I have a 2010 Lariat, about 105k miles. When leaving work today, it started fine and went into reverse without any issues. But when I tried to shift it into drive after I backed out of the parking space, it stayed in reverse. The shifter moved, but the backup camera stayed on and the transmission stayed in reverse. No matter where I moved the shifter (park, neutral, drive), it stayed in reverse. Once I shut it off, I could no longer restart it (because it is in reverse). I disconnected the battery for a few minutes, in case something needed to be “reset”, but no luck. I ended up leaving it in the work parking lot, and either have to get it towed to the shop or my home, or I can try to fix it in the lot this weekend. Any ideas on what to look for? Linkage problem maybe? Or does it sound like an actual transmission problem where I would be wasting my time?

 

Broken or disconnected shift cable.

 

Yup. Dug into it today and found the top end of the cable disconnected from the shifter. Glad it wasn’t something more serious.

 

Glad you found it. If you didn’t already, I would replace the cable. Probably worn inside.

 

Thanks. There was no retainer to keep the cable on the shifter post. Apparently it is integral to the cable, as the Ford parts guy said I have to buy the whole cable. So yes, I will be replacing the whole cable, which should hopefully be at the dealer in the morning.