Key Stuck in Ignition

There is also a relay involved there. You could bypass the switch/relay setup and the key would be removable always.

Does the car start in Park, or MUST you shift it to Neutral?

I can't imagine anything that would hold the key in the ignition switch, then let it go when the battery is dead.

If you have to shift the car from P to N in order to start it, then I would be looking to the Safety Switch as the problem. But, if the car starts in P, then the safety switch is going to be pretty much OK.

Hi Jeff

Thanks for your response. I'm pretty certain I can currently start in any gear. I know for sure that it will start in park and neutral. I have no problem starting and stopping the engine, it's just geting the key out of the ACC position and into LOCK.

Steve

Hi Mort

I have a feeling I may have inadvertently damaged this cable.

Thanks for the advice.

Steve

Can you explain how I do that? I was hoping it would be a simple fuse removal, but it sounds like re-wiring, or perhaps just a disconnection.

There is no mechanism that will keep the key from going into the Lock position that is related to the ability to start the car, and the car should only start in P or N. If the car can start outside of P or N, then you have a problem somewhere, but this should not affect setting the key to the Lock position.

You know what? I need to back pedal on that one. On all of my cars, I can set the key to Off, but I am not sure about Lock. I'll have to look into that, and get back to you. It makes sense that the car must be in Park before the key can be removed, and the key can only be removed in the Lock position, therefore if the key can not be set to Lock, then the shift lever is involved some how.

A test mode would entail holding the shift lever further into the P position to see if this frees the key, or slip it a little towards R. I'm thinking there is a linkage adjustment that is giving you fits. When I was younger, I had a '65 Mustang that would resist starting in P until I moved the shifter around a bit. It was a common malady that one would need to hold the shifter further into P in order to make the contacts on the safety switch. I never determined if the switch contacts were dirty or of the switch was simply mal adjusted, the car always started when I pushed the shifter forward ...

The safety switch has to do more these days, and powering a solenoid that locks the ignition switch out of the Lock position is one of those new duties. I would assume that the switch on the brake pedal that must be made before the shifter can be moved out of P is a similar kind of circuit that is bugging you.