2002 Highlander will not shift into park

Turns out the terminal cover on the battery came loose and fell down in the engine. This caused the shifter linkage to get jambed. $40 fix. dmross

The same problem happened to us. Luckily, we used this forum and figured the problem out without a trip to the dealership.

My 2002 highlander did this yesterday. I pushed it back away from parking lot curb. Then took it the Toyota Dealer. Then came home , Googled up the problem, I found this site and people with the same problem. I called the dealer, they had closed for the day, so first thing today I called at 8 AM..the guy went and looked under the hood, and found this had happened to my Highlander..The dealer fixed it, No Charge....Feel kind of dumb for not looking under the hood myself before taking it in to the dealer.....

Oh my goodness my wife had the exact same thing. The battery terminal cover fell straight down and wedged under the shifter linkage. Just yanked it out and we were good to go.

Just happened to me. Battery terminal cover had fallen under the shifter. Removed it and all is well.

Same thing happened with my 2005 highlander. Thanks to this information I went out looked down at the shifter linkage and sure enough there was the terminal cover stuck in the linkage. I jerked it out and that fixed the problem. Lol I called my husband to tell him not to worry about it I fixed it myself. Thanks for the info.

March 2017 Same thing with our 2003 Highlander. Had a new battery installed. Three days later, suddenly I could not put it into Park or Reverse. Called Toyota dealer - no help, but they tried - over the phone. Tied Google, and found this. Sure enough, there was the cover, jammed under the linkage. Simple fix Thanks :-)

2001 Highlander Just came home from picking up the family at the airport, go home could not get into park and also the reverse unless you force held it. Son-in-law big shot mechanic says could be big trouble. Looked at this site open the hood took shop lite and low and behold, their the bugger was!!!!!!! Let him take the grab-bar and take it out. (5) times he said "I can't believe it" Thanks for the site. Rudi

I could not believe it when my 2002 Highland would not go into Park. I have over 220,000 miles and figured it is now time to replace after 15 years. I read this post and thought "no way" and it was going to be a major transmission problem. Before I called for a tow truck I popped the hood and to my surprise the cap from the battery terminal was sure enough jammed in the linkage. I reached in and pulled it out and can now shift into park and other gears with no problem. Thanks to all who have submitted their experience. Truly save me loads of $!!!

Me too. Thanks so much!

I'll add my experience to everyone elses. Had my battery tested at Firestone a week ago, and this morning, after driving to a store, I could not put the transmission into park or reverse. which also kept me from removing the key from the ignition, or locking the doors. Forced it into reverse to get it out of the parking space, drove it home, googled the problem and found this site. Went out and checked. The baterry terminal was indeed missing, and found wedged in the linkage. Pulled it out, and all works fine!

I had been blaming my daughter for spilling soda or coffee into the shifter of our 2008 highlander hybrid when the shifter started intermittently not working right. Then the other morning at 5:45 AM (before swim practice) she ran into my room saying the car would not start. Turned out it was because the safety features wouldn’t let it start when it wasn’t in Park. I thought it was going to be a huge issue and expensive repair but later that evening when I looked it up I found this thread and thought I would check. Sure enough there was the positive battery terminal cover stuck down in the shift linkage. So weird .....

Please tell me where the linkage is, I have looked at HH 2006 under battery on left and see nothing. Do you get underneath?

I have a 2006 Highlander Hybrid AWD. I cannot find the linkage you are taking about but I have this exact issue

OK, I hate to say it, but .....ME TOO! Recently replaced battery, check. Intermittent trouble going into park, check. Almost stranded, check. Read this internet post, check. This totally explains the random problem with the plastic shifting around on frame underneath the linkage. 2002 Toyota Highlander 2WD V6 with 276,000 miles. Love this thing they call the online!

Same exact problem, 2005 Toyota Highlander, got out the flashlight after reading these posts, looked down and sure enough, there it was, the battery cover jamming up the shifter linkage!

Bob K Sept 2019---- 2003 Highlander... Same problem... Absolute SAME SOLUTION !!!!! THANK you Car Gurus... I cannot tell you what this has done to help me. Very Busy next few days, MUST have my car, and certainly could not afford a huge repair bill at this time. This is a great vehicle otherwise. I feel HIS Blessing !!

where is this linkage that everyone talks about?

Directly below the battery.

Thats it the red battery termibal cover fall exactly in that spot to stop it. AMAZING! Im so happy right now

Just want to do a long term follow up on this problem. Although the battery terminal cover fixed the problem once, ultimately the problem got worse and worse (over about two years) as the shift cable stretched out. The problem was worse in colder weather as the stretched cable would bind in its housing and the shifter would move but not actually engage in a gear. Finally our beloved highlander would not start or move and needed the shift cable replaced with housing. With parts and labor, the Dealer said $1900 and our local guy said $1500, but both said there may be other issues as well. With the car having 215,000 miles on it and also needing new tires (~$800), we traded it for a subaru.

Wow. This is Crazy. happened to my 02 as well. Wish I had googled sooner. I broke the plastic bushing that connects the cord to the gear stick. So ordering a new bushing.

Same thing happened to us after mechanic checked battery during oil change. Later that day, went to restaurant and could put it in park. Turns out that terminal cover fell down and lodged.

I just bought a 2002 highlighter tonight when I got home I couldn’t shift in reverse or park. I googled and low and behold the red battery terminal cover was stuck at the bottom of the shifter.I removed it and it’s all good.problem fixed.

OMG I can't believe it! No way I thought, a plastic terminal cover falling off and lodging itself in a place that would jam the shift cable mechanism to not get into park? it couldn't be that simple could it? YES it was!!! I was having nightmares of a thousands of dollars in repairs and a new transmission but nope, not today! Yay! Thank this site and the contributors!

I had this exact issue just today with my 2002 Highlander. I just knew it was going to be a transmission issue but decide to Google the problem and came across this thread. THANK YOU!! I read everything you said popped my hood and started looking around and sure enough there was the terminal cover. Can't be more excited and thankful!!

WOW!! Had exactly the same problem; the positive battery terminal that I forgot to put back after jumping another car! Thank you all for the input.