I have a 2007 F-150 5.4L FX4 with a console shifter. Recently, I’ve noticed it has become a little tricky to shift from Drive (D) to Reverse (R). If I shift to Park (P) first and then back into Reverse, it will go in without issue. I’ve also found that moving the shifter slightly back and forth can help engage Reverse. I can tell when it successfully goes into Reverse because my backup camera activates.
Once the truck is in reverse, it will operate perfectly fine. I’ve checked the transmission fluid, and it’s at the proper level and looks normal.
Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing this? Could it be a shift cable, transmission range sensor, or something else? Any insight would be appreciated!

 

On that old of a truck, my guess would be the cable or linkage.

 

Yeah I would check the bushings at the end of the cable. If that's sloppy then the arm on the side of the trans doesn't go to quite the right spot as easily.
Crawl underneath with the park brake on and have someone else shift the lever back and forth and see if it's sloppy at the trans end.

 

Take a look at this recent posting

https://www.f150forum.com/f4/fyi-shi...issues-567448/

 

I have had to replace the shifter on a couple of trucks with the console shift
The cable to shifter interface was sloppy and no real good way to tighten it up
Replacing the expensive shifter was the best option