PLEASE HELP!! problem with 99 ls400

i was wondering if you guys every encountered this problem.  I pulled up to a mexican restaurant to get some tacos for taco tuesday =) and when i went back into my car i turned it on and when i tried moving the shifter to drive it wouldnt budge...i started freakin out lucky my friend was looking at the manual and found the emergency button thats located near the shifter just had to pry out the plastic piece.  I check my break lights cause i was told that it could be the break light switch that could be broken but the break lights were working fine.  When i drove the car everything was running fine..is there anyone that has any suggestion of what it might be and how i can possibly fix it on my own ? i would like to try and fix it myself if possible cause im pinching pennys at the moment please if you have any in site about the situation please let me know...

also when i lowered the car the check vsc light went on and sometimes it says headlight adjustment or something like that but i dont think that would have anything to do with the shifter..

When you step on the brake pedal, listen very carefully for a tick/switching sound near the shifter. This is the pin that locks the shifter in the park position. You'd have to try and pull up a wiring diagram of exterior lighting, or brake lights to further diagnose your problem...

Brake light switch?

yea i it wasnt the brake light switch cause the brake lights still work

Did you do what mista808 said? It's designed so that it will not move unless you press the brake pedal to "unlock" it. Listen for that sound. 

I once had a similar issue on my Nissan, caused by "excessive wheel spin" (lol this is according to the manual) which put my ECM into a Transmission Limp/Maint mode, and not only disabled the parking switch, but also affected how the car drove. I had to pry off a similar cover and use a similar button to put the car into drive. To fix my problem I just disconnected the batt for 10 mins to let my codes clear and ECM reset, back to normal. Not saying that is what you should do tho, cuz I don't know what your problem is and my car is a Nissan (not a Toyota/Lexus).

Generally speaking, not a good idea to continue to drive the car when the dash is giving you error codes (unless it's a result of a Mod like changing wheels and getting TPS errors). I would start by paying more attention to the error codes, and trying to fix them one by one. You can probably find more info searching online. Most cars have some sort of method of reading error codes, either by reading a display somewhere, or counting blinking lights.

[QUOTE=CrazyHawaiian;416805]Did you do what mista808 said? It's designed so that it will not move unless you press the brake pedal to "unlock" it. Listen for that sound. 

I once had a similar issue on my Nissan, caused by "excessive wheel spin" (lol this is according to the manual) which put my ECM into a Transmission Limp/Maint mode, and not only disabled the parking switch, but also affected how the car drove. I had to pry off a similar cover and use a similar button to put the car into drive. To fix my problem I just disconnected the batt for 10 mins to let my codes clear and ECM reset, back to normal. Not saying that is what you should do tho, cuz I don't know what your problem is and my car is a Nissan (not a Toyota/Lexus).

Generally speaking, not a good idea to continue to drive the car when the dash is giving you error codes (unless it's a result of a Mod like changing wheels and getting TPS errors). I would start by paying more attention to the error codes, and trying to fix them one by one. You can probably find more info searching online. Most cars have some sort of method of reading error codes, either by reading a display somewhere, or counting blinking lights.[/QUOTE]

Since his car is obd2 he can just hook it up to a scan tool, preferably a techstream.

thanks for the insite man i did check and when i hit the breaks the only thing i hear is a squeeking noise  is that what i should be hearing? if i push the breaks hard when its on park it just sounds like im pushing to hard i dont no how to explain it..

I'd get it scanned and research the codes there's plenty of resources/forums you could get info out of.  Have you done any mods recently. Without more info you'll never know if you popped a fuse and it's causing havoc or if you have a problem with your tranny. It could be simple or complicated.

The only mods I have done is put a in dash and lower the car would it happen to do with any of thw wires under the driverside wheel well cause we I slammed it thw tires rubbed theru the splash guards and started eating thru the wires but I tapped up the wires that got damaged nothing to crazy I know its not the tranmy cause it shifts and drives very smooth