Mazda 3 Sport stuck in park

[dave88]

I have a 2005 Mazda 3 Sport with under 50,000 km, automatic transmission.

The stick is now stuck in park. I've tried the usual tricks, but it won't move. I was able to override this by putting a screwdriver in the override hole. The car drives fine, changes gears fine. The problem hasn't gone away after a few days. Anyone have any idea what's going on?

[Cosmo77]

are your brake lights working? Ie. is the brake switch working?

[CanSpeed 3]

Hmm my buddy's toyota did this. He said it was his key ignition. Something to do with the safty in the ignition. He smashed it a few times and it came loose. I dont suggest you try that, but its a good place to start looking at.

[dave88]

I assumed it was the brake light switch so I took it in to canadian tire to get checked. The brake lights do not work.

However, they said they checked the brake light switch and wiring and found no problem. They think it's some of the other wiring in the car, but that I would have to pay an additional $150 on top of the $75 I've paid just to have them investigate. I'm worried I'll end up spending $500 and get no results.

[Cosmo77]

so I took it in to canadian tire to get checked. .

Well there's your problem

[thanu31]

i had a problem like this with my dads Sienna, and I ended up changing one of the fuses. Problem was solved.

Forgot what fuse it is, but maybe you can check it out.

Well there's your problem

+1 lol

[Thrizzl3]

lol check the horn fuse..if its blown your brake lights won't work and you won't be able to shift out of park

[S.F.W.]

lol check the horn fuse..if its blown your brake lights won't work and you won't be able to shift out of park

yep, I had the exact issue.

[dave88]

Yeah, I got burned by cdn tire years ago, went in for an oil change for my Sunfire. It was cheaper to have them do the "checkup" with the oil change so I agreed. They tried to charge me $900 for a leaky brake line and new tires. The tires had at least 2 more years of driving on them, and the brake line was checked by 3 other mechanics who found no problem.

They were telling me they thought it was the wiring with the horn and that's why they wanted to charge me more for them to look into it. Since a blown horn fuse can cause the problem, that could make sense. Hopefully they just need to solder the loose wire.

[S.F.W.]

. Hopefully they just need to solder the loose wire.

I really doubt there is anything for them to solder. Swap the fuse, and you will likely be fine.

[Skip]

yep had the same issues on my car after i did some work on my tails. Definitely check the fuses for the horn and the tails..I was so worried when I couldn't get it out of Park as well. Goodluck

[dave88]

Problem fixed.

Turned out it was corroded wires under the carpet. The wires run from the drivers side to the passengers side under the carpet. The carpet was damp, probably from our Canadian winters and that caused the wires to corrode.

I'll definitely be more careful with getting the winter mats in as soon as the fall comes around and emptying the water when it builds up.

[poundCake!]

I'm currently experiencing this problem right now (06, auto). It happened randomly the first few times but now the only way I can get it to shift out of park is by using the screwdriver in the override hole.

The tail lights work fine but the brake lights don't come on at all. I don't see a fuse specifically for brake light, only tail lights and the fuses appear fine. The horn works fine as well. Any suggestions?

[Booter22]

I'm currently experiencing this problem right now (06, auto). It happened randomly the first few times but now the only way I can get it to shift out of park is by using the screwdriver in the override hole.

The tail lights work fine but the brake lights don't come on at all. I don't see a fuse specifically for brake light, only tail lights and the fuses appear fine. The horn works fine as well. Any suggestions?

almost sounds like it could be the brake switch which would not be sending the signal to let the vehicle know its in park, which could also be why the brake lights are not coming on.

[schmat66]

my truck had this problem and it was the pin in the tranny, wasnt expensive at all, the release pin or something