2006 xk8 gear shift will not come out of park to put in D for drive. Happened yesterday but shifted ok after rocking car. Help!

 

Could it be as simple as the parking brake wasn't set BEFORE the car was put in park on an angled driveway? The rocking you mention to free it up leads me to suggest this. The parking pin in a transmission was never designed to hold a car in place. 4000 lb's resting on a pin the diameter of a pencil can cause binding. I've seen stuck ignition locks and stuck gear shift levers because the parking brake was not set prior to putting in park or the ignition key turned to off. Put the year and model of your car in your signature please.

 

Another suspect is the brake switch. When the brakes pedal is pressed, the switch eventually causes an actuator to free the shifter. In a quiet environment, you can hear a click. In the worst case, there is a plastic plug near the shifter. It is for a manual override of that interlock, and get you moving again.

 

Most shift release solenoids fail because of coffee/ Coke spilled into them. Easily done on the XK8!

 

Where exactly is the manual override and what does it look like?
How activate it? I am not especially mechanically inclined.

 

Please put your year and type of car in your profile signature. You own a 10 year old Jaguar and you're not mechanically inclined! No owners manual? The cover for the release is in the shifter console. About a quarter inch square. You remove this cover to press the release pin. If the release solenoid is faulty, you will be doing this every time you try to put it in gear.

 

Not near my owners manual but I think I remember that it is important to remove the tool just after released from park before reverse.

 

How do I put year/type car in my profile signature?

 

in the upper left corner of the menu bar - you will see "User CP" - click this link then scroll down the left side to Settings & Options, then select Edit Signature

regards,
Steve