If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle is in PARK (P)
and the parking brake is firmly set before
you leave it. After you move the shift lever into
PARK (P), hold the regular brake pedal down.
Then, see if you can move the shift lever away
from PARK (P) without first pulling it toward you. If
you can, it means that the shift lever was not
fully locked into PARK (P).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you do not shift
your vehicle into PARK (P) properly, the weight of
the vehicle may put too much force on the
parking pawl in the transaxle. You may find it
difficult to pull the shift lever out of PARK (P). This
is called torque lock. To prevent torque lock,
set the parking brake and then shift into PARK (P)
properly before you leave the driver’s seat. To
find out how, see Shifting Into Park (P) on
page 160.
When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever
out of PARK (P) before you release the parking
brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have
another vehicle push yours a little uphill to
take some of the pressure from the parking pawl
in the transaxle, so you can pull the shift lever
out of PARK (P).
Shifting Out of Park (P)
Your vehicle has an automatic transaxle shift lock
control system which locks the shift lever in
PARK (P) when the ignition is in the LOCK
position. In addition, you must fully apply your
regular brakes before you can shift from PARK (P)
when the ignition is in RUN. See Automatic
Transaxle Operation on page 155.
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