Hi,

I have a 2000 XJ8 with 67k miles. First of all when i pressed the unlock switch on the key transmitter the car did not unlock. I changed the batteries and it still will not unlock or lock. I manually opened to door and when i started the car i tried to shift to drive and the car just simply will not shift from park. I called roadside assistance and they told me to unscrew the screw next to the park sign next to the shifter and once removed stick a pen down the opening and it did indeed shift but everytime i need to shift from park to drive i have to stick a pen in the shifter. Any thoughts on why this is happening. Please help.

Jagman2000

 

your brake light switch is faulty this is a common problem with xj8 and xk8
you have seperate circuits in it for the brake lights and shift lock and the shift lock side of it is bad
switch runs around 26 dollars

 

In my experience the failure of the brake switch is not common and have very rarely seen it cause the failure of the gearshift interlock solenoid. The main brake switch failure is only related to the cruise control. In which case a message will appear in the message centre saying "Engine Failsafe Mode". I believe the cause of your problem is BPM (Body Processor Module). This is located behind the glovebox (On a right hand drive vehicle). Please let me know what you find.

 

I have a 2000 XK and i could not shift out of park either. Then i noticed that my brake lights were stuck on. I replaced the brake light switch and it fixed both problems.