Stuck in Park 99 Escort

My son's 99 escort is stuck in park. He says that the car ran fine,although mving the shifter in the last few days was troublesome. Now it is stuck in park. Anyone know if this is indicative of larger transmission problems or a mechanical problem with the shifter?

thanks

You are saying that the shifter will not move and you can't get it into gear?


Get underneath the car and diconnect the shift linkage. Try to move the lever on the transmission by hand through each gear. If it moves freely then you know your trouble is in the shift lever. If it wil no move freely, then yes, you have larger transmission problems :( Not sure if that is something you can repair without removing the tranny.

In my '97 escort automatic there is a little round plastic patch on the shifter console. It's in the upper right hand corner. Pop that off and insert a metal coat hanger straightened out and pretend like you are pushing on a button or trying to touch a lever and you should be able to release the transmission from lock so that you can push the brake and move the gear to neutral.

Most likely the brake light switch failed.