[good dog]

@yerrow Check to see if you have brake lights, if not it is likely the brake switch under the dash. Otherwise pull the trim around the shifter console and do a thorough cleaning and check the connections.

 

[good dog]

@yerrow take a look at this thread:

('06-'08) - 2007 - Auto stuck in park?

2007 auto xt 66k miles, not the wrx but the forester it just started recently, but many times throught out the day, when starting the car i can't seem to get from park to drive or reverse. foot on the brake, parking brake down, and stuck in park. usually after a few gentle tries it'll release...

www.subaruforester.org

 

[good dog]

@bheinz5 On the upper RH of the shifter console, there is a little cover that can be pried off with a screwdriver or possibly in your wife's case, nail file. Once that small cover is off you can preferably stick a screw driver down and with the handbrake set and while stepping on the brake, move the shifter to neutral. The car can be started in neutral with your/her foot on the brake, make sure she does not put it back into park. Sometimes it is just the angle of the car when parked that makes shifting the transmission out of park difficult. On my 99 Forester I was told to try rocking it slightly before trying the screw driver release method, it was sometimes just binding from being on a slope that made it difficult. Keep us informed as to how it turns out.

 

[good dog]

@Hazmat Usually that is indicated by stiff shifting when moving the shifter. And yes it would benefit from being lubed at the attachment and pivot points. The linkage needs to be dropped to lubricate the pivot pin that the cable attaches to closest to the shifter console. That pivot pin starts to seize up and can snap the cable. How do I know? My friend is driving my old 99 Forester and the cable snapped while we were out for breakfast. Luckily my mechanic lived about 5 minutes away and was able to pop over, remove the shifter from the console, remove the broken cable from the linkage at the base of the shifter and I then was able to shift by moving the cable housing forward and backwards (not as easy as it sounds). I let my friend drive my car (she wouldn't have been able to shift it). I drove the car for a week (part briefly back-ordered) with the console on the passenger floor and could watch the driveshaft rotate and the road go by underneath just a couple of feet away, made me think of the Flintstones. yabba-dabba-doo :icon_razz:

 

[good dog]

@Hazmat Rather than get off-topic, you have a PM :biggrin: