Stuck in Park

Finally was able to get the car in drive with some finesse and the dealer took care of it. Come to find out it was the brake light switch which was covered under a recall.

Thx for updating w/ a resolution. I sometimes think the answers never get fed back to us, the 'mob'.

TBerk

Glad to do it. After an unpleasant evening when the Wife called and said she was stuck in traffic and having the car towed home, I was glad to get it resolved. It did take some rather long searching in the internet to find out this is a reoccurring issue with some models.

Ray

For what it's worth, I don't know if this will work on all VW models but it does work on my Eurovan has has gotten us Eurovan owners out of a pickle in an emergency (although if your brake light switch is bad you should get it fixed ASAP).

It takes two hands but with one hand putting light-to-moderate pressure (don't force it) on the shifter button, slowly turn the ignition key. At some point the shifter button will release. When it does, HOLD it in and keep holding it in. Now start car (keep holding button...this is why it takes two hands). Should be able to get it out of park. You might need to continue to hold it if you have to reverse out of a spot and then get it into drive again too.

Inconvenient, yes, but it'll at least get you home.

Can you say: Duct tape/one hand?

I wished I had known the trick prior to spending $125.00 on a tow. Contacted VW's 1-800 number and asked about reimbursement of the tow due to the car being disabled with a recalled part. They agreed to consider my claim with appropriate paperwork as proof substantiating such.

After getting it home out of traffic, I was able to work it out of park similar to your suggestion. Here was my approach:

1. foot on brake
2. right hand on shifter button with a slight pull back pressure
3. turn key ever so slightly until I felt a click on the shifter place shifter a little past neutral towards drive and then start car (in true neutral, would not shift into drive after starting the car)
4. do not place the car in park while running as it will lock up again or the procedure will need to be repeated.

Cool...glad it (or a small variation of it) worked. Yeah ultimately get the true cause fixed but if it's a bad brake light switch (which usually also is used to signal the shifter that you have your foot on the brake and that's usually how these "stuck in park" things happen), you're at more risk driving around b/c of no brake lights so leave enough space between you and the car in front of you that you won't have to brake hard 'cause the guy behind you won't have a clue about you braking.

That's for sure! After it was towed home that night, I researched on the internet about possible causes. Found a few hints that lead to the break light switch. Had my Wife watch as I applied the breaks and noticed there were none. Culprit found!

Yep I think every 'stuck in park' Eurovan (I have one and belong to a few Eurovan lists) I've heard of had a bad brake light switch as the cause too.

I forget...what kind of VW was this (Passat, Golf, Jetta,?)? Some Mk4s I know were recalled for a bad brake light switch...may be other VW models too. Check with your dealer to see if there's an outstanding recall on yours. Should be able to run the VIN to tell.

The car is a 2000 Jetta 1.8T. The repair by the Dealer the next morning was covered under a recall of the part. Sent info to VW asking for refund of towing charges. Time will tell if they approve it or not......

Ray