Land Rover Repair: Land Rover Discovery 1995 SE7, land rover discovery, brake light switch

Question
Hi John,

Suddenly, we cannot move the shifter from park to reverse. This is an automatic transmission.

It was driving fine. We did replace the water pump last week and the related serpentine belt, but that would seem to be unrelated to this current problem.

What would cause the shifter to be stuck in park and what can we do to fix this?

Thank you very much John.

Steve Richards

Answer
Hi Steve,

there are several possible causes for your Disco stuck in park.  This type of problem is usually seen in series II Disco's but I've seen a few with our series I Disco, but not many.

It can be the brake pedal switch, a shifter button clip that as come off or loose, the park/neutral switch on the gearbox or (thanks to Vincent C.) a wound automatic transmission.

First, determine if your brake lights are working:

IF YOUR BRAKE LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING...examine fuse F1 in the fascia fuse box. If the fuse is blown, check the brake lights to see if any bulbs are blown, examine the sockets for any corrosion (common problem) and lastly, check the terminals on the back window defrost grid to ensure that they are not shorting each other out.

Next, check the brake light switch on the brake pedal. You can jump the green/purple wire and the green/orange wire and your brake lights should come on and you should be able to shift out of park. Please note that your brake lights will remain ON and this is only a way to get you to a dealer for service.

IF YOUR BRAKE LIGHTS ARE WORKING...you'll have to remove the top of your shifter lever and determine if the clip on the button is intact. A common problem is that the clip can come off and thus you can't lift the rod in the handle.

It is also possible that the park/neutral switch on the transfer gearbox could be faulty. Its rare but possible. Unfortunately, you'll have to have it towed to a dealer to fix this.

The last possibility is the wound transmission.  If its possible, lift your Disco up off of all four (4) wheels and allow the transmission to release any tension that may exist.  A fellow owner (Vincent) once wrote to me that he had the same problem that you have here.  He had his Disco towed to a dealer and when they raised the Disco off the ground, the wheels or drive shaft (no one knows) became unwound and they were able to start and shift out of park.

Best of luck with this problem, Steve.  I hope it can be solved quickly for you.

Regards,

JohnMc