1996 Intrepid - won't shift into PARK and release the key.

If your car is a console shift, I would pull the console cover off and have a look at the cable mechanism. Perhaps something fell down into the path of the mechanism and is jamming the shift lever and cable. This something you could easily do before calling a tow truck, etc.

Excellent... Thanks!! Yes, it's a console shift... I was thinking that because the car does move, and there are no horrid engine noises, so I was thinking it could be something like a spring... Thanks!!! W.

This happened to me with my 2001 Intrepid. I got a little too hasty one day, put the console shifter into Park - but apparently not all the way

- then quickly grabbed the key, turned it off and tried to pull it out. I managed to get whole mechanism locked up so that the key would not come out. Same situation you have now.

I took the covers off the steering column to expose the key and lock mechanism. From there it was just a few minutes to figure out that some of the mechanical stuff had jammed up, and it was easy to un-jam it. It involved the key release cable from the shifter and few little doodads. Sorry but that's the best explanation I can give. It will be more or less obvious once you look at it.

Phil

WJBF wrote:

There's also a TSB/recall on those cars for problems with the park/key interlock. My solution on my wife's car was to just disconnect the cable from the key to the shifter so that as far as the key is concerned, its ALWAYS in park and the key is always free to turn. I hate nanny interlocks anyway- I've never run over myself with my 40-year-old daily driver that doesn't have any key/shift interlock or brake/shift interlock. The more people come to DEPEND on interlocks, the greater the risk of a fatal mistake if the interlock should fail or if they happen to get in an older vehicle without the interlock.

Phil T wrote:

Hello all!! Thanks for your replies. Managed to get the cover off the console last night, and the top "connector" for the spring has come off and is jammed under the lever. So by manually pulling the spring back up into place, I can remove the key - but I haven't been able to get the "thingie" from the bottom that jamming the shifter yet... I'll need to get a new connector for the spring.

Thanks for all your advise!!

W.

... wee update - took it to a friendly local mechanic, and he spotted that nothing had come off per se - but the PIN had dropped... so he's going to bash it in for me :D