Over the last few days a weird problem has developed. I usually fill up at a gas station on my outward commute to work. This is 1.2 miles from home, and so I start the car from cold after a night sitting in the garage, go to the gas station, fill up, and then when I restart the car it won't let me shift from P to D - the button on the gear selector won't press down to let me release it.

By panic, trial and error I've found that it usually releases after stopping and restarting the engine about 2-3 times. I have not had this problem at any other time, when starting from stone cold or starting with the engine thoroughly warmed up. In case this is relevant, the transmission solenoid pack was replaced about 10k miles ago, and the transmission fluid was replaced about 8k miles ago.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated.