Transmission Level gets stuck in Park

[csrey]

The automatic transmission lever ('07 Camry) keeps getting stuck in Park; although, once in a while it seems to work fine. Does anyone know what the problem might be? Could the brake adjustment as part of the recent recall have anything to do with it?

[Estlander]

My 07 does the exact same thing. Took it to a dealer, but since they couldn't reproduce it, nothing could be done.

I think it's the shiftlock not disengaging when stepping on the brake pedal.
I haven't done the gas pedal recall on mine.

[gdanaher]

If you are parking on a hiull or grade and put the car in park before setting the brake then a great deal of pressure is placed on the transmission and it can be hard to pull out. Set your brake first and it will happen less often.

[94PrizmDD]

Originally Posted by gdanaher

If you are parking on a hiull or grade and put the car in park before setting the brake then a great deal of pressure is placed on the transmission and it can be hard to pull out. Set your brake first and it will happen less often.

What he said. Most likely your parked on a hill or incline. Just push your E-Brake and put it into park. Dont know why Toyota doesn't have the lever E-brake. I like those a lot more.

[arabianobsession]

Originally Posted by csrey

The automatic transmission lever ('07 Camry) keeps getting stuck in Park; although, once in a while it seems to work fine. Does anyone know what the problem might be? Could the brake adjustment as part of the recent recall have anything to do with it?

There is no brake adjustment with the accelerator pedal recall, just a modification of the accelerator pedal itself and the carpet underneath it. Don't be afraid to use the parking brake anyway, it will save you hassle down the road when you DO use it for the first time and it breaks.

[lmacmil]

Originally Posted by csrey

The automatic transmission lever ('07 Camry) keeps getting stuck in Park;

This has happened on my 2005 about 3 times. Parked on level ground. Foot on brake, shift lever won't budge. Play around a minute or so and then it moves just like it should. My guess is it has to do with the interlock/sensor on the brake pedal. Haven't mentioned it to the dealer since it's happened only 3 times in 42,000 miles.

[Frodo65]

Originally Posted by csrey

The automatic transmission lever ('07 Camry) keeps getting stuck in Park; although, once in a while it seems to work fine. Does anyone know what the problem might be? Could the brake adjustment as part of the recent recall have anything to do with it?

There is an interlock that forces your foot to be on the brake, with a specified amount of travel, before the shifter will unlock. If the brake switch is a bit off, it won't release. The quick way to test is to see if your brake lights come on when this issue happens. If not, the fix is to adjust/replace the brake switch.

A second way to eliminate the interlock as a suspect is to use the 'key override' (where you take out the little plug on the console to insert a key to release the shifter. If it is still stiff, then the shifter cable or park pawl in the trans are possible suspects.

If all is good, then the troubleshooting gets harder - look at camrystuff.com for the service manuals for a comprehensive tree.