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Key Stuck in Ignition

23K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  dcjredline 
#1 ·
I had a problem recently that I thought might be interesting and may help if anyone else encounters this in the future.

While on vacation we experienced a problem with our 07 caliber. We reached our destination and parked the car. when I went to turn off the car my key would not come out of the ignition. The engine would shut down, but the key would not move any further than the accessory position. If you refer to your owners manual it mentions this problem may occur if there is some kind of malfunction, but does not say anything about how to remove the key if this happens. :mad:

This becomes a problem when you are out away from your spare keys and cannot lock the car since your keys are still in it. At the very least this is an inconvienience. At worst it could result in someone stealing your car if they figure out your keys are stuck in the ignition... because here's the kicker... the car will still start and drive!!!

I took the car in to the local dodge dealer and they found that the shift cable was imporperly adjusted. this made the computer think the car was still in gear and not in park, thus activating the locking mechanism on the ingnition key. I asked the service manager if there was a way to override this in case it happened again.

the manager told me that there is a small cover on the passenger side of the shifter console. Behind this cover there is a flat white plastic lever. To override the shift lock and allow the key to be remove you push this lever up which will allow you to remove your key.

I tried this a couple times after the fact and found that it works like a charm. You will need something to remove the small cover. I recomend a small flat blade screw driver with some tape on the end so as not to scratch your console.

I hope this fix will help some folks out of a jam in the future. :D

I still can't figure out why the engineers would do this, but at least there's a fix
 
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#2 ·
If you read your owners manual(at least my '07) it talks about
the release lever however it's stated purpose is to release the
PARK position locking pawl which is actuated by a solenoid which
in turn is linked to the ignition lock via a cable.
It's interesting that it also caused your experience so it's a good
tip with different symptom.
 
#4 ·
FYI this bypass feature has been in cars since they put the shift interlock systems in vehicles in the mid 90's. Just so everyone knows its not specific to Caliber nor Dodge.
 
#6 ·
I had a customer have this same type of problem. I looked at the diagrams of the system and we diagnosed it over the phone. Brake switch. (No brake lights) I ran her through doing the release for the shifter, and we were able to get her to drive the vehicle to class (was going to be late) and then get to the dealer. Of course she wasn't the happiest of person, but we were able to get her going when she though for sure she was stuck.
 
#7 ·
thepowertowin said:
I had a customer have this same type of problem. I looked at the diagrams of the system and we diagnosed it over the phone. Brake switch. (No brake lights) I ran her through doing the release for the shifter, and we were able to get her to drive the vehicle to class (was going to be late) and then get to the dealer. Of course she wasn't the happiest of person, but we were able to get her going when she though for sure she was stuck.
Did this same thing at AutoZone one night for a customer in a Land Rover. First thing I did was look at his brake lights and viola he had a blown fuse and could start his car. Gave me $10 for the help and I bought pizza for dinner that night.
 
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