Hi, all,

My 1998 Beetle had some problem last night: if I start the car, the transmission seems to be locked that I can not switch from P to R or D, etc; however, if I turn off the engine, the transmission is fine. Does anybody have similar problem before? Thanks.

Best regards,

 

brake lt switch
it will keep it from coming out of park
dealer recall

 

Agree, this is the brake light switch. There is a selinoid that holds the shift lever in place if it thinks the brakepedal is not depressed. It is a recall item and takes only a few minutes to replace. This is a common problem in the new bettle.