Electronic stability control light is on and car won't shift out of park

slanter · Sep 21, 2018

So out of the blue this morning my wife went to take our daughter to school and the car, while starting up and running fine, won't let her shift out of park. Also, apparently there is a "car with swervy lines" symbol that is on the dash. Anyone have any idea what's could be going on? I've been trying to look up the issue but almost all the results are from the previous generations of durangos.

Also, since the car runs, would it be safe to use the manual shift unlock under the cupholder to drive it to a mechanics if I can't figure out what's wrong with it?

Thanks!

Durangutan · Sep 21, 2018

In previous generations, in my case the 07, the clockspring was largely responsible for the swervy car deal (ESC). Could be in your case too. Have you tried to pull any codes to see if there's an indication? These early gen 3's are about to the age where we'll start to see a lot of aging related things like this, so with yours being somewhere between 5 and 7 years old (not sure which year you have), it's time to start listening for gremlins!

Also, how old is the battery? Battery issues will always be a suspect with electronic oddities. As for driving it, if there's an issue with the ESC I don't think it would cause driveability issues, not sure though.

G Thom · Dec 6, 2020

My 2011 Durango Crew just started this "car with swervy lines" light (I believe it called TCS or Traction Control System) and unable to shift out of park problem. Any updates on this problem? Any one else have this problem? Thanks....

bruker · Dec 6, 2020

If this were my Durango I would disconnect the negative battery cable then reconnect it after several minutes. This will reset the computer and possibly allow you to get it out of park and drive it. As mentioned above a weak battery can cause all sorts of goofy issues.

G Thom · Dec 6, 2020

Thanks Bruker, I didn't mention earlier that if I start the vehicle and immediately put it in drive before the TCS light come on it's drivable. I did the battery disconnect thing anyway but the issue persists. Thanks though for your suggestion.

G Thom · Dec 8, 2020

Got my Durango fixed today... very weird. The problem turned out to be a faulty break light switch! Apparently the computer (ECM) was not seeing the break pedal being depressed when starting the engine and therefore not disengaging the gear shift lever lock out. For some reason this shows up on the dash as a TCS error and lights "car with swervy lines" light . Go figure.

Electronic stability control light is on and car won't shift out of park

slanter

Durangutan

G Thom

bruker

G Thom

G Thom

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities