2012 Focus SE no acceleration says not in park 130K

[tnt4him]

I was driving it all around just fine then one day it started acting up. Now it does run and drive but somethings going on with the transmission I think. Sometimes it says “not in park” on the dash but it is and it doesn’t want to accelerate. I do not know why. I would think it needs a new transmission? I am not a mechanic. Any help much appreciated.

 

[Armando G]

I wouldn't jump to that assumption just yet. There are also sensors that tell the car if it's in drive or not, they may be going bad. The shifter cable may be loose, the shifter assembly could be off, or the battery may be giving you a bad read. It seems to be a somewhat common Ford issue if you Google Ford "transmission not in park". It may be something as simple as having to clean the contract points in the shifter. Read through some of those and/or take it in for a diagnosis before assuming transmission issue.