Drivers should know of override

Dear Bob: I have a 2000 Toyota Avalon that acts up, once in a while, by making it difficult for me to shift out of park. Usually, after trying a number of times, I am successful. But today when I attempted to place the shift lever in reverse to back out of the garage, it wouldn’t budge.

My foot was on the brake pedal while I was trying to shift, as I have one of these vehicles — I guess all vehicles have it now — in which, for safety reasons, one must have a foot on the brake pedal when shifting into gear. But, try as I might, I couldn’t get my automatic to shift out of park, and I ended up taking our backup vehicle to work.

When I got home, I started the car and tried it again. It shifted into gear without any problem.

Do you have any idea what’s going on here?

Sincerely, J.D., West Palm Beach, Fla.

A: The vehicle should be taken to the dealer, or to a qualified technician, to see what is causing the glitch. If this ever happens again, however, there is a way that you can get the transmission lever out of the park position.

First, make sure that the engine is off and that the ignition key is in the “lock” position. Near the lever there should be a small tab roughly a half-inch by a half-inch in size, with a slot in the center or on the side.

With a screwdriver or pocketknife, pry out the tab. Inside, you’ll find a shift-lock-override button. While pressing the button, move the lever out of park and into neutral. Remember, the button must be depressed while the transmission lever is being moved.

Most vehicles have such a shift-lock-override button. It would be a good idea for all drivers to acquaint themselves with where the button is located in their cars and to read the relevant instructions in their owner’s manuals, in case this problem should ever happen to them.

Remember, this is only a temporary fix to allow you to get your vehicle to a qualified technician and have the problem fixed properly.

Dear Bob: Your reader who wrote in about a rearview mirror problem on a Grand Am is not the only driver with that problem.

The rearview mirror on my 2000 Oldsmobile Alero has fallen off twice, both times after the car has sat in the sun for several hours. I’ve glued it on twice, using glue from the auto-supply store.

This is not the only problem I’ve had with the car’s interior after it has sat in the sun. The vinyl on the dashboard and around the doors has buckled and is starting to peel off.

It makes you wonder about the quality of materials used for the car. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the discontinuation of Oldsmobile.

D.Z., Harrisburg, Pa.

A: If you think that a car has problems after sitting in the sun in Harrisburg, you should visit Arizona in the summertime. Almost every car on the road has a dash cover, and most drivers use a reflective windshield cover when parked.

In addition, dash and door panels are bathed in a high-SPF protectant. The side windows are always left cracked a bit when parked, to allow the super-hot air to vent. Some vehicles even have little solar-powered fans to expel air from the vehicle’s interior while it sits in the sun.

While your Alero may not be the best-engineered vehicle on the road, sun and heat can wreak havoc on even well-engineered vehicles that use the best materials. The vinyl and glue of a vehicle’s interior can easily be damaged if the interior air is not able to vent, or if the materials are not protected in some way.

AMERICAN DRIVERS FIGHT BACK

Here’s a tip that will help you get better gas mileage while fighting terrorism and cutting our nation’s dependence on Mideastern oil:

Don’t be too anxious to achieve the optimal EPA gas mileage for your new car. It takes time to break in a vehicle, and for it to reach its fuel-economy potential.

According to Ford, it takes at least 1,000 miles of driving before any consistency in a new car’s mpg reading can be established. Saab goes even further: “Fuel mileage of a car built to tight specifications does not stabilize until it has traveled at least 6,000 miles.”

Regardless of the difference in the mileage numbers, one thing is for certain: During the break-in period of a new car or a rebuilt engine, the fuel economy should improve steadily as the miles accumulate.