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What to try if your 2017 Ram 2500 is stuck in park.

The owner of a new 2017 Ram 2500 is trying to save others a service call after his Ram appeared to be stuck in park.
He is hoping his simple trick will help you, too!

Jason, from California, has a 2017 Ram 2500. Although he knows trucks, he had a weird experience and wants to warn others. Jason explains, “I remote started my 2017 2500, climbed in, pressed the start button, went to put it in drive and the stick wouldn't move. The "P" on the info panel flashed and that was it. Restarted several times and no change. I couldn't shift out of park.”

Jason quickly called Ram roadside assistance but thought he would keep trying. He was concerned that with the push button start the shifter would be more fragile than older vehicles. “With the remote start, I noticed that the stick wouldn't move at all and the "P" didn't flash, but when fully enabled the stick moved about 1/4" and the "P" would flash. Then it donned on me; I'd parked on a slight decline... I applied a little extra force and the damn thing shifted out of park just fine.”

Jason is not recommending that you break anything or use too much force but he says, “If you get any movement in the stick at all and the P flashes, but still can't shift out of park, man up. Your transmission probably is locked up from some external pressure and just needs a little more oomph to come out of park. Lesson learned.”

A Canadian driver, named Kela, responds “Always use your parking brake. It makes shifting out of park smooth, every time. I have to think it must save some wear on the transmission linkages as well. Not to mention, you are adding another factor of safety to avoid a roll-away situation.”

Ed, from Massachusetts, agrees. “I only use the parking brake on an incline but I do follow the practice of shift to neutral, depress parking brake, shift to park. The park pawl in the transmission appreciates it.”

RB, from Youngstown, Ohio, appreciates the warning. “Good to know. My driveway is on an incline and I always get the clunk when shifting out of park into reverse. I'll try the parking break tonight.”

Jason says he has always used his parking brake on an incline, but that the incline was so slight, in this case, he hadn’t used it. “Long story on that, but yea the short version is I should be and will be using it regularly. Didn't in this case. Wont make that mistake again, either."

It is a good warning to every driver that you should be using your parking brake, especially on an incline. The new linkages are not necessarily more fragile. While you should never use excessive force in that situation, sometimes a little push might help.

Pickup Trucks
Ram

Comments

Mark Edw (not verified)    February 10, 2018 - 11:54AM

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2/10/18
Just happened to me. 2013 2500 ram hooked to loaded dump trailer. Back I. Last night just fine. This morning would move out of park. Unhooked the trailer to remove pressure hit the emergency release lever for the gear selector, went to neutral and got back going again. Lesson learned if you have a load of any kind on the transmission set the parking brake first then go to park

Cynthia Wohler (not verified)    March 7, 2018 - 7:53PM

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Just happened to my new 2017! Only had truck since Saturday & it was extremely easy to change gears(prnd) then today it would not drop to reverse, like op said P flashed. Shut off, tried several times, look over All display panel, no idiot lights etc. Thought maybe a door was ajar?? Even though no indicators on, open shut front & rear doors, tried again & slight force(which I had done before)& it started. No idea!?

Rob (not verified)    June 10, 2018 - 11:58AM

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Just had this happened to me 6-8-18. Truck is a 2018 ram with the 5.7 hemi with just 80 miles on the odometer. I pulled out of a fast food driveway and all my lights came on and lost power steering. I soon came to a light so I put the car in park and turned the truck off while waiting at the light (bad idea). I turned the truck on and tried to shift the gear knob and would’nt shift. Keep in mind I had my foot on the brakes so it would shift out pf gear. Turned off the truck, put my energency flashers and started flagging other cars behind me (frustrating). Decided to open the doors and wait for a few minutes and that did the trick. I was on my way after about 3 or 4 minutes trying to shift out of Park in a busy street inthe center lane.

Micah (not verified)    September 6, 2018 - 4:47PM

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My 2017 with 17,000 miles has done the same thing. I have used ebrake but still locks in park. I have taken to dealer now 5xs and they cannot find a problem..I'm regretting trading in my 2012 f350 for security of warranty...didn't expect to have so many issues with dodge. Shifter locks, gear slippage, and gauge cluster blank screen on occasions.

Nicholas Luke (not verified)    November 23, 2019 - 11:47PM

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Did you ever figure out a solution to this problem? I had a 2017 ram 1500 Hemi for 2 years and never had a single issues. I just upgraded to a 2017 Ram 2500 Diesel and I am having same issues.

It seems to come and go, no rhyme or reason though. Ive had it happen on flat, incline, decline, parking break used, parking break not used, cold outside, warm outside, key started, remote started. Just seems very random.

I purchased on November 1st and had first issue on November 4th. It is now Nov 23rd and it has been back to them 5 times now. They cant find anything wrong. They say that it is not doing anything for them and then I went and showed them and they said it was very minimal and that it is normal. But parking on flat ground, using parking break, should not be having this issue. I hooked up to my dump trailer and it got stuck completely. Couldnt get out of park completely, had to have it towed.

It is still under warranty and i purchased extra warranties and dealership is still denying anything wrong...... obviously my truck getting locked in park and preventing me from doing my side business is a problem. Its why i upgraded to this truck.

Nicholas Luke (not verified)    November 23, 2019 - 11:50PM

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Did you ever figure out a solution to this problem? I had a 2017 ram 1500 Hemi for 2 years and never had a single issues. I just upgraded to a 2017 Ram 2500 Diesel and I am having same issues.

It seems to come and go, no rhyme or reason though. Ive had it happen on flat, incline, decline, parking break used, parking break not used, cold outside, warm outside, key started, remote started. Just seems very random.

I purchased on November 1st and had first issue on November 4th. It is now Nov 23rd and it has been back to them 5 times now. They cant find anything wrong. They say that it is not doing anything for them and then I went and showed them and they said it was very minimal and that it is normal. But parking on flat ground, using parking break, should not be having this issue. I hooked up to my dump trailer and it got stuck completely. Couldnt get out of park completely, had to have it towed.

It is still under warranty and i purchased extra warranties and dealership is still denying anything wrong...... obviously my truck getting locked in park and preventing me from doing my side business is a problem. Its why i upgraded to this truck.

Bruce Helm (not verified)    February 8, 2019 - 3:22PM

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2017 Ram 1500 was running fine. Stopped, put in park (both times on a level spot) and then transmission wouldn't engage in any gear. Motor just raced. In both cases after I turned it off for about 10 minutes, it started up and shifted fine. Dealer in Seattle could't find problem. Now I'm paranoid about putting it into park unless I can leave it in that spot for a while.

charlie b (not verified)    April 12, 2019 - 12:22PM

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thank you thank you and thank you. I have a 16 2500 ram hd and this morning it wouldnt shift out of park and the P started flashing. A quick visit to this site and problem solved. thanks again

Nicholas Luke (not verified)    November 23, 2019 - 11:52PM

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Did you ever figure out a solution to this problem? I had a 2017 ram 1500 Hemi for 2 years and never had a single issues. I just upgraded to a 2017 Ram 2500 Diesel and I am having same issues.

It seems to come and go, no rhyme or reason though. Ive had it happen on flat, incline, decline, parking break used, parking break not used, cold outside, warm outside, key started, remote started. Just seems very random.

I purchased on November 1st and had first issue on November 4th. It is now Nov 23rd and it has been back to them 5 times now. They cant find anything wrong. They say that it is not doing anything for them and then I went and showed them and they said it was very minimal and that it is normal. But parking on flat ground, using parking break, should not be having this issue. I hooked up to my dump trailer and it got stuck completely. Couldnt get out of park completely, had to have it towed.

It is still under warranty and i purchased extra warranties and dealership is still denying anything wrong...... obviously my truck getting locked in park and preventing me from doing my side business is a problem. Its why i upgraded to this truck.

Gabriella Barffuson (not verified)    November 8, 2020 - 7:25PM

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Hello Nicholas, I just purchase the same truck 2017 Ram 2500 Diesel, this year in February for our business and we started running into the same problem it gets stuck in park and it wo'nt shift into gear we tried everything and I even had it towed to the dealership and they a denyiang there is anything wrong. what have you done in respect to this problem cause I also would like to know what I can do.

Mike monez (not verified)    January 27, 2022 - 5:55PM

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Fed up with my Ram 1500 Limited. Getting towed again won’t shift out of park. Dealer said last time it was a loose fuse. I doubt it as it does it about once a week. Usually works after 10 min or so. This time not!

JimWhi (not verified)    August 8, 2023 - 10:09PM

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I fixed the stuck gear shift by disconnecting both batteries, waiting 20 minutes and reconnected them to reset the computer in the truck. That seemed to work and the truck shifted smoothly out of park
Someone else suggested pulling harder on the gear shift handle to get it out of park, especially if it is parked on a hill or backed up against the curb, which my 2017 Dodge Ram Diesel was. I don't recall pulling harder on the gearshift after resetting the computer by disconnecting the batteries, but I may have.