Thread: 02 key sometimes will not come out

I searched the net and nobody seems to know why the key randomly does not come out all the time, any ideas what to check? I checked for broken wires and such, replaced the brake light switch. is it in the shifter or the ignition switch itself, anybody found the problem ?

quick fix, I lube the shifter and the cable and all is good

That's only going to fix it temporarily.

Theres a solenoid located in the steering column. You can pull the little tab out under the column and use a screw driver to press the solenoid up. This should allow you to take the key out if it gets stuck again. I cleaned mine with electrical cleaner to free it up. Works great now.

Hi! I'm not really an expert, but I've lived with this vehicle for many years and have been through a lot. I had this problem, which eventually progressed to a permanent issue, coupled with the car not shifting out of park (which required more pen-prodding to work around.) Eventually, I just decided to dig in under the shifter column and found what is in the attached photo. I don't remember precisely how I did this, but I'm sure if I figured it out it's obvious to more knowledgeable folk. I think the wires were too short and couldn't deal with the stress from shifting. I just soldered more wire on and completed the connection. 80k miles since then, and nothing of this nature has cropped up again. I recommended this to a peer who had the same car and it worked for him, too. It's definitely worth a peek, if you haven't already. I know you said you checked for broken wires, but this is such an annoying issue and I'd like to help if I can.

I don't know what this thing is, but it was the culprit in my case.

I fixed my key stuck in the ignition problem by cutting a small piece of straw and sticking it against the key release button under the steering wheel, and putting the cap over it, so the button is constantly pressed down. Problem solved.