Lights in trunk lid

[David Flohr]

We lost the lights in our trunk lid (parking and reverse too). Though the lights in the trunk lid weren't lit, we first noticed that the check engine light was on. That code said that the parking/neutral/reverse shift indicator switch was bad. In addition, the reverse gear indicator light in the dash came on each time the parking lights were turned on but was not on when the car was just turned on/no lishts lit. The R light in the dash stayed on no matter what gear selection you chose whe the lights were turned on. I tried fooling with the shift indicator on the tranny but couldn't get the wiring harness loose so I put it back. Thinking that this problem might be simpler than that (which the check engine code read), I checked the wiring harness to the trunk lid and found a broken wire. It must have broken as a result of the flexing of the trunk lid each time it's raised and lowered. Reconnecting the wire was the solution to both the check engine light and the crazy R dash light coming on when the car parking lights were turned on but the car in was in any other gear but R.

As always, check the simplest thing first.......the guy at autozone told me when he read he code "It says that shift indicator is bad but I've never seen anyone who has had to replace that. You may start by checking all the bulbs, fuses, etc. first".

[Leighcm]

Thanks for the great tip! There's a similar problem in that generation Camry with a wiring harness in the driver's door...sounds like a trend!

[Naz]

We lost the lights in our trunk lid (parking and reverse too). Though the lights in the trunk lid weren't lit, we first noticed that the check engine light was on. That code said that the parking/neutral/reverse shift indicator switch was bad. In addition, the reverse gear indicator light in the dash came on each time the parking lights were turned on but was not on when the car was just turned on/no lishts lit. The R light in the dash stayed on no matter what gear selection you chose whe the lights were turned on. I tried fooling with the shift indicator on the tranny but couldn't get the wiring harness loose so I put it back. Thinking that this problem might be simpler than that (which the check engine code read), I checked the wiring harness to the trunk lid and found a broken wire. It must have broken as a result of the flexing of the trunk lid each time it's raised and lowered. Reconnecting the wire was the solution to both the check engine light and the crazy R dash light coming on when the car parking lights were turned on but the car in was in any other gear but R.

As always, check the simplest thing first.......the guy at autozone told me when he read he code "It says that shift indicator is bad but I've never seen anyone who has had to replace that. You may start by checking all the bulbs, fuses, etc. first".

I Ran into the same exact thing! and I had the same solution. All i did was wrap the cable running to the trunk lid with more electrical tape and it fixed it easily. Looks to be a pretty common problem.