Will not start when transmission is in park?

2005 FORD FOCUS
138,000 MILES • 1.8L • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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CASTILLOV2
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
My car doesn't start in park, but when i put the car in neutral shift the car start. What could be the problem?
Mar 16, 2021 at 1:09 PM
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KASEKENNY
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 18,907 POSTS
This is most likely due to the transmission range sensor has failed or there is a circuit issue.

When the vehicle is in park or neutral the TRS tells the PCM is it safe to start. When this sensor fails it is common for it to start in neutral and not park.

I would manually shift the vehicle to park with the cable disconnected from the TRS as shown in the attachments and if it still does not start then the TRS is the issue.

Let me know if you have questions with this and we can go from there. Thanks
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Mar 17, 2021 at 11:19 AM
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