Loose transmission cable? 1993 Volvo 240

Have you checked to see if your shifter cable is secured properly to the transmission case ? You may have a loose components or the cable is broken/frozen.

I'm going to say something happened to the cable between the shifter and the transmission. There is a switch on the transmission that prevents you from starting the engine in anything other than park or neutral. The transmission is probably in reverse or drive which would allow it to roll.
Someone would need to check the lever on the trans where the shift cable is attached.

Is the shifter loose? Is it tight as usuall? Shift linkage will rub along the side of your transmission, usually drivers side. I'd inspect the linkage Bracket and make sure te cable is not moving around. Sometimes clips break that keep them on there. If it's not an obvious issue with the linkage I'd call a local tranny shop n ask them or some advise over the phone that you could troupe shoot yourself before having to take it in.

In my opinion transmissions are the mist difficult part of the car to diagnose, especially for the average Joe.
Goodluck!!!

It sounds like the shift cable has either come loose or pulled apart. It's much easier to check with two people. Chock the wheels so it cannot move. Have a friend move the shifter and check that the linkage under the vehicle is moving as the shifter is operated. There are some YouTube videos that can help with diagnosis and replacement

Good chance it is a bad shift cable between shifter and transmission. check that first. Lots of the parts are plastic and can break and the cables usually frey and break in the casings. common on these cars. hope this helps.

There is a fault with the automatic transmission and hence the lever gets struck with the park because when the car is started the idling governors are holding on the gear notch not allowingit to be shifted.
So if your can continue to park in neutral witth emegency brakes as in the case of manual transmission it is alright.
However whether to replace the odometer depends on your preliminary examination of the unit. Remove and check out if there is any visible damage beffore deciding to replace.However you will need help from Volvo service for the part and so while they remove it can be checked for minor repair before replacing.

A common problem with these cars is the shift cable, they do over time stretch and it is obviously a main place to start, before you go out and buy a cable you may want to pull yup that shifter one more time and unclip the cable from it, after doing so spray a lot of WD 40 into the shift cable housing as they tend to run dry and bind over time as well as get old and just wear out, by dooing this you may notice a need to not replace the cable as the lube of it seems to work and is quite a cheap fix, along with this being said please take a visual of the side cover to the transmission where this cable and linkage bond together to complete the shifter process...do you see anything obvious, like a loose connection /clip broken, etc...try removing the cable from the transmission and see if it acts the same, if so it is in the cable or shifter mechanismn, if not it may be inside the transmissions "parking pall" device...something an experienced transmission repairmen should look at.
Also take a look at the brake switch mounted above the brake padal, that releases the cable from park only with your foot on the brake... if this switch isn't working properly it will cause havoc on the release of the shift from park, get a test light with the key on be certain the switch is sending out power to the release switch by simply hand pushing the brake pedal on and off and watching the power should respond at the same time as you are pushing the switch(brake pedal) on/off, if not replace it.
Happy Motoring!!

i have owned several 240's (i drive a 1990 245 at the moment) and have had this problem in the past. it is not a bolt that you have to replace, it is the shifter-link bushings and the c-clip on the bottom of the shifter-link. if you jack your car up and place the jack stands at the front jack points so you can scout underneath the car. at the front end of the transmission (where the O.D. selanoid wire comes out of the body) is the shifterlink and in the shifter-link should be 3 holes (there should be 3 bushings in there and a c-clip keeping it all together), replace the c-clip and bushings and i promise that your shifter will be VERY TIGHT. good luck :)

secure vehicle with chocks and set parking brake under vehicle check on drivers side of transmission selector control look at cable for binding or damage the cable snaps into place if looks good remove cable and try to put selector shifter into park[ if it goes in and stays than look back under vehicle and try to match up selector and cable.not reaching and trans selector in park adjust cable and reconnect try shifter for park] -if shifter doesnt go into park than check on dash plastic selector lock may b worn or damaged, if above is fine and selector/shifter is not problem than problem is internal inside transmission park rod damaged or broke good luck and thanks for using fixya

Apparently there's a latch that catches the shifter, its a yellow piece of plastic (1992 auto 240) I busted it off cause it was gonna make me late for work haha! silly me didnt bother to look in the manual till it was to late but its in there and you can disingage it by sticking your finger in the shifter housing and lifting it or something like that - check your manual !