Stuck in Park

[cn90]

Finally had a little time to fix this, likely from previous owner's spilling sugary drink.
All you need is a few drops of sugary drink on the cable, it will make it sticky.

Anyway, I was at junk yard, someone already removed the center console trim, so the
whole anatomy is exposed. I took this opportunity to snap a photo for forum.

This is how it works...

When you turn the key to from position 0 position I or II, 2 events happen:
1. The Yellow plastic is moved rearward. The White plastic will move downward,
releasing the lock on shifter.
2. But the microswitch is now "armed", locking the shifter.
3. When you press on the brake pedal, a microswitch is de-activated.
Now you can shift from out of Park.

You can see it in the youtube video below, if you are stuck somewhere, just lift
the rear of the trim as shown (no need to remove the trim) and press the White
plastic down...Do this with the key in position 0.




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Volvo-S60-Shifter-Lock.jpg (246.61 KiB) Viewed 904 times

[cn90]

I had a little time to play around with the engineering aspects behind this, hope this helps others...

1. At junk yard or if you are stuck some place and need to shift out of Park
(let's say battery is dead and you need to tow the car):
- Pull the Parking brake or chock the tires for safety.
- Once the trim around the shifter is lifted upward, press the white platic lever
Downward, while squeezing the Shifter Button to shift out of Park.

2. Now, this is how it was engineered from factory, which is pretty standard in most cars
with Auto Trans. In order to shift out of Park, three (3) things need to happen:
a. Key at least in position I or II (this pushes the Yellow Plastic rearward, at the
same time the microswitch is activated).
b. Foot on brake pedal to release the small electric microswitch.
c. Squeezing the button on the shifter.

I learned about "b" when the brake pedal is NOT pressed and when the key is turned to
position I or II:
* I hear a click from the microswitch, now even if you squeeze the button on the shifter,
you cannot shift out of Park bc the microswitch is turned on (blocking the shifter) as
soon as the key is turned to position I or II (try it yourself).
* Once you step your foot on the brake pedal, the microswitch is released, unblocking
the shifter.

Spend a little time and go through this yourself, you will see how this was engineered!

[jonesg]

the cable at the ignition lock can be a problem too.

[cn90]

So, the wife 2005 XC90 2.5T is acting up intermittently (cannot shift our of Park).
This happens in 2-3% of the time, I have not had time to pinpoint the issue...but...

- The P80 forum years ago was talking about diconnecting the microswitch.
When doing this, you still have 2 safety items in place (which means kid cannot
shift out of park without any means. Btw, no kids at home for us old timers).
Anyway, to shift out of Park:
1. You still need the car key to turn the ignition.
2. You still need to squeeze the button on the shifter.

So, has anyone here deactivated the microswitch (just unplug the microswitch)?
This would effectively eliminate the microswitch ---> brake pedal circuitry?

I made a sketch to show the points...

The 2nd photo shows the location of the microswitch...

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Volvo-Shifter-Lock-02.jpg (107.49 KiB) Viewed 835 times

Volvo-Shifter-Lock-03.jpg (96.21 KiB) Viewed 835 times

[cn90]

PS: I also drive BMW manual trans cars, none of these safety thingies exist, other than a
clutch pedal switch lol...

Anyway, this was the discussion in P80 (Volvo 850, S70 etc.) forum on deactivation of the microswitch.

I fixed my shift lockout for free and you can too!

viewtopic.php?t=32603

[cn90]

Out of curiosity, I checked the 2004 BMW X3 Auto Shifter
Factory design...

- The key-in-ignition/cable lock: Yes.
- Auto Shifter button squeeze: Yes.
- The microswitch/brake pedal circuit: ONLY activated in position II (not activated in position I for some reasons)...

So, to summarize the 2004 BMW X3....
- Insert key to position I (engine off).
- Brake pedal not pressed: I can easily shift out of P!

So you can see that in my BMW X3 case, if stuck, I can
turn key to position I, and shift to N, then start engine
and go...

[cn90]

I was at the junk yard yesterday, this is a 2005 XC90 2.5T with 260K miles...

Different topic but you can see the Shifter Claw is broken.

Anyway, the circuit for the Shifter Microswitch is in the photo:
- The smaller wire bundle (Black and Green) feeds the microswitch by running around the
aft side of the Shifter Assembly.
- From the left side (driver side), you can see (using flash light) the 2 wires terminating into
the microswitch motor:

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Volvo-Shifter-Lock-04.jpg (130.8 KiB) Viewed 818 times

[Outandabout123]

I have a S 60 T5 year 2012.. I have the same annoying problem in the morning… how did you get the console cover off without ruining it?p

[DavidE7]

Try lubricating inside the key cylinder. I use a dry lube and it fixed the cable sticking problem I had on my 2004 XC70. I disassembled the cable ends, lubed it, lubed the shifter pivots, verified the solenoid, and was at my wits end when I tried putting the hose for the dry lock lube into the lock cylinder and giving it a good spray. After that spray the key worked much better and the interlock cable was moving freely.
Good Luck!

[Vova585]

I think every situation is different and proper investigation should take place. For $35 you might as well try "educated guess/parts canon" and is not solved incest into vida or all data and work the system backwards to find what is missing for normal work