95 Avalon Trans Locked

[SteveBa]

Wife got in the car, started it up and the transmission was locked in Park. Shifter would not move. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[skynet1988]

its a solenoid that keeps it in park, check the fuses, if that doesn't do it, take a screwdriver and pry of that bump of plastic above park its a switch, and press the button whilst shifting, this bypasses the solenoid and lets you change gears

[cexsiman]

you can also use the 'shift lock release' its the little black rectangle by the shifter that you need a flat head screwdriver to get to. thats its intended purpose.

[SteveBa]

Thank you for the input. It got me going in the right direction. Bad news is that the trick did not work, still no shift. So, I proceeded to pull the center console apart to see what I had. After staring blankly for a while and scratching myself, I figured it out. I did not know if I had a mechanical issue or an electrical one. For those interested, this what i came up with.
With the ignition switch in the on position and the brake pedal depressed, the shift lock solenoid retracts allowing the shift lever to be moved. Manually pushing the switch down as mentioned above bypasses the electrical portion and is supposed to allow the movement of the shifter. The reason mine did not work in the manual mode is that the plunger in the solenoid was stuck. Breaking the plunger loose with a small screwdriver did the trick. Some ontact cleaner and some greaseless lube and we're back to normal. I wonder if the sticky drink that was spilled a couple of days prior might have been the cause.

[gnorman333]

yes, i bet the drink did it. Happened to me (mine was not completely stuck - the button did the trick).

Took about 2 weeks of "button-pushing" and i was back to normal operation.


gn