Hi:

I have a 1999 2-door Civic sedan (automatic transmission). Yesterday, I could not shift my gear shift lever. It was locked in park position. I can not even depress the plastic unlock-button. Yes, I had started the engine and pressed the brake paddle before trying to shift to drive.

 

Do the brake lights work?

Do the dash lights indicate that the transmission is in Park?

 

Thanks for you message Ron....Yes, to both questions. I checked the brake lights right away to rule out any interlocking with brakes. I also checked the fuse box under the hood. There is a 20 amps fuse which is called Dr Lock fuse, and it's intact. There are other fuses below the dash. I could not find out which fuse to check there if I need to.

 

Check fuses 25 and 33 under the dash and fuses 42 and 48 under the hood.

 

I checked but couldn't find any 25 or 33 amps fuses under the dash. They were 7.5, 10, 20 and 30 amps fuses with many empty sockets. Under the hood also did n't have fuses you mentioned.

 

Do you have the key release by the shifter or an emergency button?

My old corolla would not unlock for some reason after a while. We had to use the override button that was located near the shifter to get it out of park.

 

well if your shifter is stuck in park you need to pop out the cover and then push your key down to unlock the shift lock..... its just a temp since youll have to push the key it in every time you take it out of park....

i did it on my 99 ex when i had the battery removed. just try to use a tiny flat screw driver so you dont damage the top cap.

you could always remove the lock pin if its gone bad... or replace the lock motor on it. but might want to check if it has power or not before you buy anew motor for it. or buy a replacement one from a junk yard....

 

Isn't there some sort of locking mechanism linked to the brake pedal? Like, you can't shift unless the pedal is pressed? Could there be an issue in that area?

Original poster, RonJ meant fuse numbers, not amperage ratings. You should have a little fuse box diagram on the cover for the fuse box. It has numbers for the fuses. Look for numbers 25 and 33 under the dash and numbers 42 and 48 under the hood like he suggested. Those specific may lead us directly to the problem.

 

yes theirs a lock that i believe connects from the brake pedal switch. simple power to the lock motor on the shifter.

 

Thanks for the clarification.