Ignition Key won't come out???

Replace the ignition/horn fuse and check your horn.

I had a problem with air horn I installed a year ago. Compressor rusted as I washed my car before I went on vacation. After I came back I started the car and during my ride pressed the horn. Nothing happened but since the car was working I figured I'll check the horn latter. When I stopped the engine and wanted to pull out the key, it was stuck. I went to the service shop and they charged me 'gazillion' dollars for something that was as easy as replacing the horn/ignition key lock fuse. My bad.

I have H4 Outback 2002 stw, AT.

Voja

49er Mike wrote:

Did you try turning the key to the LOCK position, then slightly tugging the wheel left/right, about

1-1.5" from center, as you pull lightly on the key? I've had this happen on my WRX (very rarely, like twice in four months) and on all kinds of other vehicles, and this always worked.

OTOH, your lock cylinder may be worn enough that it's rotating past where it *should* stop, in the LOCK position. Try eyeballing it and see if the key is rotating too far...that might do it too.

Steve

Voja-

Thanks for the suggestion...but the fuse is fine and the horn honks. I hope I don't have to spend a "gazillion" dollars to find out it is a simple problem too!

Steve-

You can't even turn the key all of the way to the 'Lock' position. I have tried rocking the steering wheel before, during, and after trying to turn the key to no avail. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I had a Ford Contour with this problem... I sold it, swore off Fords and bought a Subaru Forester. Don't tell me that Subarus have these problems too! Ahhhhhh!

I don't know if Subaru locks use a similar mechanism as Ford's, but this is what worked on my Contour. Here's a picture of a door lock:

The ignition switch has a part analogous to the part labeled "plug" in this picture. It is the part of the switch surrounding the key. In my Contour, I can remove the key by simultaneously pushing in the "plug" while pulling the key out. The plug is supposed to go in and out, but the spring might be worn. The plug on the Contour was large enough for me to push it in with my finger and I could remove the key with one hand. (Nobody else could manage this trick, so no one else could drive my car.) I took a quick look at my Forester and it seems the "plug" is smaller on Subarus. You can try pushing it in with a screwdriver and pull out the key with the other hand. If this is the problem, you don't have to pull very hard.

Good luck.

-R.

Check all the fuses (inside and under the hood). I had that and it was a fuse. If I remember correctly the antenna didn't work as was the door buzzer.

TTYL

Is the ignition on the steering wheel? Sometimes pushing the steering wheel up and down can dislodge a key that's stuck in the ignition.

-

Girls dig guys who drive black cars.

Richard-

Tried it...thanks but it didn't work.

I checked all of the fuses under the dash...all were good. I'll look under the hood tomorrow.

Yes, the switch is in the steering column. I've, pushed, pulled, cussed and caressed and nothing has worked yet!

Thanks,

Mike

ps: The car is white but my girl still digs me!

Maybe I'm missing something obvious here, but several people have suggested checking a fuse. Why would a fuse keep the ignition key from coming out? I don't understand.

The only time I had a key that wouldn't come out was because a tumbler had broken inside the lock cylinder and I had to replace the cylinder. Luckily this was before ignitions matched doors so I was used to having two keys for the car. (It was also a Ford, as another poster here has mentioned... Maybe they used poor quality cylinders for while?)

-DanD

In cars with auto transmission when you put in Park, switch in the ignition will unlock the pin that allows key to be released from the ignition. The main reason is because drivers sometimes (myself included) leave the car in Neutral with parking brake applied in order to do something (whatever the reason). Subaru (and I guess the other manufacturers are the same) won't let the key out unless you put it in Park.

Now, the same fuse is for the horn. In my case I didn't know that so I had to pay the price and I figured that might be the case with Mike's car.

Voja

Dan Duncan wrote:

Now the only thing that I can see, not sure if somebody mentioned before, is the last pin in the ignition. It could be broken and won't release the key. Talk to your local locksmith(s). Friend of mine is a locksmith and he thinks it could be the pin.

Voja

49er Mike wrote:

Doesn't the automatic keep you from turning the cylinder to the point where you can release the key, rather than holding the key in the lock? Either way is yet another reason I hate automatics. Yuck.

-DanD

In article , snipped-for-privacy@charter.net says... I have a 1997 Outback with 164,000 miles. The ignition key is stuck in the switch. The steering wheel won't lock up either (probably why the key won't come out!) It shifts into and comes out of PARK fine. Any ideas on the cause and the fix?

Thanks, Mike

Check all the fuses (inside and under the hood). I had that and it was a fuse. If I remember correctly the antenna didn't work as was the door buzzer.

TTYL

Voja-

It was a fuse! In the fuse box under the hood. It also activates the emergency hazard lights on my car. All done for cheap!

Thanks, Mike

OK. So it's Feb 2016 and my key won't come out. I find this thread and can' t get why Voja is even suggesting a fuse check. Scrolling to the end, after seeing the doubters, I see that the answer worked for the original questio n. I check my fuses, they all seem fine but the key comes out! Haz Lights 1

5 amp fuse, when taken out and simply put back in, allows key to come out, Voja rocks,