Plastic piece that conects shifter broke was hard to get out of park the last few times seems to be common how hard is part to get and replace

It's your shift cable. Happens all the time. More than likely it broke the last time you put it in park. We've replaced two ourselves. You can get them from O'Reilly Auto for about 65 bucks. They can be a pain in the keister to put in. You have to pull the console cover and we literally had to pull the seats to get it to come out. I routes behind the heat shield on the converter and up. We actually shifted it from under the hood all last winter. It slips on the tranny just under the battery.

Have someone shift it from inside and feel underneath the battery to see if the cable is actually moving.

Be careful pulling it off the console if you do it yourself. Its only seated in plastic. That part has the tendency to break also. So there is a chance that it broke there instead of the cable being bad.

So... First. Take the console off and see if everything is intact there. If the shifter is moving freely and feels very "loose" , more than likely, that plastic piece has also broken.

You'll see in the picture the location. If that's the case you have to replace the entire "white" piece of plastic that anchors to the body of the car. You can see it in the picture here. That comes off fairly easy.

Check for cuts in the cable there also.

It's not as difficult as it seems unless the cable needs to be replaced also. You can find on youtube the way to do it or get directions online. Also you can get a repair manual for 20 bucks from NAPA that will show you step by step how to do it. I actually got one for free from the local library. You can check them out.




Good luck with your PT. They are a great car - they just need some TLC now and than.

The only other thing that may have happened (slim chance) is that the cable came off the transmission. This RARELY happens. It is almost always the cable and/or the plastic base underneath the shifter.

I just finished repairing my 2007 - 300 for the same issue. Pulled in the garage.. went to go out , and could not get the shifter out of park. Researched this issue online.. First step is to remove the right side plastic holder next to the shifter. There is a small hole that has a pink plastic piece. Push this in while moving the shift lever out of park. If the shift lever does not move, then the other "pink thingy" piece that is located inside the shifter box has most likely broken. There is a tiny spring that attachs to this pink piece ( probably a $0.50 piece of poorly engineered product ) that breaks off. See the following link on how to fix this problem. I drilled a small hole in the pink plastic piece where the small hook broke off.. then attached a cotter pin through the hole , and fastened the spring to that... should not have any further problems.. this link demonstrates how to remove the shifter box. The entire process took me roughly 2 hrs to complete... saved myself hundreds of repair dollars!!http://www.300cforums.com/forums/tech-tips-review/61876-tech-tip-review-park-lock-out-mechanism-installation.html

You don't need a shifter assembly. Inside your console is a small "pink" plastic lever that has a spring attached that locks the shifter in park. The small "pink" plastic piece where the spring is attached breaks off. Mine broke off at 45000 miles. Billet technologies makes a aluminum replacement for about $60.00 that won't wear out. The Chrysler forum has pictures and detailed instructions on the replacement procedure.

The front of the handle has a large "U" clip. Use a screw drive and pry the clip out. It's a lot easier to do when the shifter is pulled all the way back to "1" or "2" but is doable in park still. The handle will then pull up. There will be a plastic piece in it that pushes down to release the lock in the shifter assembly. If when you push the plastic piece down it doesn't release the lock you will have to remove the shifter cover and take a look inside, to see what broke. It may require replacing the whole shifter assembly. You should be able to find the complete assembly used for fairly cheap.

Billettechnologies.com sells a replacement cog to put your shifter backinto action. Their part replaces a factory plastic piece...no wonderthese are failing at a fast rate.
Here is the LINK to make this change out of parts...

I had the same problem with my 05. I couldn't shift out of park. So, I checked brake pedal sensor, and wire linkage and they were fine. I took the center console apart and pulled out the shifter assembly and sure enough the problem was at the assembly. There is a plastic piece. that hooks to a small spring that snapped. I ened up renforcing it with a small clamp hose, and ever since its been functioning fine. I imagine I saved my over $500 bucks of repair cost and also wouldn't be surprize for others to have the same problem.

The shifter rod in the trans valve body is siezed

Inside the shifter is a second locking mechanism that breaks where the spring is attached. I learned the hard way. Our car is out of warranty and it broke, so not have the time to research it let the dealer fix it. $500 later and now I know what happened. Several people have fixed it them selves by taking the shifter apart and using wire to connect the spring back to the plastic piece. I checked and the shifter on moparpartsamerica.com has the parts for either $65 for the four speed shifterr or $119 for the 5 speed. The next time I will fix it myself.

Sounds like wiring. The key won't release unless the car is in park. From what I can remember the solenoid that controls the shifter lock is on the same circuit as the horn. Since the fuse was spent I think somthing must be shorting out. Take the centre console out and check for burn and or touching wires by the shifter.

That part is only serviced with the sift arm. Source: 20 years at a Ford Dealer as a Technician.