Thanks.

Long ago I searched the owners manual and the forum and the car itself.

I did NOT find an override switch/keylock/whatever that allows manually shifting out of Park. I'm practically certain that it doesn't exist.

This also surprised me when I bought my 09 C6... every other vehicle I've owned with a floor-mounted auto shifter has one.

To the OP:
-- Any problems starting the engine?
-- Not trying to insult you: The engine is running and your foot is on the brake when you try to shift out of Park, right? Anyway, it might be an intermittent problem with the brake switch.

And before you replace the shifter, make sure the battery is good. Lots of reports of seemingly unrelated bad behavior with a weak/dying battery.

Let us know what finally fixes it.

Foot on brake
 

Yes the engine is started and foot is on the brake. In fact the way I got it to go out of park one time was to stop and restart a couple of times, pump the brake, open and close the door, in different combinations. Old threads have talked about pushing the shift forward first and others have said pulling the hand brake fully up before taking your foot off the foot brake when parking stopped the problem. In some the problem got worse and in others the problem went away. I am starting to think there may be more than one reason for this problem but I'm not too sure which I have yet. Thanks again for the input.

I have had exact symptoms. The only fix is replace shifter. Did it last year, cost $800 ish.

My '05 DSOM auto did it at 60K miles and my extended warranty covered it with a new shifter and cable linkage. $1K and with 110K miles, still works great. Did a second 100K extended warranty to 200K miles or 10 years, so will let you know if I need another one...

:thumbs::D

When in doubt
 

When in doubt, read the owner's manual. I guess I shoulda done that.

Manual sez:
1 put the car in accessory mode
2 apply and hold brake till end of step 4
3 shift to neutral
4 start the engine and shift to wanted gear

:bigears

I'm just throwing this in here for future searches and reference. :)

From page 2-31 of the '05 owner's manual: (bold added by me)

My excuse
 

I guess that the reason I never looked in the owners manual in the first place was my feeling that a stuck shifter was a problem to be fixed. I never thought of it as a regular feature with its own work around and its own page in the book.

That said, I do love this car and haven't any other problems in the seven years I have been driving it.

I feel your pain. I have gone out to drive my C-6 several times and couldn't get it out of park. Sometimes I can fiddle with it for a few minutes and get it going, but recently I tried everything and still couldn't get it out of park. It's been parked for over a month! I think I'll try the remedy stated above when I get home to see if it works. <crossing fingers> Thanks for all the helpful info!

Then trade the car, right ?

Maybe I'm missing something but if the vehicle is stuck in park, how can you do step 3... shift into neutral? :crazy:

the key is that now the car is not started and the ignition switch is in accessory mode. It is no longer stuck because the engine is off. It seems to work.

I have this problem DAILY on my 05 with 45K miles!!!!!!!!!!! :smash:

Some day's it comes out of Park just fine, and others not so much! This must be an issue with the 05's! I push forward on the shifter (pressing down on the deal with my thumb) while my foot is on the brake... After a few times of doing that it finally comes out of PARK. This ritual has become a part of our daily routine! Usually takes no more than a minute! :willy:

Oh, and did i mention the gas door doesn't want to stay shut... And the ABS light loves to stay ON. :ack:

We have a love/hate relationship.... I've only had her since August. Counting down the days till i can climb inside **BREATHE** and enjoy the ride! :thumbs:

My '05 also does this at random times. Before I read the manual, I would have to stop, then re-start the car to get it out of park. But after reading all I could about this issue, I have learned a few things.

It seems that the "shift-lock solenoid" does not engage when you depress the shift button on top of the shifter. When working, you should hear a little click inside the shifter. Try it for yourself. When it's stuck, that little solenoid is not firing or it's either stuck. I also read that you can actually dis-engage that 'shift-lock solenoid' completely. Of course then you can shift the car without your foot on the brake. Maybe not a good idea, but it would work. I also read about a small micro-switch that can come out of adjustment. That's why some say to push the shifter forward to try to get the switch to work. That never ever solved it for me though.

I plan to have a look at that mechanism to see if maybe that solenoid is actually sticking or maybe just needs a little lubrication. I'll try that before I take it to the stealership.
http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...ies/yesnod.gif

I was gonna say, RTFM... :)


I know two people that have spent almost a $1k dollars replacing the shifter when all they needed to do was read the manual for a free fix.