Can't shift into park

[JustAnotherDude]

I'm not able to shift into park.  Feels like something is blocking the lever from moving into that position.  The car drives fine and shifts into all other gears normally.  Just not park.

 

There's not a lot out there on this issue and from what I've found, the shifter cable is one possibility.  So, I'm trying to remove that center console to get a good look at the shifter mechanisms and hopefully the cable linkage.  Can anyone offer a guide to removing the console and/or some troubleshooting advice on how to narrow down the cause?

 

Thank you.

[Toyota Owners Club]

Shifter cable is one option, as is something dropped into the selector mechanism inside the car or under the hood?

Is the footbrake also pressed while trying to shift into Park?

[JustAnotherDude]

Hello TOC. 

 

Sorry for the late reply.  I feel bad for missing your response so even though it's very late, it's bad etiquette to leave this thread open.

 

My daughter's Matrix was the troubled vehicle.  The mechanic she went to said that the parking pawl was jammed.  I wasn't there but she told me that he did something that sounded very unconventional but apparently it worked. He put the car on a slight incline, while in reverse (I think), let it roll very slowly and then without breaking, threw into park.  That unjammed the pawl and solved the problem... for now.  He said that it might only be temporary and if happens again, she might be looking at dropping several $k for a new tranny.  So far, no more issues.  She admitted that she is guilty of both not using the P-brake and not waiting for the car to come to a complete stop before shifting to park... and there's the cause.  Obviously, I told her that unless she has $3-6k of disposable income laying around, she'd better knock it off.  Message received.

 

Hope this thread proves useful to someone.  Again, sorry for leaving you hangin'.