Thread: Car stuck in park, key isn't stuck though

So my girlfriends car seems to be having an issue. According to my searches here it looks like the key getting stuck in the ignition is very common but that isn't the problem we're having.

Sometimes when you go to start the car, the car will click but not turn over. On top of this clicking and not turning over the car will not come out of park. I see you must press the brake down fairly hard to get it out sometimes so I'll be trying to push down a bit harder to get it out. On top of that, the shift knob will come off of the lever/stick which I am assuming has something to do with this problem. Is this connected to the button on the shift knob or is this entirely ignition switch related like these cars seem to be famous for? I'd love to get this sorted out for her. I told her it ran and shifted fantastic so she should buy it and now here we are.. Thanks for any help guys, and I'll be glad to get more information if it's necessary. If I'm missing a thread where this is feel free to tell me I'm an idiot.

Battery is tight and charged, yup. Found this post in another thread which sounds suuuuper interesting. Starting to think this ground is bad.

Originally Posted by SilverGT

Yes it shifts just fine. I am currently driving it around and I am just using the shift lock release.

I talked to pontiac and the shifter selenoid is grounded with the neutral saftey switch.

Is that a possibility? That would cause a no start and keep it from coming out of park right?

Well the button is on the bottom haha, so it's hard to smash I suppose. I honestly can't remember but if I had to take a stab at it I'd say yes, the button is hard to depress when it is having the issue but when it's working properly it's not a problem.

Can anyone tell me where that ground in the quote I posted is so I can take a look and see what I've got? Just trying to be prepared before I head down to her place.

Word thanks, I figured as much but I like to be prepared before I dive into something. I'm going to head to her place now and start taking apart the console to see what I can find. Gonna look for loose wires in the harnesses like some other threads mentioned, check that ground, and see what I've got. Thanks a lot and I'll have my phone guys so if you think of anything I'll still be checking!

No input then? I didn't see where the ground was. Guess I'll have to get a book and figure it out myself. I'm probably just going to buy a new ignition cylinder too.