She’s tried every quick fix on YouTube and her car still won’t cooperate, so the internet stepped in with the answer she actually needed

A Texas woman’s 2005 Mazda 3 has been repeatedly getting stuck in park, and she turned to the internet for help. Lauren, an online creator, shared her car troubles in a video posted on TikTok which quickly drew a flood of relatable comments and possible solutions from other drivers.

Lauren’s 20-year-old Mazda has been having trouble shifting out of park more and more often. “Welcome back to reasons why I’m getting a new car this year,” she said in her TikTok video. She described a recent incident at a gas station where her car refused to shift from park into reverse or drive, leaving her stuck and unable to go anywhere.

She noted that her brake lights stay on whenever the car gets stuck. According to Motor1.com, she had previously found a fix online that involved using a screwdriver to reset a mechanism inside the shifter, but she has used that trick so many times that the internal part is now too far down to reach. She also mentioned in her video’s caption that regular online searches hadn’t helped, and she’s not keen on spending more money on such an old car.

The internet came through with two likely causes and a practical workaround

Lauren is not alone in dealing with this problem. Many viewers related to her situation right away, with one person commenting, “Girl I have the same car and this happens to me. Drives me insane.” While YouTube remains a go-to resource for car fixes, it’s worth noting that the platform has been making changes to how its search works, which could affect how easily people find helpful videos like the ones Lauren was searching for.

Several people suggested that a faulty brake light switch could be to blame. This switch can wear out over time, and when it fails, the car’s shift interlock cannot properly disengage, which causes the shifter to get stuck in park.

Another likely cause, according to commenters, is a problem with the shift interlock solenoid. This small part is responsible for releasing the shifter when the right conditions are met, such as having the ignition on and the brake pedal pressed.

If the solenoid is not working, it won’t release the locking pin that keeps the shifter in place. For people searching for fixes like these, YouTube’s newly added search filter for finding recent content could make it easier to find up-to-date repair guides.

One viewer took a stronger stance on the whole situation, commenting, “This confirms my theory. Only buy a new car if it’s a manual bc auto transmissions suck.” Lauren shared her experience, showing that sometimes the most useful help comes not from a manual or a mechanic, but from other drivers who have dealt with the exact same problem and are willing to share what worked for them.