Hello!

I have been trying to scour the internet for a simple fix before I have to drag my car to the dealer and pay an ungodly amount of money to fix it.

I have a 2000 tracker that I bought second hand from someone I used to live with (which I regret, it is falling apart at the seams!), and I am trying to figure out how to get the gear shift out of park!

It was driving just fine yesterday. I thought it was a fuse because I took a small trip out of town and was using cruise control a lot, but my break lights still work, and so do my blinkers! Nothing is burnt out. I could try replacing the fuse anyways but I believe the worker at O’Reily thought I didn’t know what I was doing! He told me it is more than likely a shift lock mechanism issue, which I believe!

I attempted to unlock the gear shift myself, however, my removing the small piece on the side of the column and trying to move the return plate, but I just couldn’t figure out what it was or if there even is one! This car has been worked on by someone who has no idea how American vehicles work, and has only worked on foreign vehicles, but I have no idea if the return plate can even be removed. I tried to follow the only image online that gave any amount of information on how to do it, and I still couldn’t get anything moved in it.

I have spoke with someone in my family who is very familiar with older vehicles, he is just in a different state. I am actually supposed to go to that state later next week, but if I have to take it to the dealer in order to get it fixed, I could only get an appointment on Friday next week because all of the other mechanics in my area are booked out. He told me he thought it was because my transmission was frozen up, and we worked through a few things that may have helped, but none of them worked. Tried wiggling the gear shift, pulling it up and trying to shift, working the wheels back and forth and just letting the car heat up, but it did nothing.

I just want to find a quick solution to this! If I have to buy the part myself I can do that just fine and replace it if I need to. If anybody could give me any pointers! There is nothing on google and nothing on YouTube and it is driving me insane!!

 

These are the instructions from Chevy. Do not skip step 2. If the key is in the OFF position the steel cable that runs from the ignition switch to the center console will not allow the return plate to move.


The return plate is located under the red square.


You need to reach in this far.


The return plate doesn't move very much. Shift into "R" while holding the return plate towards the rear of the car.


If the starter motor cranks and the brake lights and turn signals work, possible points of failure are the shift lock relay (located under the hood) and the shift lock solenoid (located under the console).
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And just to clarify, this is not an "American vehicle." It is a Suzuki Grand Vitara with a Chevrolet badge glued on.

 

Thank you so much! That worked perfectly. Once I get back out to where I need to be I will take a more in-depth look and see which part needs to be replaced!

 

>> Once I get back out to where I need to be I will take a more in-depth look and see which part needs to be replaced!


This is the location of the shift lock relay on my 2001 Tracker. You should be able to hear/feel it click every time the brake pedal is depressed.