Bad Neutral Switch? '97

My sis's car won't shift out of park and we discovered that you have to press the neutral button on the side of the console. It's a pain so we took it to the local dealer to see what they could do. The dumb people called after we dropped it off and said they couldn't get it in the garage cuz it wouldn't shift, Um arent they supposed to know about the switch??lol.
Anyway, the point is, is this something that you can replace yourself if your mechanicly inclined? And if so how much will the parts run?
Thanks for any help.
-Brittany

where is this "button" located because i have a '97 and there is no switch on the console

It's on the passenger side in like a hole

is it below the shifter or farther up towards the front or where at on the console?

Its on the side like next to the seat

hmmmm i'll have to look again to see if i have it.

That switch has to be some type of after market device. It was not on the car as original equipment. I sold Pontiacs when the 97's came out and the only park lock is related to the break pedal you can't shift out of park unless you depress the break pedal That was the only factory device. Someone must have installed that as a security device.

The switch is not aftermarket. It's talked about in the owners manual on page 2-31. To get to it you have to remove the lil plate on the passenger side of the console. The owners manual says that if it will not shift when brake is applied try pushing that button and get it fixed. (isnt it odd they tell you something that is going to go wrong?)

Ok, now I know what you mean, it's not a surface mounted switch. It must be the release switch for the gear selector, and if I am to assume correctly it must be related to the break switch that releases the gear selector. It is odd that they tell you about this usually they would let it go and not tell you so you would have the car towed to the shop! at least they tell you in the manual how to get the car out of park. most people might try to muscle it out of park and destroy the whole shifter assembly. You can probably buy the switch for the break pedal and replace it yourself it will most likely be a plunger type switch that lines up in the travel path of the arm for the break pedal. If it is any thing like the old neutral safety switches, they slip into a retaining clip that allows for adjustment so the arm makes contact. I don't think it would be a difficult item to change. I'm going on past experience on a 1980 Pontiac Phoenix I had with a bad Neutral saftey switch. I hope this helps you out I never realized that the release would be a switch like that at the shifter. let me know how it works out.

Would it be realted to the brake if you still have to push the brake AND the switch for it to shift?

I would assume that when the system is operating normally, when you depress the brake the signal is sent to that switch that is by the shift assembly. Does that switch have wires attached? it seem that it is some type of selonoid that releases the shift lever. I may be wrong but I can't see why you would need to push the button by the shifter if the switch at the brake is working right. It would seem to me that the switch by the shifter is a fail safe so you do not get stranded by not being able to shift out of park. I'm just taking a stab at the operation of these switches. I hope I'm right and this is giving you an idea as to where to start tracking this down.

My sis's car won't shift out of park and we discovered that you have to press the neutral button on the side of the console. It's a pain so we took it to the local dealer to see what they could do. The dumb people called after we dropped it off and said they couldn't get it in the garage cuz it wouldn't shift, Um arent they supposed to know about the switch??lol.
Anyway, the point is, is this something that you can replace yourself if your mechanicly inclined? And if so how much will the parts run?
Thanks for any help.
-Brittany
[COLOR=red] Does your car have a Floor shifter?

yep