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04 trailblazer sticks in park
- Thread starter franktb
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zora
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under normal conditions do you hear the solenoid in the console when you step on the brake and do you hear it when it wont come out of park?
have you checked all the wire harness connections for poor contact or a break?
you have no warning lights on?
have you checked all the wire harness connections for poor contact or a break?
you have no warning lights on?
01SubDriver
New member
OK, this will probably be a long-winded opinion/attempt to help:
2012. In one vehicle that I still own, someone had apparently in the not-too-distant past spilled something sticky on the console, which had dripped down into the mechanism. Although the release solenoid activated by the brake pedal switch was being energized, it was too sticky to pull clear of the locking tab. Could not shift out of park.
Solution? Take the console apart, clean the entire mechanism, relube, and reassemble. Yay.
Of more concern is the possibility that the transmission's park/immobilization bits have been damaged, so that they will not separate/release if there is even the slightest pressure against them.
The primary part is (or used to be anyway) called the "Parking Lock Pawl"
A simplistic description is that it is a finger or tab which engages with one of many slots in a transmission's output shaft. Ever hear the sound when someone selects park while a car is still moving? Bzzzzzz..... until the pawl can drop into one engagement point. Anyway, when the parts are interlocked, the drive-shaft won't move, and the vehicle is essentially immobile.
However, that mechanism has not typically been sturdy enough to survive extra stresses, such as which occur when a parked car is struck by another vehicle and moved, or (and this is the biggie for most parking pawl problems) if the car is parked on an incline, and the "Park" position of the shift lever is the sole method used to hold the weight against gravity.
It is true of most drivers, I think, that they rarely use the parking brake, even though it's design function is to hold the car against rolling. Instead, just "Park" is used. So what happens is that the parking pawl becomes distorted, and locks into the output shaft. Presto! The torque on the drive-shaft is sufficient that the pawl cannot disengage.
Everyone in my family knows that no matter the location, first the car is stopped, then neutral is selected, and the parking brake is applied. The foot brake is then released, and if the parking brake holds the car as it should, "Park" can finally be engaged.
So, if a parked car has a locked parking pawl, what to do?
1. Start the engine.
2. Use some method to apply pressure to the vehicle in the opposite direction of the locking torque. For a shallow incline, having a friend rock the car by hand can work. On a steep incline, you might have to use another vehicle to pull in the uphill direction.
3. Light brake pedal pressure will release the electronic shifter lock, but not do much to prevent enough motion to unlock the pawl.
4. Pull on the shift lever, with any safety latch present activated as normal.
If the pawl is the problem, just a couple of inches movement will usually be plenty.
Good Luck!
2012. In one vehicle that I still own, someone had apparently in the not-too-distant past spilled something sticky on the console, which had dripped down into the mechanism. Although the release solenoid activated by the brake pedal switch was being energized, it was too sticky to pull clear of the locking tab. Could not shift out of park.
Solution? Take the console apart, clean the entire mechanism, relube, and reassemble. Yay.
Of more concern is the possibility that the transmission's park/immobilization bits have been damaged, so that they will not separate/release if there is even the slightest pressure against them.
The primary part is (or used to be anyway) called the "Parking Lock Pawl"
A simplistic description is that it is a finger or tab which engages with one of many slots in a transmission's output shaft. Ever hear the sound when someone selects park while a car is still moving? Bzzzzzz..... until the pawl can drop into one engagement point. Anyway, when the parts are interlocked, the drive-shaft won't move, and the vehicle is essentially immobile.
However, that mechanism has not typically been sturdy enough to survive extra stresses, such as which occur when a parked car is struck by another vehicle and moved, or (and this is the biggie for most parking pawl problems) if the car is parked on an incline, and the "Park" position of the shift lever is the sole method used to hold the weight against gravity.
It is true of most drivers, I think, that they rarely use the parking brake, even though it's design function is to hold the car against rolling. Instead, just "Park" is used. So what happens is that the parking pawl becomes distorted, and locks into the output shaft. Presto! The torque on the drive-shaft is sufficient that the pawl cannot disengage.
Everyone in my family knows that no matter the location, first the car is stopped, then neutral is selected, and the parking brake is applied. The foot brake is then released, and if the parking brake holds the car as it should, "Park" can finally be engaged.
So, if a parked car has a locked parking pawl, what to do?
1. Start the engine.
2. Use some method to apply pressure to the vehicle in the opposite direction of the locking torque. For a shallow incline, having a friend rock the car by hand can work. On a steep incline, you might have to use another vehicle to pull in the uphill direction.
3. Light brake pedal pressure will release the electronic shifter lock, but not do much to prevent enough motion to unlock the pawl.
4. Pull on the shift lever, with any safety latch present activated as normal.
If the pawl is the problem, just a couple of inches movement will usually be plenty.
Good Luck!
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