I got in my car to leave this morning and it was stuck in park. What would cause this and how hard is it to fix?

 

the shift cable could have snapped

 

Does the shifter physically not move or does the transmission just not shift out of park, regardless of shifter position.

If the shifter will just not move, it could be your brake switch not properly working to deactivate the shift-interlock.

 

The shifter itself was stuck. I went underneath. It felt like there was ice or something inside the section of the cable which is covered by a rubber boot. I broke it up with my fingers. Now I can shift between park and overdrive, but the not into the lower gears. I dont know if breaking up the ice allowed me to do so or not. Maybe it was just coincidence. I thought it was the shift cable. Would I still be able to shift through part of the gears if the cable was messed up?