Nissan Repair: Shifting out of park, nissan maxima gle, nissan maxima

Question
Dear Von,
I own a Nissan Maxima GLE 3.0 6 cyl. with automatic
transmission (floor mounted shift).
Recently I have been unable to shift out of "park" without using
the shift-lock release (with a screw driver). When I step on the
brake, I can hear and feel something in the shift stick clicking
and sometimes repeated pressing of the brake allows me to shift
into another gear. It seems to depend on how hard I can depress
the brake pedal.  Sometimes the problem just disappears for
awhile. Weird. In any case, I had this checked by a Nissan dealer
who recommended  replacement of the entire shift assembly for
the amazingly low price of $650. I've read some items on the
web about shift-interlock switches, a solenoid under the shifter
that could be gunked-up, etc. If you have any ideas on this
(pref. an alternative to spending $650) I would really appreciate
it.

Sincerely,

Karl Kosler

Answer
Karl,

You do not need the entire shifter.  My 2000 Maxima did the same thing and I just took it apart and cleaned and lubricated it.  It seems that someone spilled a coke in the console area and it was gumming up the works.  If a cleaning and lub job does not work the actuator is sold by itself.