July 3, 200619 yr I've got a 95 Impreza which I've been having LOTS of problems getting out of park lately (due to the humidity & that whacky shift lock mechanism, I'm assuming). Anyway, now it's in park and I CANNOT get my key out and I'm not sure if this is in any way related...And, if so, if there's any way to override the shift lock. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
July 3, 200619 yr i belive there's a screw you have to take out under the center console to disable the lock, as far as the key not coming out, if you rock the wheel back and forth it may allow the key to be removed.......
July 3, 200619 yr Author i belive there's a screw you have to take out under the center console to disable the lock WOW...This would be such a relief! I spend a good 1/2 hour everyday trying to get out park and I just had this fixed last summer. Is there anyway you could direct me to a website with instructions on doing this???
July 3, 200619 yr I've got a 95 Impreza which I've been having LOTS of problems getting out of park lately (due to the humidity & that whacky shift lock mechanism, I'm assuming). Anyway, now it's in park and I CANNOT get my key out and I'm not sure if this is in any way related...And, if so, if there's any way to override the shift lock. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! did you try jiggling the steering wheel? nipper
July 3, 200619 yr I had this problem once, and posted a rather in-depth description about how to fix it.. with pictures... If it's an auto, there's a key lock switch, and a slot w/ a pin in it.. if the pin falls out, the switch can't be thrown... and your key gets stuck in there . Try searching for that... but if you can't find it... take apart your dash. where the shifter is, and get in there deep, until you see a verticle plate with a slotted-ridge thing. There's usually a 1.5"-2" steel pin that goes through the bottom of the shifter that slides along in there. It mostlikely fell out somehow... vibrations etc... check around to find the pin... fell down in carpet etc... once you find it.. buy another, find one in a junkyard, have one made, put it back in the hole/slot, and then super glue the snot out of it. That way it shoulnd't come out again.. but make sure you dont' superglue the shifter, or stuff like that.. or else you won't be able to shift.... there'll most likely be alot of grease down there.. i took out the shifterand cleaned off all the grease, so the glue would stick hope this helps... well.. hope you have an auto.. or i wasted 5 minutes typing this
July 3, 200619 yr I had this problem once, and posted a rather in-depth description about how to fix it.. with pictures...If it's an auto, there's a key lock switch, and a slot w/ a pin in it.. if the pin falls out, the switch can't be thrown... and your key gets stuck in there . Try searching for that... but if you can't find it... take apart your dash. where the shifter is, and get in there deep, until you see a verticle plate with a slotted-ridge thing. There's usually a 1.5"-2" steel pin that goes through the bottom of the shifter that slides along in there. It mostlikely fell out somehow... vibrations etc... check around to find the pin... fell down in carpet etc... once you find it.. buy another, find one in a junkyard, have one made, put it back in the hole/slot, and then super glue the snot out of it. That way it shoulnd't come out again.. but make sure you dont' superglue the shifter, or stuff like that.. or else you won't be able to shift.... there'll most likely be alot of grease down there.. i took out the shifterand cleaned off all the grease, so the glue would stick hope this helps... well.. hope you have an auto.. or i wasted 5 minutes typing this why do i get this feeling your tool box holds a hammer, vice grips a few srewdrivers a saw and a hot glue gun nipper
July 3, 200619 yr Author I had this problem once, and posted a rather in-depth description about how to fix it.. with pictures...If it's an auto, there's a key lock switch, and a slot w/ a pin in it.. if the pin falls out, the switch can't be thrown... and your key gets stuck in there . Try searching for that... but if you can't find it... take apart your dash. where the shifter is, and get in there deep, until you see a verticle plate with a slotted-ridge thing. There's usually a 1.5"-2" steel pin that goes through the bottom of the shifter that slides along in there. It mostlikely fell out somehow... vibrations etc... check around to find the pin... fell down in carpet etc... once you find it.. buy another, find one in a junkyard, have one made, put it back in the hole/slot, and then super glue the snot out of it. That way it shoulnd't come out again.. but make sure you dont' superglue the shifter, or stuff like that.. or else you won't be able to shift.... there'll most likely be alot of grease down there.. i took out the shifterand cleaned off all the grease, so the glue would stick hope this helps... well.. hope you have an auto.. or i wasted 5 minutes typing this YES, i've got an automatic. Thanks for the help...I did some searching in the forums before I posted this, but didn't find your thread with pictures. Can you link me to it?
July 3, 200619 yr http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46496&highlight=Key+Stuck I think i deleted the picture... i'll see if it's still on my computer.. but who knows. And nipster... Hot glue aye... i'll have to get some of that I perfer the 250amp tig welder.. but i suppose hot glue could work for some things too Oh yeah: My computer is searching for all the image files on it, around the date of that post, hopefully it'll find something... tonight.. or tomorrow.. depends which harddrives it descides want to play tonight...
July 15, 200619 yr if this was not solved its a SUPER easy fix.... i just took the shift lock mechinism apart and saw how it works, and this was never fully explained... The soloniod that moves the lever back and forth to actually lock the key in the ignition, LOCKS into the open position AS WELL AS locks in the closed position. if your key is stuck, simply remove the screws from the bottom of the plastic shroud around the column, then you'll see a white box on the front of the ignition. This is the solonoid. there are two access holes (square shaped) to see inside the white box, located perpandicular to each other. One has a small metal tab barely sticking out of it, and the other doesnt. it has a circular lock washer thingie in there you can see. if you put a screwdriver and PUSH against the metal circular washer thing, it should make a slight click and move about 1/32 of an inch. that will lock the shift lock solonoid in the open position and basically keep it there forever, until the shift lock system tells it to lock again. you can either unplug this solonoid, or you can remove the shift lock controller (if you still have your auto, keep the controller in place, but unplug the solonoid from the bottom... its a two wire FLAT FLAT FLAT plug. hope that helps someone out, cuz that thing is STUPID.
July 17, 200619 yr Same problem with my car. Here's what I do: 1.) wiggle the steering wheel and try to remove key if that doesn't work..... 2.) while sitting in the driver's seat, rock back and forth while wiggling the automatic shifter lever....I'm serious...... 3.) remove key. My car has a lot of quirks but they sound like very common quirks. I'm gonna look under the dash and fix my shift lock problem permanently....Thanks NuclearBacon!
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