Pontiac Optima Car is not shifting into park Inspection at your home or office.

Common reasons for this to happen:

• Transmission Shift Cable Broke: If the cable connecting the shifter handle to the transmission is broken the car will not going into park, in fact the shifter will not work at all. Transmission cables usually break due to stretching, which happens over time or can result due to speed shifting or jamming the car into gear.

• Stretched Transmission Cable: Prior to breaking, a transmission cable will stretch. When this happens the car may be hard to put in park. It can even make it hard to turn the ignition off and remove the key because the vehicle is not in park. A stretched cable will often result in a misaligned shifter, as an example, when shifter indicates it is in reverse, it could actually be in drive.

• Faulty Shifter Mechanism: A large amount of play in the shifter could indicate that the shifter is malfunctioning or broken. A failing shifter can be difficult to put into park, or any other gear. In many cars it is possible to remove the boot covering the shifter to examine the shifting mechanism. If any parts appear to be loose or broken, the vehicle should be inspected and repaired as soon as possible.

• Blocked Shifter Mechanism: Many shifters slide on a channel and items such as coins, and food can fall into it. This can cause the vehicle to not shift into park, or other gears, depending on where the blockage falls. This is an easy fix. Carefully examine the shifter channel looking for blockages and remove anything that is causing a problem.

• Worn Ignition Key Tumbler: While this problem is usually associated with not being able to shift a car out of park, it can also make putting it into park difficult. Ignition key tumblers simply wear out over time and will have to be replaced. Other symptoms of a failing key tumbler is a hard to turn ignition and difficulty putting the car in gear.

• Failing Transmission Solenoids: Transmission Solenoids help control the flow of transmission fluid in the transmission. Trouble shifting the car is a common indicator of failing solenoids.

• Failing Transmission: Transmissions are complicated and contain a lot of moving parts. As a car ages, parts inside the transmission can wear out or be damaged resulting in a hard shifting, as well as clunking or grinding noises. Transmission repairs can quickly turn expensive so having the vehicle inspected and diagnosed as quickly as possible is key.