Gear Shift

[bpolley]

I have a 98 Taurus and I am having problems shifting into gear after the car sits all night. It is a floor mounted shifter and the button refuses to be pushed in I guess to release whatever it releases so I can pu tthe car into gear. What do I have to do to fix this problem?

[umina]

Originally Posted by bpolley

I have a 98 Taurus and I am having problems shifting into gear after the car sits all night. It is a floor mounted shifter and the button refuses to be pushed in I guess to release whatever it releases so I can pu tthe car into gear. What do I have to do to fix this problem?

You need to replace the brake pedal switch, do a search on this forum for it. Its easy to repair, its on the brake pedal arm. Its why you would normally have to depress the brake pedal before you can shift. When the sensor goes bad (common problem, especially if you have adjustable pedals) it never releases the interlock to allow the shifter to function.

[bpolley]

Originally Posted by umina

You need to replace the brake pedal switch, do a search on this forum for it. Its easy to repair, its on the brake pedal arm. Its why you would normally have to depress the brake pedal before you can shift. When the sensor goes bad (common problem, especially if you have adjustable pedals) it never releases the interlock to allow the shifter to function.

Thanks for the info. I tried it and it did not work. I then tried to disable the shift lock and it seemed to be OK. I started the car again and it was back to the same. Very hard to push the button and finally it releases after some finessing the gear shift.

Any other ideas would be great.