In vehicular control method and apparatus for a shift-by-wire device, a selected shift position is modified to at least one of a vehicular parking position, a neutral position, and a traveling position, the selected shift position is modified to the vehicular parking position when a power switch is switched to an OFF position, and the modification of the shift position to the vehicular parking position is inhibited when an operation pattern of an operation input section while the power switch is in the ON position is made coincident with the operation pattern prescribed as a cipher code which inhibits the shift position modification to the vehicular parking position, the operation patterns being constituted by a combination of operation patterns which would not be carried out in the operation section during an ordinary traveling.