Help! 2011 Expedition Locked In Park!

So, I'm part-way through cooling system maintenance.

Replacing:

Radiator
Upper/Lower Radiator Hoses
Thermostat
Water Pump

I've got the front clip torn off, and had disconnected the battery and the front-of-engine-bay fuse box assembly.

Ran into an issue that stops my progress, and I needed to push the Expedition out of the way, and into a different spot. Problem is, the shifter is locked in partk.

I thought it might be due to no power, so I hooked back up the fuse box and the battery - I've got juice, but the gauge cluster screams "Check AdvanceTrac, Check 4x4" and there's a Christmas tree of idiot lights, and the shifter still won't shift out of park into neutral.

What am I missing? Is there some kind of bypass somewhere, so I can shift it into neutral? Besides the fact that there's no radiator/hoses hooked up, the engine won't even crank over right now, likely due to something not connected somewhere (I didn't specifically attempt to crank it, but I did accidentally turn the key too far forward in my attempt to unlock the shifter, hence this discovery).

What do I do? I won't be able to re-assemble everything for a few more days, and I really need to get this shifted into neutral and moved.

Thank you for any help you can provide!

Do you have any brake lights when you step on the brake pedal ?

Shift Interlock Explained on Gen3 Expies




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kythri said:

and the shifter still won't shift out of park into neutral.

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Take the little rectangle cover off and stick something in to push down to unlock shifter.

Hamfisted said:

Do you have any brake lights when you step on the brake pedal ?

Shift Interlock Explained on Gen3 Expies




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Don Hall said:

2011 Expedition stuck in park - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

2007 - 2014 Expedition & Navigator - 2011 Expedition stuck in park - hi folks, my 2011 XLT had an electric problem. Gear shift stucks in park position - bad fuse(breake light) has been replaced in that case - and it worked. So far so good - but this happened several times in the last 7 days and...

www.ford-trucks.com

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No brake lights after reconnecting battery and those connections, but I did validate that I do not have a blown fuse, and I also pulled/tested the brake light switch. I do suspect the electrical interlock, of course, but the immediate culprits aren't presenting themselves.

Yupster Dog said:

Take the little rectangle cover off and stick something in to push down to unlock shifter.

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PERFECT, this is exactly what I'm looking for, thank you!

When the dawn comes, I'll pry this thing open!

I 3d printed a clip to hold the shift solenoid engaged.

I don't have children and If I did, they wouldn't be in the vehicle alone with access to keys anyway.

Somehow I was smart enough when I had little kids and no brake interlocks on my vehicles I didn't have problems.

It’s your brake light switch, happened to me over summer. 5 minute job.

JExpedition07 said:

It’s your brake light switch, happened to me over summer. 5 minute job.

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As I detailed in post #5, I already tested the brake light switch, it's not the brake light switch. I've pulled mine and put it into another Expedition. I put the known good one from that other Expedition into mine, and it didn't resolve anything.

It's undoubtedly something else electrical that I have disconnected as part of my maintenance.

Moving on, unfortunately, popping that little nub out and sticking something down into that cavity didn't do anything.

There doesn't seem to be anything in there, but I did end up finding this video:


It detailed how to pull off the trim and what not around the shifter assembly, and showed the plastic tab that had to be manipulated in order to unlock the shifter.

So, the immediate problem has been solved, I've been able to shift into neutral and move the "dead" truck out of the way for the moment.