I need to use my key to bypass the shift lock every time to put my car in gear. My shifter moves freely after this but once I place it in park again, it won?t release without shutting the car off and using the shift release with the key. Coincidentally, none of the electric controls on my steering wheel work either (cruise or horn) which started at the same time.
If the P light is not on no power is getting to the shift lock solenoid to unlock it. Get the light problem fixed and the shifter will start working. Don't start tearing in it yourself unless you understand how to do it correctly or you may blow the air bags if it has them.
I have the same problem on my 1990 Civic 4WD Wagon. It only happened in winter when the temperature was low, like below 32 F. I don't have a solution. What I did is after I park the car, I let the engine stay idle for 2 to 5 minutes, the P light will come on then I can unplug my car key. I noticed that the idle speed would be lower, around 300 rpm! If I could not wait for 2 to 5 minutes, I simply left my car key inside and went away and hope that no car theft would notice I left the car key at the steering wheel. On the contrary, if I needed to drive and the shifter is lock, then I would use a seperate key and insert it to the unlock key hole to unlock the shifter.
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There's two or three TSB's that address the adjustment of the shifter linkage at this site:
'Curly'
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