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Chrysler Repair/chrysler 300c: stuck in Park on a steep hill

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Expert: - 8/23/2011


Question
car will not come out of park, its on a steep drive but theres a click coming from shifter when trying to move it! this wasnt there before

Answer
Hi Gareth,
My suggestion would be to find some burly friends who will push the vehicle up the drive so as to remove the pressure of gravity that is holding the parking pawl so tightly against its stop that you can't release it. Have the helpers push together while another person simultaneously attempts to shift it out of park. You would want to release the parking brake before you try to do this so as to allow the wheels to rotate, but the person charged with moving the shifter must be ready to activate the brake pedal so that the car doesn't roll downhill on the pushers when the pawl releases.  I can't explain the click but hope that it is just temporary. If you don't have helpers and you can get a vehicle on the downhill side of the car, then use that vehicle to push your 300c uphill slightly, just enough to relieve the pull of gravity but not so mush as to lock the pawl at the other end of its range of motion.
Roland

Chrysler Repair

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Roland Finston

Expertise

I specialize in Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth cars, minivans, and SUV's for the model years 1982-2008 based upon my 50-year DIY experience, factory shop manuals and wiring diagrams. I offer fast repair advice to help you minimize repair costs by helping you diagnose and do it yourself. Problems with electronically controlled engines and transmissions as well as body wiring problems are my specialty.

I take questions one at a time between 8am and 10pm CT and attempt to answer within 20 minutes. "Maxed Out" means I am answering another question of otherwise busy, so try again later.

There are answers on file to more than sixteen thousand Chrysler questions at your finger tips: put a few key words in the "find" box (above) or click on "view past answers" for a chronological list of my q and a's. Don't use "Add to this answer" if you still have a question...ask it. As to trucks and jeeps I only have manuals for the '04-'06 model years.

Experience

Five decades as a 'do-it-yourselfer' on domestic and imported cars

Organizations
Yahoo Autos Group called The Chrysler Lebaron Club (co-moderator)

Education/Credentials
Degrees in Physics/bruised knuckles.

Awards and Honors
"Top expert of 2010" and "2011" at Allexperts. Among top 50 experts for years 2006-2009 at Allexperts.

Quickest "average response time" at Allexperts (currently no. 1).

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