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Car will start and drive fine, when I turn the key to kill the motor, the key is stuck in that middle spot that keeps the radio, ac, etc. powered on. It simply will not turn all the way to the off position.
It's not a "jiggle the steering wheel, make sure it's in park" issue, because I've tried all that.
Sounds like its an issue with the park selector switch or the ign switch. The car thinks its still in gear and will not let the ign switch release the key
The mechanism that keeps you from turning the car off unless the gear selector is all the way into Park is the most likely suspect. Maybe give the steering column a good whack with a rubber hammer?
Sounds like it's either the Park switch, or the key solenoid.
Many new cars have an electrically activated solenoid which locks the key in.
It's partly a security measure, partly for safety.
Chances are it'll be deactivated by a switch on either the shifter, or the brake pedal, or both.
Have a check at fuses, do a "wiggle test" on any wires you can see, try being a little rough with the shifter, push it hard into "P", in case something is stuck.
Keep trying to release the key as you work the shifter in and out of "P", do it slowly, you might find a sweet spot !
If there's a panel or cowl around the ignition switch, see if you can remove it to access the cylinder/switch assembly. You may find there'll be some sort of manual override, maybe as simple as a hole you can stick something in to release the key.
DON'T FORCE THE KEY !!
If you break it, it will likely become expensive, especially if it has a security chip in it.
If you can't find anything, you could very possibly be looking at a trip to the dealer, unfortunately.
Sounds like what the others said, park selector switch or the electronic solenoid within the ignition switch.
Turn the car on, set the ebrake, make sure there is nothing in front or behind you and see if you can shift it into neutral without hitting the brake, but be ready to hit the break in case you miss neutral and hit drive or reverse. This should tell you if its the gear selector switch or not. If you cant, then the switch is working and the ignition switch solenoid may be bad.
I don't know if this will work, but could you remove the battery? That might reset the electronics so you can take the key out. I don't know anything about this stuff but that's just a suggestion.
After about 2 days of being stuck, the key just came right back out. I'll keep this thread if (when?) it happens again. Thanks for the replies.
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