HELP!! Shifter stuck in park.

[Streek]

As of this morning, I'm unable to move the shifter. There are NO error messages on the dash cluster. The vehicle is sitting in my driveway and unable to shift nor can I put the vehicle in neutral.

I've tried unhooking 12v battery and even jump starting.
My local dealer and Ford Road Assistant hasn't been much help.

Any ideas on what to do, so I can at least get it to the dealer?

2023 Lariat ER

Sponsored

 

[Silenze]

 

[Streek]

I tried all in the you tube video and none of the methods worked.

 

[TaxmanHog]

 

[Streek]

The videos are helpful, however the gear shifter will NOT move at all. Even after a 12v battery jump.

 

[Streek]

UPDATE. I was able to get the vehicle out of park. Thanks for the video TaxmanHog.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Did the press brake & accelerator pedal at the same time do the trick???

 

[MickeyAO]

As of this morning, I'm unable to move the shifter. There are NO error messages on the dash cluster. The vehicle is sitting in my driveway and unable to shift nor can I put the vehicle in neutral.

I've tried unhooking 12v battery and even jump starting.
My local dealer and Ford Road Assistant hasn't been much help.

Any ideas on what to do, so I can at least get it to the dealer?

2023 Lariat ER

Try plugging in your EVSE and then unplug it.

 

[Streek]

Did the press brake & accelerator pedal at the same time do the trick???

Yes that did it. I had to do it while the start button was flashing and then put the vehicle in neutral with the button near the shifter in tow mode .
I just dropped it off at the dealer.

Let's see what happens in the morning.

 

[Streek]

Try plugging in your EVSE and then unplug it.

I tried this as well and the results did not unlock the shifter.

 

[chl]

When my 2012 Nissan Leaf 12 volt battery went dead after a vacation, I had the same problem - I could not get it out of my garage to jump the battery with a normal length jumper cable - I had to go buy a longer one and jump the battery, which did the trick.

I now keep my 12 volt battery on a battery tender when I am not using the Leaf.

There are all sorts of electronics on EV's that slowly use up the 12 volt battery's energy - especially the charge timer which I can turn off easily on my Leaf to save juice. And it turns out that the 12 volt battery is not being charged by the Li battery when the Leaf is off - maybe it's the same with the Lighting?

A good battery tender is maybe $30 and prevents this dead battery headache.

Interesting that there are so many ways to get the Lightning into neutral, but all require that there is sufficient energy in the 12 volt battery to get the electronics running.

I think it would be a good idea for @Ford Motor Company to provide a manual override.

 

[Streek]

When my 2012 Nissan Leaf 12 volt battery went dead after a vacation, I had the same problem - I could not get it out of my garage to jump the battery with a normal length jumper cable - I had to go buy a longer one and jump the battery, which did the trick.

I now keep my 12 volt battery on a battery tender when I am not using the Leaf.

There are all sorts of electronics on EV's that slowly use up the 12 volt battery's energy - especially the charge timer which I can turn off easily on my Leaf to save juice. And it turns out that the 12 volt battery is not being charged by the Li battery when the Leaf is off - maybe it's the same with the Lighting?

A good battery tender is maybe $30 and prevents this dead battery headache.

Interesting that there are so many ways to get the Lightning into neutral, but all require that there is sufficient energy in the 12 volt battery to get the electronics running.

I think it would be a good idea for @Ford Motor Company to provide a manual override.

I tried charging and jump starting the truck and it was a NO-GO.

The good thing is that I was finally able to get the shifter to move and get it to the dealer.

 

[MountainAlive]

Well this just happened to me for the first time. I folded the shifter down and put down the worktop so I could enjoy a tasty burger. Then when I pressed the button to bring the shifter back up it went up but made a straining kind of sound. I went to put it in drive and it would not budge out of park. First I tried tow mode and the screen just said “failed to initialize”. Then I tried the brake pedal + accelerator thing and all that did was bring up the PAAK passcode screen for some reason. Finally I just pushed the button to fold the shifter back down again. Waited a second and then pushed the button to raise it again. And it didn’t make a weird noise this time. I was able to put it in drive and drive home fine and put it in reverse to back into my driveway. So I guess I won’t be folding the shifter down anymore! I need to look into that rotary dial shifter mod now.

 

[kubel]

Had this happen to me after folding the shifter. It never popped into the correct final position to engage the interlock. Must have been off by a fraction and then just got stuck there. It caused the shifter folder button to no longer work too, and bricked my truck since I couldn't engage the brake shifter interlock.

If you are in this situation again, get a Tesla. Joking aside, if you are in this situation, just walk away. Power off the truck. Let it fall asleep. Think about getting a Tesla. After about an hour, come back, and it will reset (at least it did for me). Hopped back in the truck, locked my door, and then I heard the shifter servo move a little and then it worked.

 

[HOTAS]

It’s a finicky shifter for sure. Ive found that being gentle and deliberate with squeezing the release button THEN shifting out of park helps it function without jamming or fouling up the internal switch signals.
ANY rearward pulling tension on the shifter before squeezing the release button can foul it up.
Basically holds true for any shifting.

We‘re used to mechanical releases, this shifter is more electro-mechanical.

I also find it’s too easy to (unintentionally) shift into Park when trying to shift into reverse. Kinda aggravating. Again slow and deliberate works well.

Sponsored