Looking at buying an '03 S type, seller says it won't start because of broken 'plastic part' in the shifter that pertains to the NSS. Say it also is stuck in park, but has overridden it with the release button. Is there an easy way to bypass the NSS so I can get it home without trailering?

 

Welcome to the forum,

Simple answer is no, there is no easy way to defeat the solenoid, realistically you can dismantle the trim from the shift mechanism and manually open the lock,
maybe an hours work.

 

Welcome to the forum. You may have two separate problems.

Even if the transmission (not necessarily the lever) is stuck in Park, the engine should start. Look at the bezel at the base of the shift lever and turn the key to Run. The P or N must be illuminated or the starter is inhibited.

To shift out of Park (engine on or off), the key must be in the Run position and the brake pedal depressed. The interlock solenoid at the shifter assembly will now release the lever. To make sure the brake pedal switch is operating correctly, watch the brake lights. The same switch controls the brake lights and shifter interlock solenoid. If the brake lights work properly, the solenoid is probably at fault. There is a manual release hidden inside the shifter assembly. The seller knows where it is and can show you.

It's also possible the shift cable has come loose from the side of the transmission. When this happens, the internals of the transmission remain in the last selected position, but you may not realize this until the next start attempt. This is a common problem on 2003+ models and Jaguar put out a bulletin on the subject:

http://jagrepair.com/images/TSB/TSB2...h%20J-Gate.pdf


But to answer your original question, I don't know of any easy method to defeat the NSS to get the car home under its own power.

 

the park lock solenoid?

you just ram it into drive and break the thing lol or take it out