I got home today, shut off Big Bird and the key won't come out of the ignition switch. It starts and all but won't come out. I put it in reverse, neutral and back to park and to no avail. The steering wheel is not locking in place either. Its a 2007 with ~ 35,000 miles. I guess I'm off to the dealer tomorrow. I can't very well park it at work . . . or I may as well put a free take sign on it.

 

There is a link in the shifter that restricts key removal unless the lever is in park.
That could be out of adjustment.
Or the lock cylinder could be bad.

Here is the test procedure:

DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING - BRAKE TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK SYSTEM


1. Verify that the key can only be removed in the PARK position
2. When the shift lever is in PARK And the shift handle pushbutton is in the “OUT” position, the ignition key cylinder should rotate freely from OFF to LOCK. When the shifter is in any other gear or neutral position, the ignition key cylinder should not rotate to the LOCK position.
3. Shifting out of PARK should not be possible when the ignition key cylinder is in the OFF position.
4. Shifting out of PARK should not be possible while applying normal pushbutton force and ignition key cylinder is in the RUN or START positions unless the foot brake pedal is depressed approximately 1/2 inch (12mm).
5. Shifting out of PARK should not be possible when the ignition key cylinder is in the ACCESSORY or LOCK positions.
6. Shifting between any gears, NEUTRAL or into PARK may be done without depressing foot brake pedal with ignition switch in RUN or START positions.

 

Nothing I tried worked. I'll be calling the dealer in the morning. I hope this is still covered under warranty.

Edit: I just checked and its at 3,176. Good old Crappler Corp.

 

I used to be a locksmith, and saw this problem alot. Mostly with ford focus cars. The problem noted above is in most of the cases the problem. I fixed it by actually kicking the shifter when it was in park. If that does not work the dealer will call a locksmith to drill the ignition, replace it then fix the cable.
If it is not covered under warranty call a good locksmith.

 

The local service manager wasn't in today. The geek there said that it would be somewhere in the ball park of 3 hours labor. If its the lock cylinder it will be about $100 for that plus rekeying. Basically it will be $100 for fiddly shit until they find the problem and run out of parts to replace.

I took the console of but can't find anything obvious as far as cables go.

I hope who ever designed the over engineered plasticized ignition interlock system got the International Idiots in Engineering Award and who ever designed the console got Stooge of the Year.

 

I took the console out to see what I could find. I used the information here and adjusted the cable mentioned in thread.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...-foot-on-brake

I can now remove the key!!!!

 

since wayofgay or one of his sheeple removed my original post, ill post it again. if its an automatic try putting it all the wa down then back in park.

 

Think it ended up being the cable bro.

 

I have this problem intermittently. Thanks for the info!