Shifting from park

[captaionwoy]

My wife's 2003 Volkswagen Beetle is having an issue shifting from park to drive. This happened a couple times a few months ago and just started happening again. With the car on and running, she presses on the brake pedal and when she tries to shift into drive, the gear selector will not move. The little light by the gear selector goes out when the brake pedal is depressed, but the selector stays locked. I called the dealership and they confirmed that her car is up to date on all recalls including the faulty brake light switch. Any other ideas on what could be causing this? Thanks.

[MiG]

Did ya check all the fuses too?
Maybe the button on the gear shifter it'self?

[cep]

Whether it's 'up to date' on the recall is irrelevant. These brake light switches fail with regularity. I keep a spare on hand.

Did you check to see if you actually have brake lights?

[captaionwoy]

Thanks for the quick responses. The problem is intermittent, which would lead me to believe the fuses are all still working. I haven't checked if the brake lights activate with the pedal or not, but will tomorrow. If the little brake light right next to the gear selector goes out with the brake pedal pressed, is the brake light switch still suspect?

[captaionwoy]

The button on the gear selector works fine, and the brake lights go on and the little light by the selector goes out when the brake pedal is depressed. The selector seems like it is getting hung up on the locking mechanism that goes into place when you release the brake after putting the car in 'park'. It seems like that locking mechanism isn't releasing completely. Anybody know how easy it is to get past the interior trim and work on that mechanism? Thanks again.

[VdubOne]

Theres a manual somewhere online that tells you that you can open up the shifter and find a reset switch that will allow you to shift when the shifter won't unlock