On my 2001 Ford Escort Zx2 the automatic shifter is stuck in park. i can put it in gear only by sticking a screwdriver in the hole next to the shifter. ive also noticed that my brake lights are out as well. i checked fuses and nothing there. whats next? This happened last year as well when it was cold. but i never had a permanent fix. Could it be something with the cold weather?

There is a solenoid lock which works on the brake light circuit, if the brake lights are working it is possible the solenoid has packed up. Need to check it's operation.

your linkages from the gear stick to the gear box need adjustment.

The problem is the park safety switch on the brake pedal (a gblue rubber looking ring under u pedal) because it is not working correctly the pin under the center console is stuck and not releasing the shift
In my case the tip of the blue rubber ring under the pedal broke therefore it did not press the switch which pulls back the pin which locks the shifter in park. (this can cause your break lights to stay on if it breaks or falls off when you apply the brakes)
so, for a few dollars you can replace the ring which notifies the switch to allow the pin that locks the shifter in park to release it.
I did not know I had broke the blue thing (another day, another story) and needed to get somewhere fast so...
I removed the 4 screws that hold the face plate that the shifter sticks up through, I found a white pin down in the console (there is a square white switch underneath and to the left that works the pin, i bent back the bracket until i could pull the pin put of the shifter lock and put the car in gear. However, my car does not lock in Park now. I figure I could use the parking brake if worried which never have and i have had no problems. In fact I forgot all about it until reading this post. Guess I ought to put the pin back in the switch since a few weeks later I had to fix the blue piece in order to get my brake lights to turn off.. (the other day, the other story.)( and how I stumbled upon The Rest of the Story!)
I apologize for my undeveloped vehicular parts terminology. I am not of the male gender and therefore lack the DNA required for innate understanding of anything mechanical. But i can use a screwdriver and look around .....Its that easy!

Try this. Remove the small plastic cap near the shifter. It is a circular shaped cap about the size of a dime, you can remove it by prying it out with a screwdriver. Insert a phillips head screwdriver into the hole, while pushing down try and shift into neutral. If that works than there could be a few things wrong. Check to see that both break lights are coming on, if BOTH are not coming on it is the break pedal switch. If either one is coming on then it is something more complicated that I cannot solve but someone else may be able to help.

sounds like your shift solenoid has failed

next to the gear shifter you will see a little plug

remove the plug and inset your key

this will allow you to shift into neutral

remove your key and start the car

If it wont move into gear,the safety switch is malfunctioning. You can take the plug out of the hole on the upper right side of the console just to the right of the gear shift lever. put a philips screwdriver in the hole and press down. this will manually release the gear shifter mechanism.

The park lock-out solenoid is bad. It locks the shifter in park until you depress the brake pedal. You can remove the console and replace this solenoid or defeat it with a zip-tie.

Near the shifter, there is a small hole with a lil cover on it. Take the cover off and find something long, thin and sturdy to stick down there. There's a lil switch down there that can be pushed down that will allow the shifter to move. That should help for now. I still haven't found out what I need to do to fix this problem. Doesn't happen all the time, but it's truly annoying! Hope this helps!

my car got stuck in park several times, i'm the brake lights would come on but i couldnt push the button to make my car move out of park...there's a tab on the right side at the top of the gear shifter console pop it out, stick a skrew driver down in and that should release it if that's your problem...it's a little bit of a rig, but it works, havent been stuck in park since

Sounds like a problem with the shift interlock.Here's how it works:You put your foot on the brake pedal,the brake pedal switch sends voltage to a solenoid mounted on your shifter.The solenoid unlocks the shifter,and you remove it from Park.When the interlock doesnt work,it's usually the interlock solenoid mounted on the shifter malfunctioning,however the brake pedal switch,or wires to and from can also be at fault.