I have read that other Impala owners have had issues with their cars mysteriously locking in park. On my 2006 SS I have found the issue and it frankly surprised me, well not really. Just another design flaw from GM that had me spend 1 hour repairing it.
The problem is a electro-mechanical component(Switch) which notifies the car when it's safe to unlock the doors and disengage from park and put it into gear. The wires that connect this moving switch are very weak and can break randomly. The way to repair the broken line is to remove the console roughly 6 screws, it's best to leave it attached but give you enough room to operate by laying it over to the drivers side seat at an angle facing upward.
Once you've identified the silver spring driven button size switch at the base of the gear shift, you'll probably see a detached or broken green wire. You must re-attach the green wire by first unplugging the plug with the light blue tabs from the connector so you can work.
Next, remove the light blue tabs, push the small silver colored crimp connector from the plug side(the one containing all the wires) this can be difficult but once it's out you can re-attached the green wire, the connection is complete. Put the console back together and you're ready to roll. This may happen again due to moving wires which should be non-moving.
This could have been designed without any moving parts but for GM suppliers and the contract manufacturers looking to save on every vehicle Bill of Materials(BOM) this is what happens.
The problem is a electro-mechanical component(Switch) which notifies the car when it's safe to unlock the doors and disengage from park and put it into gear. The wires that connect this moving switch are very weak and can break randomly. The way to repair the broken line is to remove the console roughly 6 screws, it's best to leave it attached but give you enough room to operate by laying it over to the drivers side seat at an angle facing upward.
Once you've identified the silver spring driven button size switch at the base of the gear shift, you'll probably see a detached or broken green wire. You must re-attach the green wire by first unplugging the plug with the light blue tabs from the connector so you can work.
Next, remove the light blue tabs, push the small silver colored crimp connector from the plug side(the one containing all the wires) this can be difficult but once it's out you can re-attached the green wire, the connection is complete. Put the console back together and you're ready to roll. This may happen again due to moving wires which should be non-moving.
This could have been designed without any moving parts but for GM suppliers and the contract manufacturers looking to save on every vehicle Bill of Materials(BOM) this is what happens.