I could not believe some of the most amazing stories I heard about the Lose or broken Console Shifters Handle in the Lincoln Navigator and then I starting hearing about other Lincoln’s with the same or similar issues like the Aviator.
I was cleaning the boot and shifter area and pulled up on the shifter handle. It has always been loose and free to move up and down and I never thought much about it. Needless to say the dealership recommended that the shifter sometimes gets messed up and the handle and shifter assembly needs to be replaced as a pair. Cost around $600 for the part only. My guess is labor is around $200. If you do not have good mechanical skills, take it to the dealer to have it fixed over your local repair person as the dealer does it all day long and they know how to work with this specific breakage.
I think this should be a recall because the screw had come loose and it does not have any locketight and it should. Imagine how bad it would be to be driving along and then not being able to shift or to put it in park and remove your keys.
I figured I did not have anything to lose so as a DIY’er. You need to be careful. I could not find any pictures, sketches blow-ups, service manual that would help me so I had to figure it out and pass it to others so they can learn be able to fix and save a lot of money.
Related Articles
20 users responded in this post
Thanks so much for insight/ had same problem happen today in my driveway and within a half hour had it fixed with your help…it was haelpful to see how shifter disassembles…its pulldown on leather boot, remove white plastic locking key, slide silver escutcheon down, pop off cover
I really appreciate you going out of your way to make this video. You saved me a lot of time and money. Unfortunately on my truck, the shaft that sticks out of the shifter with the slotted hole in it was broken off right under the slot.
No worries, I’m going to have a machine shop that I work with manufacture a shaft (with the slot) that I can press fit and green loc-tite onto the remaining piece. After that I will put it all back together as you have demonstrated.
If they were to charge me at all for the piece I draw up, I doubt the cost would exceed $50.00.
Duke Mayes wrote – Hey eric, just watched your youtube video about the 2004 aviator shifter fix. My shifter will shift into park but the light indicator for park wont light up. The key will not come out either. Is there somewhere to buy the park relay switch. Ford wanted $1250 for a complete new shifter. I thought about putting in a momentary relay switch and bypass the default switch that isnt working. Do you have any experience with that. thanks.
Eric Replied -
Can you describe what happened leading up to the key not coming out? The shifter mechanism is very complex and has all kinds of interlocking switches and such. Will the shifter move into all the other selections? The key will not come out in any other selection but park. I am not sure if the park position requires an external button or switch somewhere below the shifter mechanism but not in the shifter box. There is a possibility that if shifter was lifted up and incorrectly positioned back in place, it might be off just enough to work but not hit park. You do not have much to lose to experiment because your alternative is $1,200 bucks as they are going to replace the upper and lower assembly. I do not know if there are multiple or more than one position that the shifter can be but if it had come unscrewed and you had to try and put it back in place, you might have moved it to the wrong place.
I had a problem not being able to pull the key out of the ignition on my 2004 Aviator. The ford dealership ran a test($76) and told me the entire shifter needed to be replaced. The cost was $1250. After a couple of emails to Eric I decided to fix it myself. I ran a continuity test on all the switches and interlocks on the shifter assembly and everything turned out fine. Everything showed that it was getting power and every switch worked correctly. The problem was the shifter control bezel sensor (7E034) It’s the shifter position light sensor on the shifter itself that tells you what gear your in. The indicator showed that it was in reverse through 1st but would not come on when the vehicle was in park. I simply unplugged the shifter control switch (small white plug on top of shifter) from the shifter, unplugged the battery terminal for 30 secs. Everything works perfectly, key came out without any problems. I will be looking for a new sensor, because it doesn’t show what gear it is in. But it sure beats paying $1250 for something that wouldnt have even fixed my problem. Hope this helps someone else with the same problem.
That is awesome Duke, and I am so pleased that you went to the detail of checking all the switches. Your this months Hero!
Same here but found a mouse nest Inside counsel plastic piece lube and works ok ill get some white lithium later and update
had same problem but found that a mouse built a nest in the counsal and the plastic lever inside the shifter needed lube so pb’d it and ill get some white lithium later
Do you know how to fix the shifter if the plastic piece inside has already broke? Mine broke and i am using plyers to put truck into its gears and i can’t pay the 700.00 the shop wants to fix it !
Thank you Eric. Thanks to your video, I can plainly see that the plastic rod is broken. However, up until this video, I did not have the confidence to take it apart and I can at least now shift into Drive and Reverse, etc. Thank you very much.
Doc
Thank you for posting this fantastic video and advice. It worked like a charm. For all of us poor souls still driving an Aviator, we need this kind of help, since Lincoln continues to take advantage of us. Now if there was just some way to fix the cracked rear window panel! Thanks Eric
Hi Eric,
Great video…thank you for that. My 2004 navigator will not move from park position. It has gradually gotten to this point. For a few weeks i was able to wiggle the shiter and get it to move from park position. I have taken off the shifter handle and the spring and white piece look ok. Once it’s out of park it works fine. Any ideas on a fix for this? Maybe transmission linkage?
It is all in the video. Everything is interconnected so the shifter top has come undone more than likely, causing the shifter not to disengage.
There is a guy that posted on her that does remote repairs. You can fix it yourself if you are brave and have some mechanical.
Please let me know if there is any options you know of to replace the shifter switch instead of purchasing a complete shifter assembly from ford. This is for a Lincoln Aviator 2003.
Yes there is, there is a guy in these threads that rebuilds them at a fraction of the cost.
About six months ago while in for service at the dealership for something else, I told them that sometimes it will not shift out of park. They said they couldn’t find anything wrong with it (even though the handle moved up and down freely). I now realize after watching this video that the screw must have fallen out a long time ago. It was only a matter of time until the shifter got stuck in park like it did the other night. A mechanic friend of mine suggested having a flatbed take it to the dealer because they have probably seen this before. The next morning, after reading these threads and hearing how much it would probably cost, I found this video. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I had it fixed in a matter of minutes. I will pass this info on to anyone else that has an Aviator. Real time and money saver!
Eric,
Your the best. I just paid for brake switch, actuator, wiring etc.. and all I had to do was this. Wow.
hi Erick great video, can you tell give me the inf. about the guy who rebuilts the shifter. Thanks
All I have is what is in this thread.
We have a 2003 Lincoln Aviator and for about the past two years have had issues with not being able to get the gear shift out of park. I have had it looked at by two dealerships and they say that the whole gear shift console needs to be replaces and it will cost 1500 dollars with labor and parts. I grew up around cars an own a 49 chevy pick up and a 74 buick appollo. I have no problem fixing it mechanically myself but am not sure if what you explain in the video will fix the problem we are having also….. Any advise is greatly appreciated!
I am going to assume that the complete system has been pulled out and tweaked and it might need to get rebuilt. There is a user on this blog that rebuilds them for like a few hundred dollars.
My video is showing you how to fix the shifting issue if you were not to have taken the entire assembly out plugs and all. I have done that. There are some serious interlocks and nothing will shift if the shift cover is 1/2 inch lifted. I guess it is for safety, so look around for anything broken or snapped. Do you have the spring and screw for the shifter? Have you tried to carefully put it back together after careful inspection? That is the best I got.
BTW – Have you had any in cab heater flapping noise issues? I found a new fix for that.
Leave A Reply