I have a 1995 Lincoln Continental that shifts itself into neutral driving down the street. I have to put the gear shifter into neutral and then back to drive to get the transmission to catch. It has been doing it much more frequently the last few days. Do I need a new transmission?

IDLE Sentsor

First have the transmission fluid changed and a new filter installed, if that fails to cure the issue time for an overhaul.

This is a factory defect.My unit started to fail at about 80k.It finally got to the point that I had to pull the entire shifter vertically to engage the shifter.And then it happened.......it would not engage.It took me two hours of fiddling with it to get it in reverse.Then another twenty minutes in the street for drive.Finally got it to the dealer where it was replaced under extended warranty.You might as well get it over with.

start engine chock back of drive wheels ,put in reverse and then check oil level

Loose Shift FORK (INTERNAL)

your parking switch when out.open up shifter box there a locking device use your finger screw driver to unlock and shift the shifter.

check the brake light switch it operates the interlock

Make sure you have brake lights.This is were the shifter solenoid gets it's signal from to get it out of gear.
One thing you can try is turn the igntion switch towards the run postion stopping just short of activating the electronics.Then try and move shifter to neutral then you can start it and out it into gear so you can drive it to get it fixed.

its the Prindle and it needs to be set in Neutral like middle the white nob then put back in Park then run the gears see to see if they line up . hope this can help.Need to drop steering to put new one in

when you say it wont shift out of first gear what do mean it stays in first the whole time or it goes into like a nuetral state