Just a question for ya'll. I was goofing around the other day and noticed that if the truck is running, the transmission won't shift into gear with out the brake pressed in. OK, Fine, that is the way it is supposed to be and is designed. However, if the key is in the accessory position, the shifter will shift into any gear WITHOUT the brake being pressed. Is this correct? All of the other vehicles I've had make sure that the brake is depressed to switch into gear no matter what position the key is in. I would seriously consider this a safety issue.

According to the owners manual (on my 2001) this is normal. Many vehicles added this feature after the Audi 5000 problem where people had their foot on the gas instead of the brake while shifting out of park (due to pedal position on that car) causing many crashes. With the engine off there is a reduced possibility of a crash due to your foot not being on the brake. I don't know of anyone who has crashed their vehicle with the engine off.

I guess that is true. I just think that if someone had kids in the car with the engine off, on an incline, that if the lever was moved it could cause the vehicle to go down the incline and hurt someone. I have actually seen this happen. Two girls were in a truck while dad went to pay for gas and they grabbed the shifter and pulled themselves up on to the seat with it. This caused it to go into nuetral. The truck then went down the incline and crossed 4 lanes of traffic. It then came to rest once it hit some bushes. Nobody was hurt, thank god.

Don't most automatics have a manual lock-out? On the few that I have driven, you had a plunger next to the shifter that had to be pushed in first before you can change gears (if the motor was off)

Yup, clearly stated in the owner's manual:
"The shift lever can be moved if the ignition
switch is in the ACC position. This
allows the vehicle to be moved if the
battery is discharged. The shift lever can
also be moved if the ignition switch is in
the ON position and the foot brake pedal
is depressed."

You want to prevent an incident with kids etc., take your freakin' keys with you. Some people lack common sense.

And yes, there is the little hole in the console that you can stick a key into to manually over-ride the lock. It's covered by a small plastic cap.

Brent