Thought I'd summarize some stuff learned the hard way.
Symptom: Locked transmission shifter in Park. Can't move it out of Park even with key on and pedal brake pushed in. ABS and VSC lights on on instrument cluster.
Additional Check: see if the brake lights are off when brake pedal is pushed in.
Analysis: If brake lights are not working at all, the likely problem is an interruption in the brake light circuit which causes the shifter to be locked in Park (you can still drive by overriding the lock with the switch on the console). This could be due to:
- bad brake light bulb
- bad high brake light LED strip
- bad brake pedal switch
- short in brake light circuit wiring
- brake light fuse bad
Check/Fix in preferred order:
- check fuse for bad fuse (LHS footwell).
- check all 4 brake light bulbs in rear for a bad one
- check brake pedal switch (see below)
- check continuity of LED light strip. (FSM shows 2 connectors that could be used, 1 in LHS rear 1/4 panel and 1 in rear gate. May also be one immediately next to the LED strip but would likely need to remove strip for that.
- check wiring and harnesses, especially where the harness is exposed between body and tailgate etc.
Major time saver on Brake pedal switch check and replacement:
First it took me a while to try to remove the connector off the switch. Tried various pliers and tools, finally managed to do it by hand. Smaller hand would help for that.
Then I must have tried for over half an hour to remove the switch by unscrewing the counternut on its stem while in place. That on my back, neck twisted under dash, door sill digging in my hip, with a mirror and flashlight. Despite disconnecting a bunch of harnesses to make room, I finally gave up. My wrench would simply not fit on there.
Then I tried to check the continuity of the switch terminals in situ with alligator clamps. Pretty hard to do, again upside down with mirror etc. Lots of uncertainty as to test. Gave up on that as unrealiable.
By then I was close to 2 hours into the switch. Back and neck hurting bad. Fleeting thoughts of going to the dealer starting to look more appealing every minute.
Finally, after all that time trying to do this with finesse, I decide to try the brute force way, namely to take the whole pedal assembly off. Closer examination revealed that the brake pedal itself need only to be removed from the pivot point, leaving the connection with the master cylinder intact. Takes all of 30 seconds to drop the brake pedal partly (1 bolt. Use locktite when putting back on.) At that point the bracket supporting the switch is held only by 2 obvious bolts and can be slid off from the pedal bracket after the 2 bolts are unscrewed. You then have the switch and bracket in hand. Total time necessary: 2 minutes. Compare that to the 1 or 2 hours wasted on trying to remove the switch directly while still in position. Sheesh.... Shows again that sometimes the apparent "lots of work / remove it all" approach may be much faster than the simple direct but awkward approach...
Simple continuity test on switch (see FSM) will then tell you if switch is good or not.
HTH!
Symptom: Locked transmission shifter in Park. Can't move it out of Park even with key on and pedal brake pushed in. ABS and VSC lights on on instrument cluster.
Additional Check: see if the brake lights are off when brake pedal is pushed in.
Analysis: If brake lights are not working at all, the likely problem is an interruption in the brake light circuit which causes the shifter to be locked in Park (you can still drive by overriding the lock with the switch on the console). This could be due to:
- bad brake light bulb
- bad high brake light LED strip
- bad brake pedal switch
- short in brake light circuit wiring
- brake light fuse bad
Check/Fix in preferred order:
- check fuse for bad fuse (LHS footwell).
- check all 4 brake light bulbs in rear for a bad one
- check brake pedal switch (see below)
- check continuity of LED light strip. (FSM shows 2 connectors that could be used, 1 in LHS rear 1/4 panel and 1 in rear gate. May also be one immediately next to the LED strip but would likely need to remove strip for that.
- check wiring and harnesses, especially where the harness is exposed between body and tailgate etc.
Major time saver on Brake pedal switch check and replacement:
First it took me a while to try to remove the connector off the switch. Tried various pliers and tools, finally managed to do it by hand. Smaller hand would help for that.
Then I must have tried for over half an hour to remove the switch by unscrewing the counternut on its stem while in place. That on my back, neck twisted under dash, door sill digging in my hip, with a mirror and flashlight. Despite disconnecting a bunch of harnesses to make room, I finally gave up. My wrench would simply not fit on there.
Then I tried to check the continuity of the switch terminals in situ with alligator clamps. Pretty hard to do, again upside down with mirror etc. Lots of uncertainty as to test. Gave up on that as unrealiable.
By then I was close to 2 hours into the switch. Back and neck hurting bad. Fleeting thoughts of going to the dealer starting to look more appealing every minute.
Finally, after all that time trying to do this with finesse, I decide to try the brute force way, namely to take the whole pedal assembly off. Closer examination revealed that the brake pedal itself need only to be removed from the pivot point, leaving the connection with the master cylinder intact. Takes all of 30 seconds to drop the brake pedal partly (1 bolt. Use locktite when putting back on.) At that point the bracket supporting the switch is held only by 2 obvious bolts and can be slid off from the pedal bracket after the 2 bolts are unscrewed. You then have the switch and bracket in hand. Total time necessary: 2 minutes. Compare that to the 1 or 2 hours wasted on trying to remove the switch directly while still in position. Sheesh.... Shows again that sometimes the apparent "lots of work / remove it all" approach may be much faster than the simple direct but awkward approach...
Simple continuity test on switch (see FSM) will then tell you if switch is good or not.
HTH!
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