Thread: Key stuck, the car is ...DEAD !!!

My 03 SE had the exact issue last month. Check your Battery connections. I had a loose ground cable on the battery. When I would turn the key the power to the car would just go away and I couldn't get the key out. After I popped the hood and jiggled the battery connections the ding for the keys came on. Tightned the cables and haven had an issue since.

I had a 99 gtp with about 20,000 miles on it, in 2001.

The key got stuck, I could not get it out, but the car still started up, and ran fine.

The dealer replaced the ignition under warranty.

Thanks !!!

I removed the key this morning by putting a little screwdriver by the hole under the steering . I unplugged the battery for the day and I cleaned all the connections, the "+" was really dirty and corroded and I think the problem was that. I plugged the battery back and restarted the car witout any problem. i plug my OBD II scan just in case and everthing was fine. I stop and start the car ten times and it is OK now, hopefully it solved the issue, we'll see

Originally Posted by tech

Thanks !!!

I removed the key this morning by putting a little screwdriver by the hole under the steering . I unplugged the battery for the day and I cleaned all the connections, the "+" was really dirty and corroded and I think the problem was that. I plugged the battery back and restarted the car witout any problem. i plug my OBD II scan just in case and everthing was fine. I stop and start the car ten times and it is OK now, hopefully it solved the issue, we'll see

I had a 99 GT (selling it tonight! just got a 08 GXP) with the same issue - no warranty either. Apparently when you put the car in Park, an electrical signal was not being sent to the cylinder in the ignition, thus not allowing you to turn the key all the way to off and remove it. Until I was able to get it to the shop and have them determine this, I also had to leave the key in the ignition, which would drain the battery DEAD. They fixed the wiring (for at least $150+) and everything was fine. 8 mo. later it happened again. I was not paying to have it fixed again. I should say that they weren't able to fix it right away as the guy that knew the electrical on that part of the car was on vacation. Until he returned, they gave me a little screwdriver and showed me the trick. I simply reverted back to that when it happened again. For the last year or two, that's what I did... every time. Pretty soon, I didn't even notice anymore.

I bet that doesn't help much, but maybe the background info will help out someone more capable of the fix than I.

good luck