NHTSA Complaint #10173107 — 2000 FORD RANGER

IN OCTOBER OF 2006 THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN MY 2000 4X4 FORD RANGER BEGAN TO NOT ENGAGE IN PARK WHEN I WOULD STOP AND PARK THE TRUCK. THE INDICATOR WOULD ALSO NOT STOP ON THE GEAR THAT THE TRUCK WAS IN. AFTER CHECKING THE TRANSMISSION SELECTOR CABLE RUN AND ADJUSTING IT WHERE IT ENTERS THE TRANSMISSION THE PROBLEM WAS A LITTLE BETTER. IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS THE PROBLEM BEGAN AGAIN AND I LOOKED AT THE COMPONENTS I HAD LOOKED AT BEFORE AND EVERYTHING WAS THE SAME. AT THAT TIME I ALSO GOT A MIRROR AND LIGHT AND LOOKED UNDER THE DASH AT THE BACK OF THE GEAR SELECTOR AND SAW TWO STAR DRIVE SCREWS. I PUT A STAR DRIVE ON MY DRIVER AND FOUND BOTH SCREWS TURNED EASILY. AFTER TIGHTENING THE SCREWS THE SHIFTING MECHANISM STAYED ON EACH GEAR AS IT SHOULD HAVE AND ENGAGED ALL GEARS AND PARK. THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS WERE, THAT, BEFORE IT WAS FIXED I WOULD STOP THE TRUCK "PUT IT IN PARK" GET OUT, AND THE TRUCK WOULD START ROLLING. FORTUNATELY, I BEGAN USING THE PARKING BRAKE BEFORE I FIGURED OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. I ONLY USE MY TRUCK ON ROUGH ROADS ABOUT 5% OF THE TIME. SINCE THIS PART IS IN A REALLY OUT OF SIGHT PLACE THE SCREWS SHOULD HAVE SOME EXTRA LOCKING MECHANISM OR ADHESIVE ON THEM BECAUSE THE CONSUMER OR MECHANIC IS NOT GOING TO LOOK FOR THE PROBLEM WHICH IS OUT OF SIGHT AND IN A HARD TO REACH PLACE. *NM