1993 lincoln will not come out of park. What could be causing it?

Question

if you stand on the brake real hard, sometimes it will come out of park

Answer 1

Your car is equipped with a transmission interlock switch that is connected to the back side of the brake pedal. It is designed to prevent you from shifting into gear without having your foot on the brake, so that your car cannot get underway unexpectedly.

Unfortunately, when it malfunctions it cannot complete the circuit that is normally completed by your foot on the brake actuating the switch, and the transmission thinks you do not have your foot on the brake, and so will not allow you to shift into gear. This is a common failing, incidentally, on a number of Ford products, and I have had to replace that switch on both a Ford Crown Vic and a Lincoln Continental that I previously have owned.

Although access behind the pedal is limited, making the switch a little difficult to change oneself, it is not impossible, and the part is not terribly expensive. As I recall, there is also an override procedure in the owner's manual that will instruct you on how to get the car into gear even though the switch is bad so that you will not be stranded in case of emergency. If I recall correctly, it involves turning the key to the accessories only on position (before engaging the starter motor) and then shifting the car into neutral. Then you can start the car and shift into drive or reverse or whatever.

Answer 2

The brake switch is going bad. Usually, there's a way to override the brake safety lock (a button on the console)

Answer 3

A bad transmission or simply just a malfuction in your shifter. Try moving it without starting it.

Answer 4

old age.