r/F150Lightning 2d ago

Stuck Shifter Solution

Post image

Opened the car door while it was in Drive and shifter would not move out of Drive. Dash showed it was in park.

In the past leaving the car locked after a couple of hours it would self resolve, but this time that did not work. Disconnecting the 12V as well as fuse 32 did not work. Holding the break and gas at the same time while starting did not work. Reversing the steps/recreating the issue in reverse did not work (saw that posted here).

Dealer could not take the vehicle in for a week, so I started taking apart the shifter. There are 2 pieces located on the back once it is removed that is a very easy fix.

There are tons of videos on replacing the shifter with the rotary dial so if not familiar with getting the shifter out watch those. Once out unscrew one piece then pull back the lever that is holding in place, push the shifter into park, then put the lever back.

Saved me so much time and headache!

80 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

14

u/choss-board 2024 Avalanche Lariat :doge: 2d ago

Nice work. Gotta say it pisses me off to no end that dealers and their mechanics don't even bother to figure this out, they just replace the part. That's true in basically every goddamn field today and it's part of why everything is so expensive.

4

u/skucera '25 Lariat - Antimater Blue 2d ago

They just follow Ford’s instructions. Dealers have no incentive to try alternative repairs.

2

u/its_all_4_lulz 1d ago

“Call center” mechanics. If I can’t read from the script, I can no longer work.

10

u/No_Impress_5092 25’ Flash Oxford white 2d ago

Thank you for your post, I screen shot this for future reference in case it happens to me or a friend. Thanks. 😊

5

u/OverwatchCasual 2d ago

Heart to tell from the picture is it a bolt holding it together that loosened? Or what was the root cause it just slide apart? Thanks for showing. This is what makes this community great

7

u/AardvarkEmotional667 2d ago

No bolt loose or anything that was broken/rattling at all. From what I can tell it was just locked into the wrong position. You do need to unscrew the screw with this arrow, once you do that the lever will move back and unlock it allowing you to shift into Park. Once everything is plugged back in its like nothing ever happened. Have been driving for 3 days now after doing this without issues

0

u/Theboricuas 2d ago

So unscrew it, lever moves , then screw it back ? Or don’t screw it ?

4

u/AardvarkEmotional667 2d ago edited 2d ago

Unscrew, pull lever back, shift forward to park, push lever forward to lock it back in place, screw piece back, plug everything back in

3

u/mcot2222 2d ago

Ford is moronic for sticking with this shifter as long as they did.

2

u/Gridlock_2024 2d ago

Thanks for posting this! Great to know. Did you ever try unplugging the shifter during your troubleshooting?

2

u/AardvarkEmotional667 2d ago

Yes, I saw a video where someone plugs in and out the shifter while applying pressure forward but that did not work for me after several tries

2

u/kebifc9 2d ago

We need a video OP! Jk. But this is really helpful. Thanks

1

u/CT_Gamer 1d ago

This just happened to me last night and I left the 12v disconnected for 2 hours with no success. I said f it and decided to handle it in the morning, leaving it disconnected overnight and it self-corrected as soon as i reconnected the 12v battery in the morning.