ok, i have a 2004 fx4 5.4, and the shifter has been acting up for a while, i would have to tap the brakes multiple times for the shifter to make the click so i can pull back the tab and shift, well the other day i couldnt shift at all, it wouldnt make the click and i couldnt manually do the shifter, now i have to pull the chrome plastic part far out of the shifter (the part near the dash) and then tap the brakes, then push down on the chrome piece hard and then pull back, this is very irritating and unreliable, what can the problem be?? hopefully its something i can fix myself

 

bump

 

I assume you have a console shift, which I don't, so I don't have the answer of the top of my head...but I gotta ask: why did you wait until it got to the point of not being able to shift at all before giving it attention? You state you had to tap several times on the brake, then it got worse to where you had to lift up on plastic chrome pieces...and tap brakes before it would shift. Obviously something was wrong.

My son will do the same thing though, if it makes you feel any better. Short of standing on his head, clicking his feet and chanting over tossed chicken bones to start his car, he won't report the fault to me until he has to include singing the star spangled banner.

My guess is that you'll need to remove the shift cover and shifter to gain access to the problem. By now it should be visually obvious as to what the problem is when you do this. Pressing the brakes to shift is the typical safety feature of most all automatics, so I'm also guessing there's an actuator of sorts that gets power (12 Volts) when the brakes are applied.

If no one chimes in with the details by tonight, I'll check this one out in my Ford Factory repair manuals and report back.

 

Are you hearing any noise from the shifter or surrounding area, loose cable/rods??? Check underneath around the trans to see if anything is loose.



Also, why do people post something in the middle of the night, then give themselves a bump up (this one after less than a hour!!!)?

 

What are you doing up posting at 04:34 am? You should sleep in. Posting times relate to the poster, not the reader.



Also, why do people post something in the middle of the night, then give themselves a bump up (this one after less than a hour!!!)?[/quote]

 

Gotta work, gotta pay the bills, gotta take a break and post here... 1 day off since November...

 

thanks for the responses, i shoulda taken care of it before but i just got so used to doing it that way, and it got to the point where i would tap the brake just right so it would not take multiple tries, its still under warrenty (i have the extended 100k one) so i may just take it into the shop so i dont have to deal with it, if they try to mess with it and say its not covered then ill see what i can do about it