Shift lever or transmission linkage loose / disconnected - stuck in park

Hi everyone,

Have had my 2001 (~200k) for the last 100k without a single issue. Replaced front tires/rotors/pads and serviced rear brakes on top of synthetic oil change last week. 40+ mpg and no discernible issues.

I park at the grocery, pick up groceries, start car, shift into reverse... the shift lever has absolutely no resistance to it, and does not lock into any gear (R N D B). After a few minutes restarting the car, messing with the shifter, toggling parking brake, and even checking the emergency lock, I conclude something with the transmission linkage must have happened; most likely, linkage slipped off (I doubt a cable snapped as I parked smoothly and didn't encounter anything unusual).

I've done quite a bit of searching on this forum and others, and it seems most people have a similar issue presented inversely: their vehicle is able to drive but not park, and the "solution" for them is to simply park the car in neutral and utilize the parking brake, avoiding issues with the shift pawl.


priuschat _ com/threads/1st-gen-prius-drives-but-does-not-park.145952
priuschat _ com/threads/2001-prius-could-transaxle-be-bad-with-so-few-symptoms.166963


In my case the vehicle is IN park, but cannot disengage or shift, although the display shows shifting. Interestingly I cannot place the vehicle in neutral even following these directions: priuschat _ com/threads/how-to-put-gen1-prius-into-neutral-with-dead-battery.120402


Anyway, I'm hoping it's just a linkage issue, but other opinions/advice are welcome. I don't think replacing the brakes would mean disconnecting the transmission linkage, but if that's part of the process, I'd love to know so I can hold the shop I used responsible. User rbdigital posted this excellent photo and a DIY solution involving telephone cord, hopefully this is all I'll need to do.

Thanks!

 

P.S. No codes!

 

Thanks. Deployed a similar fix and it’s working effortlessly. Here’s a wider picture for better reference (shows the location relative to the steering wheel):