I'm having a problem with my vehicle where the gear shift (automatic transmission) will not move out of park unless I hold down the manual shift lock release mechanism. Searching on the web this seems to be an issue across all makes. For the record mine is a 2004 Suzuki Forenza with less than 25k miles. When I took it to the dealer, they told me that it was not covered by my powertrain warranty and that it would cost $370 for the part. With labor, who knows.
This is not something I can easily afford and it seems like a lot for something that I can work around. So I was wondering if it is possible to just have this part removed or otherwise disabled so that it simply stops locking the gear shift entirely. Or is it required for overall function?