I think I understand the basic concept behind the parking shift lock, the shift lock solenoid and it may be working fine...when starting. Start and press on brake before putting in gear. The issue I have is that I am able to turn off and remove the key while the transmission is in any gear. I have seen a couple parking lot roll back accidents and may be next one since I have found myself turning the ign sw off and removing the key after backing into a parking and the shifter is still in reverse.

I have a 92 wiring diagram and there is nothing I see that would prevent the key from being turned off and removed. Nothing in the searches and I am scratching my head with this one.

Tom

I can't speak from any experience with a '92, but on my two '93s, there is a cable (bicycle shift cable-type) that runs from the floor shifter to the key lock cylinder.
Because of this mechanical link, you can't take the shift out of Park (even with a press on the brake cable) unless your key in inserted and turned (to I); likewise, you can't turn and remove your key unless the shift is back in Park.

However, you can defeat this by removing the shift cover and pulling on the bicycle cable :-). In fact, you can detach the cable completely if you want to defeat this connection.

Perhaps, in your case (if it's anything like my '93s) the cable is broken.

Good luck.

Thanks Ken. Yup, my cable is broken somewhere. This is something I consider dangerous. I am aware of two roll backs because of this. One car rolled back into a parked trailer and trashed the rear window and upper frame. Another, a co-workers car, rolled from a bank parking lot into a brick storefront across the street.

I wonder if anyone on the board has replaced one of these cables. Is this cable accessible from the top, under the carpet or in the tunnel? I had to get into the park neutral switch to get the reverse lights to work due to weak tension on the contact arm and I do not recall a cable, but then I wasn’t looking. If the Bentley is ever available is it described in there?

re: "...I am aware of two roll backs because of this. One car rolled back into a parked trailer and trashed the rear window and upper frame. Another, a co-workers car, rolled from a bank parking lot into a brick storefront across the street...."

I'm just wondering -- has the notion of putting on the parking brake been lost to U.S. drivers?

I see, all the time, people pulling into a parking spot and just throwing it in Park -- and I see the car jerk as it settles against the transmission's Parking pawl, held in place by this tiny, merely spring-loaded, piece of metal. I never hear the tell-tale ratchety sound of a parking brake being applied anymore.

I've always taught my wife and daughter to step on the service brake, put the tranny in neutral, then apply the parking brake, then lift your foot off the service brake pedal and wait that fraction of a second to let the car's suspension settle or shift (more so on a hill), and then shift into Park -- Park is only a backup to the parking brake, and it's best to let the weight of the car bear against the parking brake, rather than the transmission pawl.

Anyway else use the parking brake?

re: "...Is this cable accessible from the top,...? I had to get into the park neutral switch to get the reverse lights to work due to weak tension on the contact arm and I do not recall a cable, but then I wasn’t looking...."

If your '92 has the cable like my '93s, then you'll see it when you remove the shift quadrant cover (with the interlock bypass pushbutton). When you lift off the cover, look at where the pushbutton (when the cover is in place) should push on the transverse bar -- the cable is just forward of this, coming from under the carpet (where the storage box is located).

You know, I should have also mentioned, or cautioned, in my earlier message that with this cable, you cannot use that interlock bypass pushbutton to move out of park until you have the key inserted and turned; the previous owner of one of my '93s once tried that, and using a lot of force he broked the hinge of the L-shaped lever under the pushbutton -- I subsequently had to buy a whole new cover, as the hinge couldn't be fixed. So this cable interlock also serves as an antitheft device as well (unless you're towing the car with a rear-end lift :-).

Hope this helped.

They are not designed to protect you from yourself in all situations... sometimes you just have to suck it up and pay attention.

It is working the way Volvo delivered it.

Randy