I just bought a 2003 Lancer OZ Rally Automatic on craigslist yesterday for around $1750. The guy that sold it to me failed to mention the key gets stuck in the ignition. It doesn't seem to be anything to do with the wheel lock or having to push the key in and turning it. It almost seems like the car thinks it's not in park so it won't release the key. I did notice the shifter goes through the gears without having to press the button and when you do press the button it doesn't click like it's supposed to. Has anyone seen anything like this? I'm at a loss and have spent a couple of hours messing with it without success. I'm not expecting perfection for u derived $2k but damn this is frustrating!

 

I've had keys get stuck because the wheel needed to be wiggled back and forth.

Are you sure it's turned all the way off and not stuck between ACC and off?

Try a little light percussive maintenance on it but not hard enough to break anything.

Usually if the car is not in park it won't turn all the way off... You can shift it out of drive without pressing the release button?

Can you shift it without stepping on the brake?

Does it have a shift indicator on the dash board?

 

It's definitely stuck between ACC and off. It's acting like it's not in park even when it is. And yes I can shift it in and out of drive and all the other gears without pressing the release button and without stepping on the brake. It doesn't have a shift indicator on the dash.

 

Well it could be something simple to something serious..

If the key is only going half way to off that's why it won't come out for sure then.

I will assume the gears all work normally/properly when you shift into them.

When you step on the brake do you hear a click near the shifter?

There should be a little notch of plastic around the gear shift you should be able to pop it off with a screwdriver and there should be a little button under that. That's the manual interlock disengage.. Put it in park and poke that a few times and see if it locks in park.

I'd also check all the fuses (in the car and under the hood). You might have something burned out that's powered down a solenoid or switch circuit.

 

Yes the gears all work properly when i shift into them, although it makes me a little nervous to think i could accidentally through it into reverse while I'm driving. I will definitely try that in the morning and let u know what happens.

 

I don't think your transmission will actually shift into reverse while it's going forward so I wouldn't worry too much about that. I think you can shift into reverse normally without pressing the button in case you get stuck and need to rock the car (but I could be wrong, I haven't tried this in a few years)

I'm not sure if the park interlock thing is related to the button or not but it won't hurt anything to try it.

Also check those fuses when you have a chance, that would be a cheap easy fix.

Failing all this you will probably have to start taking the gear/shifter/transmission linkages apart to check for broken switches/wires,etc. So if you aren't up to that task I would recommend taking it to a shop.

If you are, than the next step is to get a wiring diagram and service manual.

 

Ok so I took the shift **** off and was able to pull up on the shifter to get it to lock in park and get the keys out. So the issue is with the shifter. From what I can tell there is a cable connected to it at the bottom that gives tension to the button on the shifter so it can lock/unlock from the gear. It looks like it needs to be tightened. It felt pretty loose.

 

You can see on that last picture on my last post the little piston thing that slides over the white thing when the gear is locked. Both of these pictures are of the car in park. The one where the piston is over the white thing is where I was able to lock it in Park. The other picture is what it's been doing everytime after I drive it and why I couldn't get the keys out. I've been driving around with the plyers so I can lock the gear.

 

I can't really offer any advice on how to fix it. If it's a cable there is probably some kind of tension adjustment you can change.. Probably best to dig up a service manual and understand how the mechanism actually works.

 

Yeah I think that's what I'm gonna do. I really appreciate the help!