My shift lever would not go from park to any gear. I jiggled it and she disengaged. Is this a common problem and is there a fix for this

 

There is a safety interlock that prevents it from shifting out of Park.

Have some one stand behind the RX and press the brake pedal and your assistant should confirm the brake light lighting up. If not then that is preventing the interlock from moving out of park.

Take a flat screwdriver and pop off the rectangular rubber block next to shift lever. Once the block is removed you can reach downed press the interlock pin to release it. [Instructions and picture are in the owners manual].

The safety is there for a reason and please have some one investigate. It can be the brake pedal switch or fuse etc.

Salim

 

This is a problem on the 99-03 RX and the 1st gen Toyota Highlander (01-07). There's a "shift module" which is under the shifter and inside is a little solenoid. This can fail/wear out and stick. I got one from the junkyard and it fixed the problem. You can't buy it from Toyota/Lexus without getting the whole shifter, so you might have to buy a whole shifter on eBay or find it at a yard.

 

Thx salim and matt- it has only happened once so should i buy that part to keep on hand

 

Do we know for sure what needs replacement?

Is it weak battery, bad brake switch, bad release relay, bad shift cable end connector etc.

No sense in buying unnecessary parts till we know the root cause of the problem.

Salim

PS: I think there are two switches on the brake pedal. Please verify, but for sure the one that lights up the brake lights is the one that releases the interlock relay.

 

I was thinking the shift module. Symptom has not reoccured