key problem

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 10:52 am

i'm not sure if anyone had this problem before, but my keys are stuck in the ignition hole. dont know why...

it's in Park, and still will not turn to lock so i can pull out my keys.... any ideas anyone?? thanks!

Bluntman · Post by **Bluntman** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 11:26 am

Yeah i had this problem too! Its a real pain in the arse, couldnt get my keys out for 1 - 2 days!

With mine what had happened was a little piece of black plastic in the ignition barrel had come loose. (where you put your key in, on the underside of the barrel)
I took my car to an autoelectrican, they had to pull the dash apart cos they didnt know what was wrong with it, but all they needed to do was to push that little bit of plastice back into position!

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 12:39 pm

oh thanks a lot ..... i'll ask the auto electrician to try that..... did it cost a lot?

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 1:09 pm

hehehe... Kev had this problem before at last year's photoshoot.

what we got him to do was turn on the engine, slot to D for a few secs, then slot it back to P, loosen the steering wheel height adjuster, lock it back in place and then turn the engine off... somehow he managed to take the key off then. Had similar problems with my old auto Lancer too...

Good luck!

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 2:03 pm

I've been caught out with this a couple of times when I've been testing out the LEDs in the dash. The issue seems to happen when you turn off the ignition without the car being in park.

Even if you then put it back to park it won't help. You actually need to turn the car back on (accessory position may work), move the gear into park, back to drive and then to park again. You should then be able to take your keys out when you turn it off.

I believe this is deliberate and part of the safety mechanism - i.e. so you don't leave your car in neutral or drive and have it roll down the hill

Similar to how you have to put your foot on the brake before you can take it out of park.

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 2:12 pm

oh mikey, so how did you fix the problem in your lancer??

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 2:23 pm

YYgirl wrote:oh mikey, so how did you fix the problem in your lancer??

1. foot on brakes
2. turn on the engine
3. slot to D for a few secs
4. slot it back to P
5. loosen the steering wheel height adjuster
6. wiggle it up and down a little' bit
7. lock the steering column back in place
8. turn the engine off...
9. take the key out of ignition
10. give urself a big smile...

fingers crossed!

Robb · Post by **Robb** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 2:55 pm

Seeing a pattern emerging here.. I too had my key get stuck in the ignition once, I was parked next to K-Mart auto so I asked them to look at it but they wouldn't touch it cos they didn't know what the car was *stupid K-Mart* anyways I did some surgery and traced the cable from the gear lever thru the dash to the ignition opened the casing and found a small bit of metal where the cable goes into the ignition had broken off

so check that nothing has broken....
BTW does anyone know where I can get this fix as the key comes out 99% of the time without any drama but that 1% really when it doesn't really sh*ts me to tears...

Robb...

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 3:48 pm

According to the FTO's owners manual trying to move the shifter out of Park without engaging the foot brake will cause the "shift lock" to engage. It goes on to say that if the iginition is in the "Lock" position, that the shift lock will also be engaged, even if you do press in the foot brake.

So I believe what we are looking at here is a deliberate design feature of the FTO and not a fault. And that the cable Robb refered to must link the ignition lock to the shift lock

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 10:44 pm

it's so weird, if i recall correctly, we normally need to switch to ignition on and push brake in order to get out of the P mode, but now I can just change the gears out of P without pushing brake at all??? i hope it's nothing too difficult to fix.....

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 10:47 pm

YYgirl wrote:it's so weird, if i recall correctly, we normally need to switch to ignition on and push brake in order to get out of the P mode, but now I can just change the gears out of P without pushing brake at all??? i hope it's nothing too difficult to fix.....

nah, in my old Lancer i was able to slot out of P without my foot on the brake at all... not sure about FTOs though'... did you eventually manage to get the keys out?

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 11:20 pm

no i didn't.......

i will try to find a auto electrician tomorrow and probably as well as a lock smith......

Bluntman · Post by **Bluntman** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 12:11 am

the guys who did mine installed me stereo a few days before, so i just took it back to them, when they fixed it i bought them a case of beer for their trouble

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 12:15 am

oh, were they your friend or something???

thecook · Post by **thecook** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 12:33 am

happend to me a few times in my car

the first time it happend, i was like WTF THE KEY IS STUCK!!!
then my gf just told me to move the steering wheel a little bit, and it worked... i did this while in P, but ignition was on...

didnt have to go P then D...etc

Bluntman · Post by **Bluntman** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 1:17 am

nah they are an actually car stereo company here in wollongong

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 12:39 pm

hi everyone thanks for the help, i got it fixed...... went to a lock smith, there was a little swith inside the lock, he just push it back in place and the keys came out..... easy job and good money.. $44......

ruchi · Post by **ruchi** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 12:48 pm

Did they tell you whether this little "switch" was part of the mechanism that joined the ignition lock to the shift lock, via the cable Robb mentioned?

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:11 pm

i'm not really sure, but he said it's designed to have that kinda stuff???

FTO338 · Post by **FTO338** » Sun Feb 29, 2004 8:24 am

thecook wrote:happend to me a few times in my car

the first time it happend, i was like WTF THE KEY IS STUCK!!!
then my gf just told me to move the steering wheel a little bit, and it worked... i did this while in P, but ignition was on...

didnt have to go P then D...etc

Heheheheh what u said is called 'steering wheel lock" it feature on every car under the sun since 80's. As soon as u move the steering wheel without the key, it will lock itself, it suppose to prevent theft to steal your car (yeah rite)

What we talking about here is another type of lock mechanism or feature that will lock your key in the barrel when you turn the ignition off & its still in gear. Its another safty feature (only in tip) to "remind" us that your car is still in gear & prevent accident when your car parked at a hill, but its a real pain.