Sometimes my 04 base won't shift out of Park....
 

Can someone please explain why it only happens sporadically? Like when I am more than fashionably late, or trying to be cool leaving the grocery store parking lot....with ice cream.

Thanks for humoring me, and providing a solution.....perhaps.

When it happens do your brake lights work ?

Yeah, brake light switch can get loose on you. If not that maybe a little solenoid that prevents shifter from coming out of park unless foot brake is applied. Had a Land Rover Discovery pull that on me in the middle desert. Maybe that's why they named it Discovery?

By the way usually you can pull off the shifter trim plate & manually unlock the solenoid if that's the problem.

Thanks for responding Gentlemen.....off to the garage I go.

Cheers!

My 996 tip did that occasionally. It turned out to be the plastic ignition piece on the back of the switch. Didn't figure it out until a lot of other stuff started happening, but once I replaced it I never had the problem again. It was another 2 or 3 years before I sold the car.

Ours did too , but showed plenty of other signs that the ign switch was the culprit :D
All kinds of cels and radio not working etc ...

So, can I just leave the shifter in neutral and use the parking brake if I am paranoid until I fix it?
Hmm.

It happens only periodically, so I must wait until the problem presents itself again.

You still need to have your foot on the brake to shift into drive or reverse ...

Do you have any other issues ?
Hard to get the key out , radio not working , air conditioning fault codes etc

No other symptoms......as of yet.

You could start cleaning contacts and switches rather than wait for it to happen again ?

I have the same problem with my 1999 Boxster.
I've replaced the brake light switch, but I still have the problem.
I beleive it its the ignition switch. My switch was replaced about three years ago.
My solution:
I just press the brake pedal and the shifter button as I turn the ignition switch and I am good to go.
It is the best anti-theft device ever:-)

MNC-I

Pardon the Freudian slip, but I like how you think outside the Box.......lol!

I don't think you can start the car if its in Neutral. I think the car has to be in park