Mercury 1996 Cougar Manual page 166

Your vehicle is equipped with a Brake Shift
Interlock safety feature. This feature prevents the
gearshift from being moved from the P (Park)
position until the brake pedal is depressed. This
feature is active when the ignition is in the ON
position. If the gearshift lever CANNOT be
moved from P (Park) with the brake pedal
depressed:
1. Turn the engine off and remove the ignition
key.
2. Apply parking brake.
3. Reinsert the ignition key and turn clockwise
to the first position (OFF).
4. Depress the brake pedal, move the gearshift
lever to N (Neutral) and start the engine.
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE UNTIL
YOU VERIFY THAT THE BRAKELAMPS
ARE WORKING.
If you need to shift out of P (Park) by using the
alternate procedure described above, it is
possible that a fuse has blown and that your
brakelamps may also not be functional. Please
refer to the chapter titled Servicing Your Cougar
in this Owner Guide for instructions on checking
and replacing fuses.
The console-mounted gearshift will lock in
P (Park) when you turn the key to the LOCK
position. When the gearshift is in any position
except P (Park), the ignition key cannot be
turned to LOCK or removed from the steering
column. TO REMOVE THE KEY, the gearshift
lever must be in P (Park).
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