Key sticks in ignition.....

[lightningad]

My key has started to stick in the ignition when i switch the engine off. I have tried all the solutions i have seen posted, and have dismantled the centre console to get to the auto shift lever and all the associated gubbins.

I have looked for the mechanism that should trigger the release but am unsure what it looks like. I have tried to dismantle and re-build everything i could but it hasn't improved things. The only solution i have found, which is a damn nuisance, is to leave the console cover loose so that when the key sticks i can disconnect the larger of the two electrical sockets behind the shift lever. This releases the key, and then i can plug the thing back together.

Can anyone tell me which bit of kit is the one most likely to be at fault, what it looks like, and how easy is it to get a replacement?

thanks

Adam

[nero279]

if it's the auto shift mechanism you won't be able to turn the key right back to off, it will only go to I or ACC whichever's first.

If it's turning right the way back, but just not coming out it's more likely to be a sticky tumbler not falling, try spraying in some motorcycle chain lube into the key hole.

Hold a cloth underneath the hole and spray it until it starts pouring out, wipe away the excess then put the key in and turn the ignition on and off repeatedly, leave for a few minutes and repeat.

[lightningad]

if it was a sticky tumbler, then the electrical connector should not have any effect. But it does.....hence my belief its somethign to do with the shift mechanism.

[Hawaii]

it's possibly also the stering lock sticking, which means that, as it's not moving smoothly then the key won't come out.

Do you ever have problems when trying to insert the key that the steering lock won't dis-engage?

same solution as for the sticking tumbler - wd-40, a bit of wiggling and you should be fine.

ta

hawaii

[gwh200]

make sure that next time it sticks,give the gear selector a push and make sure it has gone into park properly.

if its a manual,get a new ignition barrel