'97 F150 -- Stuck in Park

Brake lights working? Check the fuse for the brake lights, and the brake light switch, too.

if parked on any tilt where your front wheels are not straight , the locking cog for the stearing wheel gets pressure in it , try pulling the stearing wheel in one direction and try the key at the same time ( pull the other direction if the first didn't work )

Yes, the brake lights are working.

The steering works fine.

I can't pull the gear selector in the direction required to get past the gate, therefore the shifter will not move out of P.

This is not a case of the transmission binding and I can't overpower it. The problem is that one must pull the gear selector up towards the steering wheel so that the lever can be moved off of P. I can't pull the lever.

You must step on the brake pedal to unlock the lever, the lever is not unlocking.

On an F-250, you can put the key in the "Off" position and it will manually override the shift lockout. This works on my 2004 and my Dad's '96. I don't know if it's the same on an F-150, but I would guess so, and would give you a simple workaround until you can get things fixed.

That should not work on any car or truck. The purpose of the lock is to prevent a child (for example) of getting the vehicle to start moving at any time. The idea is that a child could shift the vehicle out of P and it takes off by itself. Whether the car was running or not would not preclude the safety feature from working.

I'll give it a try, but I'm sure that I cannot shift from P without the key being set to ON and the brake pedal being depressed.

It's designed this way. If the key is in the "Off" position, not "Lock" or "Run", then you can shift out of park without pressing on the brake pedal. You'd have to put the shifter in Neutral then to start the vehicle. It's even written in the Owner's Manual.

I'm gonna give it a shot, but I reserve my right to be surprised if it works.

It works.

The gear selector still hangs up, but I can shift away from P without using the brake pedal. I learned something new. Thanks.

I'm not sure it will work when my truck is fighting my attempts to pull out of the driveway, but it does give a new data point from which to apply the diagnostic routine.

Obviously, something is pulling the lock mechanism out of the way, and I think this is where my problem is. But if the lock mechanism is pulled sufficiently by this method but not in the normal method, then there is usefull information.

I did not know this was an available way to get out of P.

Yeah , didn't know if the two ( stearing lock n tranny lock ) were in anyway tied together - my 93 does not have that shifter lock look. Was just a thought and very easy to try , which is what you asked for IIRC.

On Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:57:00 -0800, Jeff Strickland rearranged some electrons to say:

There is a solenoid that is activated by the brake light circuit (or in your case, is not activated) that unlocks the mechanism. Either you have a blown fuse somewhere, or you are destined to dig into the steering column.

Sorry, I was not clear.

The fuses are fine because the circuit does work sometimes. It tends to fail only when cold, or is certainly more troublesome when it's cold. I'm going on dirt and grime.

I was hoping for some direction on where the parts are, and whether one or the other is more prone to giving me trouble.

You need to put a meter on the feed to the solenoid at the solenoid when it's not working to see if it's getting power. If it gets power then the solenoid is where the problems is, otherwise it's electrical.

Alright, STUCK is a bit strong.

"Sticks," is more accurate. It has to be the locking mechanism itself or the electrical stuff that makes the lock unlock. The brake lights are on when the lock mechanism sticks, so at least one switch on the brake pedal is working.

Where does the lock live? Am I the only one that's had this trouble?

Not positive on a '97, but on an '09 the lock mechanism is on top of the steering column next to where the shift lever protrudes. Since they provide a little pop-off access hatch and instruction in the owners manual to override the BTSI if it fails, I'd say that others have had this trouble.

I'll have a look and see if there is anything there. But it feels as if that is where the problem is. I can't pull the gear selector up towards the steering wheel to clear the gate so that I can then move it down out of P.

If there was a bypass system that allowed shifting out of P when there is no battery power, this would solve my problem -- or at least drive me closer to the cause.

(I don't have the Owner's Manual since I bought the truck Used.)

On an '09, you pop off that little cover on top of the steering column and push a part inside to the left. You may be able to find the owners manual online on the Ford site, certainly all the manuals and supplements for the '09 are there.

The bypass system you speak of is the one I've already described to you.

The '97 does not have that. Crap!