97 grand am does not shift correctly

[caitlin23]

Hi
I'm new here and I don't really know much about cars, but I would appreciate help because I don't want to get ripped off at the shop. So here's the deal. Almost ever since I got my car (about a yr ago), it doesn't shift gears right, meaning when I think it is in park it's not really in park. It doesn't click into gear. This causes a lot of problems because I have to sit and mess around with the shifter for like 15 mins just to get the key out. More recently though, I have thought my car was in drive and it was really in neutral (or reverse, not sure). I tried to step on the gas but it started rolling really fast down a hill and the brake would not press down. It is a 97 grand am v4 about 160k miles. I think the problem may be with some loose screws? I don't know.

[Knifeblade]

Sounds like your linkage cables need adjusting. It sounds like the shifter is not fully engaging the gear you shift into. Personally, I'd take it to a shop, have them look the linkage cables over, an easy adjust, but if ya don't know what to do, leave that to someone who knows.