2015 Ford Escape "transmission not in park" WHILE DRIVING

7692 Views 19 Replies 11 Participants Last post by murcod, 5 d ago

rwh0015

Discussion Starter · Oct 11, 2021

Hi everybody,

I have been having quite the headscratcher with this one. I recently started having issues with my 2015 escape where I was receiving the "transmission not in park" message when trying to start and not shifting out of park - no crank, no start. I do a little research and read a couple of threads about replacing the bushing. I take a look and the bushing is fine. Then I see other articles about replacing the brake light indicator/brake light fuse. I replace those and it starts. Great! A day later I get in my car and no crank, no start, and doesn't shift out of park. I do a little more research and see a post about somebody having the same issue. To resolve it, they opened up the high amp fuse box that sits in front of the battery (not the regular fuse box, but the one where the positive wire runs into) and they tighten the connections. I do the same and noticed that a majority of the connections were very loose. After I tighten, the car starts. So I take it out for a short drive and the engine cuts off WHILE DRIVING and the display reads, "transmission not in park". And it won't crank or start after my car slows to a halt. Now I'm having trouble finding a solution that fits this experience - of the car dying, and displaying that message while they were driving. I'm almost certain this has to be an electrical issue or a system failure of some kind, but I am a novice when it comes to car maintenance. If anybody has had this kind of issue and was able to resolve it, please let me know.

Just a quick list of what I have done so far:
-Confirmed bushing was intact
-Changed brake light indicator
-Confirmed brake fuse not blown
-Tightened connections in high amp fuse box

Thanks!

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1 - 20 of 20 Posts

waverunner10

· #2 · Oct 11, 2021

#1 make sure there are no open recalls on this car
take a picture of your Vin
go to nhtsa input your vin
It will tell you if there are any open recalls on your car

one other possibility a bad battery or corrosion on the negative post
batteries only have a life of 3 to 4 years

rwh0015

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 11, 2021

waverunner10 said:
#1 make sure there are no open recalls on this car
take a picture of your Vin
go to nhtsa input your vin
It will tell you if there are any open recalls on your car

one other possibility a bad battery or corrosion on the negative post
batteries only have a life of 3 to 4 years

Thanks for taking the time to reply. The battery was replaced about a month ago. I took the time to clean the corrosion off the negative post after I put it in. I also reset the BMS. No recalls on this particular vehicle. Going to try and get a mobile mechanic to run the codes on this, but not optimistic about the outcome

wiz043

· #4 · Oct 11, 2021 (Edited)

I don't know whether this is any help but may be worth checking..similar problem to yours.

www.fordescape.org

No start not in park "fix"

2014 no start transmission not in park message. Randomly it wouldn't start, dealer replaced lead frame in the transmission and said if that doesn't work the shifter needs replaced for $500. Dealership fix didn't work. I got to the park switch on the shifter, the metal rod that pushes the switch...

www.fordescape.org

www.fordescape.org

Also, it may not be related but just ensure the battery negative ground connection on the firewall area is tight and you cannot move it around on the bolt as this has been known to affect many things.

waverunner10

· #5 · Oct 11, 2021

go to AutoZone or Oriely's
they will scan the codes for free
they have OBD 2 scanners

PittAussie

· #6 · Oct 14, 2021

Had the same thing happen in my Ford Transit Connect right before I got a new company vehicle. Dealer replaced the battery. Also, as someone else suggested, check the negative ground connection.

Nick wicked

· #7 · Oct 15, 2021

rwh0015 said:
Hi everybody,

I have been having quite the headscratcher with this one. I recently started having issues with my 2015 escape where I was receiving the "transmission not in park" message when trying to start and not shifting out of park - no crank, no start. I do a little research and read a couple of threads about replacing the bushing. I take a look and the bushing is fine. Then I see other articles about replacing the brake light indicator/brake light fuse. I replace those and it starts. Great! A day later I get in my car and no crank, no start, and doesn't shift out of park. I do a little more research and see a post about somebody having the same issue. To resolve it, they opened up the high amp fuse box that sits in front of the battery (not the regular fuse box, but the one where the positive wire runs into) and they tighten the connections. I do the same and noticed that a majority of the connections were very loose. After I tighten, the car starts. So I take it out for a short drive and the engine cuts off WHILE DRIVING and the display reads, "transmission not in park". And it won't crank or start after my car slows to a halt. Now I'm having trouble finding a solution that fits this experience - of the car dying, and displaying that message while they were driving. I'm almost certain this has to be an electrical issue or a system failure of some kind, but I am a novice when it comes to car maintenance. If anybody has had this kind of issue and was able to resolve it, please let me know.

Just a quick list of what I have done so far:
-Confirmed bushing was intact
-Changed brake light indicator
-Confirmed brake fuse not blown
-Tightened connections in high amp fuse box

Thanks!

Had the same thing happen last year,mine was water,yes water in the transmission.the cause was not the radiator but the transmission oil cooler which sits on top of the transmission itself.it developed an internal leak which allowed water to get into the tranny.check the coolant reservoir,if it is frothy and smells like oil,it's the oil cooler.how you make sure is to check the engine oil,if it is clean with not signs of water in the oil then it will be the Trans oil cooler.as I understand some had the tow package which ran the cooler through the radiater.it just takes an ounce of water in the transmission to mess up the switch.if yours has the Trans cooler that sits on top of the tranny,that's the first thing I would look for.

Maureen1

· #8 · Mar 21, 2022

rwh0015 said:
Hi everybody,

I have been having quite the headscratcher with this one. I recently started having issues with my 2015 escape where I was receiving the "transmission not in park" message when trying to start and not shifting out of park - no crank, no start. I do a little research and read a couple of threads about replacing the bushing. I take a look and the bushing is fine. Then I see other articles about replacing the brake light indicator/brake light fuse. I replace those and it starts. Great! A day later I get in my car and no crank, no start, and doesn't shift out of park. I do a little more research and see a post about somebody having the same issue. To resolve it, they opened up the high amp fuse box that sits in front of the battery (not the regular fuse box, but the one where the positive wire runs into) and they tighten the connections. I do the same and noticed that a majority of the connections were very loose. After I tighten, the car starts. So I take it out for a short drive and the engine cuts off WHILE DRIVING and the display reads, "transmission not in park". And it won't crank or start after my car slows to a halt. Now I'm having trouble finding a solution that fits this experience - of the car dying, and displaying that message while they were driving. I'm almost certain this has to be an electrical issue or a system failure of some kind, but I am a novice when it comes to car maintenance. If anybody has had this kind of issue and was able to resolve it, please let me know.

Just a quick list of what I have done so far:
-Confirmed bushing was intact
-Changed brake light indicator
-Confirmed brake fuse not blown
-Tightened connections in high amp fuse box

Thanks!

I had the same exact thing happen this weekend. My car display read transmission not in park and died while I was driving. I asked the service advisor if he had heard of this and he said No but I don’t believe him. I am sure ford is aware of this issue. Because my situation is exactly rhe same as yours.

derf

· #9 · Mar 21, 2022

Maybe this which has been extended through 2019 Escapes in a TSB. TSB 21-2152.

There was a recall for earlier years of earlier models, but it is now listed as a TSB for 2013 to 2019 Escapes. The later years do not seem to be covered under a recall.

The issue may also be in the position sensing switch which senses what gear the vehicle thinks its in.

rwh0015

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 21, 2022

Maureen1 said:
I had the same exact thing happen this weekend. My car display read transmission not in park and died while I was driving. I asked the service advisor if he had heard of this and he said No but I don’t believe him. I am sure ford is aware of this issue. Because my situation is exactly rhe same as yours.

After all of the headache, I was able to get this fixed at a local mechanic (not a ford dealership). The mechanic told me there was nothing wrong with it after they drove around for 30 minutes. I told them to just let it run until it died. They called me back later that day and said it eventually died and that it was a blown power-steering fuse. They also explained that you can get some very odd issues if there is a blown fuse. Even if the fuse is for something unrelated…like internal lights, or stereo, etc. good news is that it ended up being a pretty cheap fix and haven’t had any issues since.
Best of luck

Megand08819

· #11 · 28 d ago

Hi Friend, This sounds almost identical to what happened with my car this Monday, I have a 2017 Ford Escape. I was driving it and came to a stop at a red light when suddenly it alerted me "Transmission Not in Park" and died. Was unable to crank/start afterwards. My car is still at the dealership being investigated but I am also trying to troubleshoot as best as I can from afar. I tried for several hours to start it up again myself while waiting for my tow and was never able to start it, but apparently the tech who was looking into it yesterday had no problem starting it??? When you attempted to restart your car after it failed, did all of your lights and electrical components except your AC and Radio come on? I was also unable to shift it into neutral to get me out of the street, was this also the case for you? I had to manually press on the switch the move out of park.

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waverunner10

· #12 · 25 d ago

There is a recall for your car! Recalls are free!
Call a Ford Dealer and give them your Vin

Megand08819

· #13 · 24 d ago

waverunner10 said:
There is a recall for your car! Recalls are free!
Call a Ford Dealer and give them your Vin

I had the recalled part replaced on March 18th of this year and this happened to my car last Monday, May 8th.

waverunner10

· #14 · 23 d ago

there is a chance the recall wasn't done properly

Reactions: 1

Megand08819

· #15 · 13 d ago

Finally getting my Escape back today! After 2.5wks, it finally did the same thing for the dealership that it did for me. Died while out driving, no crank no start.

The technician found out that there was a hairline crack in a plate near my battery function box. The service manager said this happens occasionally in newer model fords because everything is so compact under the hood. It could be caused by so much as placing a battery down too hard (not the case for me, still got my original battery knock on wood). He also said this crack can cause cars to not start up at all at normal start up or can cause the car to die while driving and then not start up again like it did to me (and ultimately the tech that was driving it this week).

The tech could literally press on the plate to make the car start again, but when he removed his hand it would not start again.

Posting my update here so it can hopefully someday help someone else if they ever find themselves in the same boat 😊

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Reactions: 1

murcod

· #16 · 12 d ago

Thanks for the update.

Megand08819 said:
The tech could literally press on the plate to make the car start again, but when he removed his hand it would not start again.

Are you able to post a picture of the part they were pressing on? It will help identify which part was cracked for future readers.

dilbertescape

· #17 · 12 d ago

Megand08819 said:
still got my original battery knock on wood). He also said this crack can cause cars to not start up at all at normal start up

You should consider a new battery soon if yours is 6 years old. Even if it tests fine, it might strand you without warning. Or it might start corroding the negative battery terminal and fry the BMS module.

MOONRNR

· #18 · 12 d ago

murcod said:
Are you able to post a picture of the part they were pressing on? It will help identify which part was cracked for future readers.

I think what is being described is explained here -

Megand08819

· #19 · 6 d ago

murcod said:
Thanks for the update.

Are you able to post a picture of the part they were pressing on? It will help identify which part was cracked for future readers.

Unfortunately I do not have pictures of the actual parts, however the parts that they invoiced me for were the AV6Z*14A068*B Box Assembly- Fuse and CV6Z*14526*CA Circuit Breaker Assembly.

From what I can tell in the catalog pictures I believe MOONRNR’s video is exactly what happened in my case 😊

@dilbertescape replacing my battery is the next thing on my to do list as soon as I pay off this dealership payment. Thank you for the advice and concern! 😊

Reactions: 1

murcod

· #20 · 5 d ago

Thanks.

That could be the part number for the high current fuse box that people are having trouble finding?

2012-2019 Ford Fuse & Relay Box AV6Z-14A068-B | TascaParts.com

2012-2019 Ford part # AV6Z-14A068-B - Fuse & Relay Box

www.tascaparts.com

The "Circuit Breaker" is actually a 50 Amp fuse.

2012-2022 Ford Fuse CV6Z-14526-CA | TascaParts.com

2012-2022 Ford part # CV6Z-14526-CA - Fuse

www.tascaparts.com

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