shift lever stuck in park
 

2002 avalanche 1500 4x4 z71. Replaced key lock cylinder and case. Restored pass lock. Now shift lever stuck in park.

What can I do to free it?

Are you applying the brake? The vehicle won't shift out of park if the brake peddle is not depressed, there is a lock pin that prevents the shift from happening if the brake is not pushed down, you may have disconnected the power to this pin.

Yes I push hard. I also checked the solenoid. Seems to be ok. Can a ignition switch affect it?

Yes it could if the pin is in a bind and unable to retract

I really appreciate your thoughts. This all started with replacing the ignition lock cylinder. After I reset passlock is when I found shifter stuck in park. I also forgot to mention that I replaced the brake switch to no avail. What pin are you referring to? I am going to check the shift interlock solenoid again. I didn't pull it yesterday just disconnected it thinking it should release. But got to thinking if plunger is stuck, that would not affect it. So I am diving in again!

try wiggling/turning the steering wheel while trying to get it out of Park.

I have tried that and I jacked the rear wheels up and rotated the wheels in case it was the transmission pawl. No luck.

When I say "pin" I am referring to the shift interlock. In all likelihood that is what is causing your problem, its either not getting power to disengage it or its wedge/stuck in. The brake peddle being depressed is what actives the retraction of the "pin" to allow the shift lever to move.

See if these help any, and no, the links in the document are not clickable as they reside on my PC....

Thanks for the schematics and troubleshooting guide In2pro. I thought that you were talking about the interlock shift but wanted to be sure. I am taking a break until next week when it warms up a bit. I will get back to you with the results.

Hey in2pro. After tryiing what you had sent me about the shift solenoid and it checked out ok, I finally figured out what was wrong. It is kind of one of those "how dumb can I be" times. I had replaced the ignition lock cylinder, casing and switch. When I put the new switch in, the gear was not meshed with the lock cylinder so that the switch did not turn enough so the shifter would work. I got to thinking about it yesterday and took the switch out, bumped the gear up a couple of notches to the last one and what do you know, it works!

I still do have a lingering problem that actually led to all of the trouble in the first place. Periodically, the battery warning light comes on when I turn the engine off and remove the key. I had noticed I could shut it off before by reinserting the key and twisting it back. I got to thinking the cylinder lock and switch were probably wearing out. I couldn't get the damn cylinder lock out of the casing so I replaced the casing also. But that did not solve the problem. the battery light turns off when the engine is running but still comes on when the key is off. I think now it probably is a short somewhere so I am going to try to chase it down. If I don't watch it close, it will run the battery down overnight. Any thoughts.

Did you ever figure it out ? I am having the same problem I changed the lock cylinder and case the switch was off I got it and then one day I turned my truck around backed it up and next morning would go out of park . I've replaced the switch . The brake light switch. Shift interlock solenoid and still stuck in park