Tonight I have a new problem - I can't get the key out! Luckily it only happenned when I got home so I have locked the car up safely in its garage, but the key is still in there. That little release button just will not go in. Any clues? It's an auto and yes it is in Park. Barry
Try pushing.....>> The shift lever as far forward as you can. There is a switch on the shift mechanism that will only let the key be removed when it is in Park (fully). It is possible that this is faulty. Try doing a search on twinturbo.net as I remember people discussing which wire in the steering column harness to cut to deactivate the solenoid if nothing else works.
Thanks for helping I went to twinturbo.net and searched on "key". I got 3680 hits and scanned 2000 of them before giving up. Boy are some people anal about titanium keys, at least half of the posts were on that subject. I guess I will start to dismantle the car and see what I can nut out. It seems logical that the relay or solenoid would be activated to stop the key coming out rather than the other way around. I will start poking around with a multimeter and see if I can find any +12 voltages anywhere. If I am really lucky, there will be some wires leaving the shifter that have the same colours as some wires attaching to the ignition switch. Once I solve it (no point saying if, I don't plan to start walking) I will post the answer. Barry
Also try turning the steering-wheel... sometimes if the wheel lock has engaged, the key may be difficult to remove.
I had the same problem when i took the plastic cover of from around the ignition barrel I found that there is a littel red leaver which is spring activated and comes down under normal conditions, and should go back up when you turn the car of and try and get the key out, however it was sticking in the down position and as a result i could not get the key out. Just give it a nudge and it will go back up and you will be able to get the key out. I ended up disabiling it so it can no longer comes down, and have never had the problem since.:thumbsup: P.S. I have a turbo, don't know if the N/A are the same
Hmm... try driving it out of the garage and back in again realigning your steering wheel. That worked for me sometimes. Hope it works for you. :zlove:
Thanks everyone - problem solved I took the Zed out, drove around the block, came back in and the key came out as easy as you please. I know the steering lock wasn't engaged so the problem must be related related to that little red lever that turbotoy mentioned could stick. I will take his advice and disable it. As for the design aspects, are people really that dumb that they need a device to ensure a car is in Park before they can take out the key? Don't answer that.
