99 Accent-Parking Lock reluctant to disengage

I'm wondering how to attack this problem.
Once the car is in park and the engine is switched off
it's goodnight Charlie.

Restarting the engine and depressing the brake
will not release the gearshift.

Leaving the transmission in neutral with the parking brake
on would be acceptable except that the key won't come out.

Any thoughts? -Nick

 

Do the brake lamps work? If not, suspect the brake pedal switch

 

Yeah they work.
FYI here is a response I got which quite accurately
frames the problem:

"...My friend had a similar problem on a Jaguar. If you are parking
on any sort of incline, make sure the emergency brake is on BEFORE
putting the gearshift in the Park position. This will prevent the car
from rolling back just enough to jam the parking pawl. This is a
temporary "fix" however. The car should still be looked at by a
qualified mechanic. Possibly the linkage is out of adjustment..."

"...It might also be a "common" Hyundai problem since my '08
Elantra has some sort of "Shift Lock" gizmo on the console to overcome
not being able to shift out of the park position..."

Regards, Nick.

 

If the brake lamps work, it gets quite a bit more complicated to diagnose.
The problem could be:
-- the key lock module that controls the ignition and shifter interlock
-- the shift lock solenoid
-- a bent shifter pin
-- a wiring or connector problem.

I've seen all of these issues cause the problem you describe, with th
first three being the most prevalent.


As for the shift lock release gizmo, that's a common feature on many car
and doesn't imply there's a high failure rate in the system.