2011 key stuck ON

[Kael]

Hey all, fun day. Wife calls and says "Honey, I can't turn off the car". Had her drive it home, tried some obvious items before killing the motor the hard way. Again, key is stuck in ON, can turn to Start, can't turn back to ACC or OFF.

Tried the follow:
Steering wheel shake
Steering wheel far left and right
In Park, left and right
Neutral
Quick shift to Park


Next tried removing the key cylinder, won't release, needs to be in ACC right?

Next tried removing the ignition switch, it won't release either.

Any other options? Time to get out the hammer and drill?

Normally nothing locks the ignition to ON, yes? Fun to deal with on Friday after work.

[Kael]

Phew, progress on Saturday. Here's information if your key gets stuck in ACC or ON (hopefully NEVER START!! Ugh! ).

The issue was the key cylinder itself. It has to get to ACC to remove via the detent. I got lucky with wiggling the key like mad and managed to get to ACC. Examining the cylinder, a tiny T shaped piece of metal lost both its ears and wedged the cylinder. This tiny piece is under the clip on cover with a spring to provide pressure. This T's whole purpose is to make the driver push the key in to turn from LOCK. I decided to toss this T, reassembled and it works fine.

When the cylinder is installed, this T is on the bottom, pointing down. Enough shaking might get it to unwedge. Also, pulling and pushing key might get it too. Once it's to ACC, again, can remove normally with no extra work. If this didn't work, might be able to rotate by force with pliers on the key. Obviously, this might end with a broken key and a new cylinder. Tapping the key with a hammer might work too.

Good luck if this happens to you!

[gclark8]

A question; how much weight, or how many keys on the ignition key ring?

Back in the late 80's, when I was working for an auto electrician, we found many ignition switch problems were related to having too many keys, or, too much weight, on the lock assembly thus causing premature wear and lock failure. Since then, I have only the ignition key and the plastic token for the supermarket shopping trolley on my car key ring.