01 Explorer Shift Gears without Brake

[kpb3rd]

Suddenly our 2001 Ford Explorer has been able to shift to and from any gear without pressing the brake pedal. I discovered a metal pin on the floor under the steering column, and looked around under the dash. I found on the shifter tube a hole that seemed about right, so I put the pin in it and now the car can't shift out of park without the brake (which is good), but it can still shift the other gears without the brake. Any ideas?

http://imgur.com/a/SQeH8

I circled the pin I placed in.

 

[96firephoenix]

For a car made in 01, shifting between non-park gears without the brake is normal functioning.

I think the action is designed to be:

• In/Out of P: Apply brake, pull shifter, move shifter
• R to N or D: move shifter (You might need to pull the shifter to get to D. Most cars don't)
  
• D to N: move shifter
• D to L or R: Pull shifter, move shifter
• Any gear to R: pull shifter, move shifter.

We can argue til the cows come home about what the action should be, but I think your car is functioning as designed.