On 2/22/05 11:13 AM, in article a0qm119vg9kekt6l1gv9lume57f1eoap9t@4ax.com,

It is locked several ways.

There is an electrical interlock that is activated by the brake pedal when
the ignition is on.  Check that the switch on the back of the pedal is
working.  

There is also a mechanical shaft running to it from the ignition switch that
could be sticking.

There is a solenoid mounted at the base of the shift lever that pushes
(pulls?) the interlocks away.  They get weak or gummed up (Pepsi syndrome -
have you spilled anything in there lately).

To test, pop off the trim plate around the shifter (I have good luck using
an old putty knife wrapped in an old t-shirt.  Start at the rearmost corners
and work your way to the front.  It should have about 6 snap clips and hooks
under the trim around the ash tray. It should pop out.).

Once you have the cover off, look at the base of the shifter on the right
side and you should see the solenoid. It has a shaft coming from it that
connects to a pivot at the front right side of the shifter mechanism.  The
shaft coming down from the ignition switch comes into that same pivot from
the front.  

Turn the key to run and step on the brake.  The solenoid should move the
plate on the pivot out of the way and the button on the take-it-out-of-park
button should be free to move.  If nothing happens, try moving the pivot by
hand (or with a screwdriver if your fingers are too fat to reach down in
there (like mine).  You might need to also remove the ash tray to reach it.
If it is gummed up, try to loosen it up with WD-40 or something similar that
will not turn sticky itself.  If that fixes it, you are done.  Otherwise,
replace the solenoid. (about $70 from Courtesy Nissan).

Meanwhile, until you get it fixed, leave the trim plate off and keep the
screwdriver handy so you can push the stopper out of the way manually to get
the shifter out of park.

The very first thing you should do, with respects to e.meyer, is check
the fuse for the brake lights.  I forget this everytime I buy a new
Nissan (or Infiniti) SUV and hook up my trailer;  the factory fuse
cannot handle the extra load of the trailer lights.