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Key stuck in ignition lock cylinder

rfmgtp02

rfmgtp02

New member
So i have an issue with my ignition cylinder. I will drive the car, put it in park and the turn the engine to off but on occasion the key wont turn all the way and i have to start the car again and shift through the gear to release the key? Any idea what could cause this? This only happens occasionally and that makes me think a switch or sensor is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully this is a common issue with an easy fix. Let me know what your thoughts are. At the moment the key is in the ignition with the car locked outside. I tried to get the key out for about ten minutes before i gave up. It seems to be getting much worse and more frequent over the last few days. Please help me out here because im not very comfortable leaving the key in the car overnight. Thanks
 


It's a solenoid in the steering column. I have a 97 and after a year of this crap, I took the collar off and there is a silver button in there (on the right) that you push in and it lets the key go..I never had mine fixed though..I just got used to pushing the button.
 
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kayava said:
It's a solenoid in the steering column. I have a 97 and after a year of this crap, I took the collar off and there is a silver button in there (on the right) that you push in and it lets the key go..I never had mine fixed though..I just got used to pushing the button.
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Is there a fix for this or is this just how you have gotten around the problem?
 
Part looks like this...
DSC09480.jpg


How to fix it:

If you take the bottom cover off of the steering column you can get to it rather easy and remove the solenoid.

1) tilt wheel all the way up and remove tilt wheel lever.... just pull, it comes out rather easy

2) take out screws in bottom steering column cover.... torx bit

3) pull off cover. you will have to tilt it a little to clear the rear clips.

4) remove screw(s) holding in solenoid.... very small nut driver or pliers will do the trick.

5) unplug wires to solenoid and discard solenoid into nearest trash can and save money for beer after job is complete

6) reverse order to reassemble column

7) use money saved from step 5 and go have a few beers
 
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Im assuming that is the park lock switch? I was playing around with the BTSI that is attached to the shifter today and the key had been stuck since last night and after messing with the plug it the key came out. Once i pulled it back in the key still came out. I moved the shifter through the gears and once again key stuck. Is removing the part going to cause any other problems or is this just a safety feature put in by gm to make you put the car in park before you remove the key? Not a bad idea actually....weight savings too!!! haha
 
rfmgtp02 said:
Im assuming that is the park lock switch?

Is removing the part going to cause any other problems or is this just a safety feature put in by gm to make you put the car in park before you remove the key?
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Yep, Park Lock Solenoid. Removing it won't cause any problems at all, but yes, it is a safety feature to keep the key in the ignition if the car isn't in park. Key removal will be possible if the car is not fully in park without it. Mine has been removed for a year now and never had any trouble with accidentally not being in park.
 


So my ignition wasn't working...It wouldn't start and I was previously having the lockback issue. I took out that part above that was causing issues and now my car starts fine, I can take the key out at anytime. So that's cool for winter. But I still have the issue where the ignition will not turn fully back. It's really annoying cuz my car dings everytime I open my door. Any suggestions???
 
DesQ27 said:
I took out that part above that was causing issues and now my car starts fine, I can take the key out at anytime. So that's cool for winter.
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That part has me concerned. I just went out and double checked mine before posting this to make sure, but I have the park lock solenoid removed and I can still ONLY remove my key when the ignition is in the off position. If you can take your key out in anything other than the off position, you have other issues in your ignition. The park lock solenoid has no affect over that function. It only is there to keep you from removing the key if the shifter is in any other position other than park. I can remove my key in drive if I really wanted to, but I still have to turn the ignition off first.
 
Im having a problem with my 01. The fuse for the btsi keeps blowing & i smelled burnt wiring. Looked under driver side dash, 2 wires from brake switch were burnt. I repaired them but every time i put it in gear it blows the fuse & the key wont come out. If i remove the piece in column will i have to worry bout that any more ?
 
Abrasive said:
That part has me concerned. I just went out and double checked mine before posting this to make sure, but I have the park lock solenoid removed and I can still ONLY remove my key when the ignition is in the off position. If you can take your key out in anything other than the off position, you have other issues in your ignition. The park lock solenoid has no affect over that function. It only is there to keep you from removing the key if the shifter is in any other position other than park. I can remove my key in drive if I really wanted to, but I still have to turn the ignition off first.
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Is there a way to make it so you can remove the key at any time? I had an old car where you could do this. And it was really handy. You could even turn the car off and be able to start it again without the key as long as you didnt put the ignition all the way to the off position, this might not make sense.
I could start my car in order to let it warm up. Take my keys out and move the other cars around in my driveway while still letting my car warm up in the winter. And it had no trunk pop so i didnt have to shut the car off to open the trunk for people.

ps. sometimes my grand prix key wont turn in the ignition. I have to take it out and flip the key over and try multiple times to get it to work.
 


Wow glad I found this the wife just got home and the key stuck popped the collar (no pun intended) LOL. and killed the solenoid all better in under 5 mins..
 
The problem could be on the shifter wiring harness. Mine was broke off at the connection and a buddies was exposed and blowing fuses. The other half of this park lock circuit is at the shifter. Thats why the access hole is next to the shifter.
 
2001camaroB4C said:
ps. sometimes my grand prix key wont turn in the ignition. I have to take it out and flip the key over and try multiple times to get it to work.
Click to expand...

That is usually just from a bad cut.. when you had a copy if the key made.
If you have the original key take it in, to any where that cuts key's, and get them to re-trace the one that doesent work very well.
 


I just started having this same problem i removed the selonoid and tested it on a battery and it worked everytime. Anyone have any other ideas as to what might have caused this problem?? Where would the sensor that sends the signal to the selonoid.
 
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My daughter had the same problem with her 1999 Grand Prix. I couldn't get the tilter knob off, and couldn't get the steering column cover off. So I just tied some electrical tape around the solenoid to hold the plunger in (on the bottom left of the solenoid). This let me pop the key out. There is a cover on the bottom of the steering column that you can pop off to get off to have access to the plunger, but you can't reach the plunger with a key as was suggested, so I taped the plunger up. Works for now.
 
hi thanks for the help this worked on my 01. now that i removed this the trac butoom seems not to work always lit trac off. anyone else have the same problem and maybe a remedy
thanks
mike
 
i curently have the same prob but i think it may mean you need to get some new tires or u have a tire that is extremly low on tred is ur abs light lit on the dash that means new tires
 
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