# Give me my Key back!!!



## Vampyre Mike (Mar 30, 2011)

This is upsetting, I wonder what the **** is going on. Please keep us informed. Best of luck!


----------



## Chefmaster87 (Mar 30, 2011)

Sry to hear thanks for the heads up.


----------



## chad473 (Feb 21, 2011)

what size screwdriver did you need? I'm a better safe than sorry guy..might want to make sure I have one handy in case this ever happens.


----------



## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

chad473 said:


> what size screwdriver did you need? I'm a better safe than sorry guy..might want to make sure I have one handy in case this ever happens.


Look under the steering column just under the ignition switch and you will see the hole I was talking about. A small to medium sized slotted screwdriver that will fit up there is all you will need if it ever happens to you. Hopefully it won't. I think I will keep one in the glove compartment just in case.

I have not heard back from the service dept. yet but think it's either a defective switch or possibly the safety device that won't let you remove the key unless the vehicle's transmission is in "Park" is the culprit. We will see...


----------



## 1angry_cichlid (Mar 27, 2011)

That sucks man- at least it'd being taken care of. couldn't they at least have given you a 'balt? An HHR lol.


----------



## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

Mine acts up from time to time, for no reason that i can find. after a few seconds of jiggling it comes out, 95% of the time though its fine. It almost feels as though it isn't recognizing the car is in park and wont let you remove the key but jiggling on the shifter doesnt seem to do anything.

Let us know what they find please


----------



## gregeshleman (Jan 6, 2011)

I had the same problem with my Cruze and it needed a shifter. I work as a technician at a Chevrolet dealer and mine was the first Cruze at our dealer to have the problem, when I called tech assist they said they are having some problems with the shifters on the Cruze. It has worked great since the shifter replacement.


----------



## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

gregeshleman said:


> I had the same problem with my Cruze and it needed a shifter. I work as a technician at a Chevrolet dealer and mine was the first Cruze at our dealer to have the problem, when I called tech assist they said they are having some problems with the shifters on the Cruze. It has worked great since the shifter replacement.


Yep... got my Cruze back this afternoon. They had to replace some button or switch or thingamabob in the center console that gets activated when the shifter is in park. Some kinda safety mechanism that won't let you remove the key unless the car is in park. I also bought a cheap screwdriver at the Dollar store to keep in the glove box just in case it happens again. Sounds like this could become a recall issue in the future.

p.s. not only would the key not come out, I could not turn the ignition all the way back to the "off" position. Only could go back to "acc" position.


----------



## Chefmaster87 (Mar 30, 2011)

Thanks for the heads up!


----------



## Mahty (Nov 23, 2010)

UH OH I had a sticky key problem a couple of times, but managed to get unstuck with a little jiggling I hope it don't happen again. Thanks keep us posted.


----------



## jakkaroo (Feb 12, 2011)

my key gets stuck every so often it just wont turn at all then ill move the wheel till it clicks and wamo it comes out dis a weird flaw


----------



## GoldenRS (Nov 11, 2010)

robertbick said:


> I had my first issue with my Cruze yesterday. The wife took it to work (school, 1.5 miles away)and called me at home from the car saying that she could not get the key out of the ignition. I figured she didn't have it in Park and told her to try a few things. Long story short, I took my truck over there and she was right. I could not remove the key because the ignition would only go back to the "Acc" position.
> 
> I left her the truck & took the Cruze home and put it in my garage. Nothing I did helped with getting the ignition all the way off and the key out. I did not want to leave it that way too long because the dash lights were staying on. I called Onstar and after answering stupid questions like what color is your Cruze, all they could do was send a tow truck to take it to my local dealer. I told them to forget it and I will drive it there myself.
> 
> ...


The Saturn ION's had this same issue..Ours left us stranded 5 times before Saturn/GM purchased the car back under Minnesota lemon law. They did right by the whole situation in the end by obviously giving all of our payments made to GMAC back plus a $2000 customer incentive coupon that we used to purchase a 2004 fully loaded VUE V-6 AWD..But still it was a major pain in the a** in the long run dealing with the whole situation..


----------



## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

jakkaroo said:


> my key gets stuck every so often it just wont turn at all then ill move the wheel till it clicks and wamo it comes out dis a weird flaw


That is a different issue that is common in many many cars. You just have to wiggle the wheel to release the stuck ignition.


----------



## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

GoldenRS said:


> The Saturn ION's had this same issue..Ours left us stranded 5 times before Saturn/GM purchased the car back under Minnesota lemon law. They did right by the whole situation in the end by obviously giving all of our payments made to GMAC back plus a $2000 customer incentive coupon that we used to purchase a 2004 fully loaded VUE V-6 AWD..But still it was a major pain in the a** in the long run dealing with the whole situation..


Wow... 5 times? I'll have to check NY Lemon laws to see how many issues need repeating before I can get a deal like yours.


----------



## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

robertbick said:


> Wow... 5 times? I'll have to check NY Lemon laws to see how many issues need repeating before I can get a deal like yours.


This might help. When I had my "award winning", Motor Trend Car of the Year, a 1999 Chrysler 300M, I had EVERY Lemon Law article bookmarked. Glad I saved them-
*New York Lemon Law Statute*


----------



## VINdecent (Feb 24, 2011)

Same thing happened to our Cruze 3 times on 3 different occasions. Had to put the car in reverse and drive a few times and it finally came out. So far it hasn't happened again and it's been about a month...


----------



## ECOsleeper (Apr 3, 2011)

If the cruze is like other GM cars, same thing will happen when the battery dies. As an FYI I've used a golf tee in a pinch on my other car, but haven't tried it yet on the Cruze.


----------



## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

I'll have to see if a golf tee fits in there. Thanks.


----------



## alymsti169 (Feb 12, 2012)

*Thank you!*

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!!!! You just saved me a couple hundred dollars!


----------



## cruz413 (Apr 1, 2014)

I am experiencing the same situation where my key gets stuck and I have to use a screwdriver to release the key. I called Chevy and they swear this is NOT a common problem. When I call local dealers they tell me it will be anywhere from $70-$120 just to look at the car. If the problem turns out to be either the ignition or shifter it will be anywhere from $225-$410 to fix. I see some ppl have turned the wheel or put the car in reverse/drive. Is there any other solutions out there that can fix this without costing me a pretty penny?!

2011 Chevy Cruz


----------



## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

I had this same problem with much older GM vehicles with an AT, ignition switch does a bit more than shut off the engine. Also locks the steering wheel and a lever way back from the gear shift indicator that is not properly adjusted would not permit the key to return to the lock position.

The car in fact was my old 92 DeVille with the gear shift lever on the column, but removing the covers on the steering wheel, I could see both the problem and the adjustment. Can only imagine with the gear shift lever on the console, that mechanism is much longer and more complex. Ha, another reason for wanting a manual transmission.

Was not the only problem, key had that resistor chip with two contacts on it that were suppose to make a good electrical contact with two very tiny leaf contacts in the confines of the ignition switch. That was another job to remove that switch so I could bend those leafs so they would make contact. No contact no start.

So there you have it, steering wheel locked, gear shift lever locked, and problems with the anti-thief, but for my protection so nobody would steal my Caddy. But so frustrated with this, if any thieve would still my Caddy, would be doing me a great favor. Then the thief would have all these problems. 

Ha, the biggest thief you will run into is at your dealer, only offering half of the the lowest blue book value for a trade-in. But my Caddy was worth a thousand bucks when I purchased that 04 Cavalier, didn't even have to trade if off with that GM loyalty program.


----------



## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

The only time I can't turn my key all the way back on my cruze is if i didn't put the car in park when I shut it down. If your in park I would suspect a problem with the shifter. I would try shifting to reverse and back to park when this happens to see if you can then turn our key back.


----------



## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

spacedout said:


> The only time I can't turn my key all the way back on my cruze is if i didn't put the car in park when I shut it down. If your in park I would suspect a problem with the shifter. I would try shifting to reverse and back to park when this happens to see if you can then turn our key back.


Come to think of this, did work with the Caddy, moving the gear shift lever back and forth a tad in P while trying to turn the key. Used my left hand for the lever, right hand on the key. Until I got around to adjusting it.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Put the car back into gear and slam it hard into park. There's a cable from the shifter over to the ignition and it likely needs a bit of adjusting. 

The button you depress to move the shifter may also stick a little if crud gets in there - you can spray some silicone grease around the edges and work the button a few times to free it up. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com App


----------



## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Ha, while I was at it, could have dumped that steering wheel and shifter lock, but didn't, could have paid the price later with some kind of an insurance claim. 

82 Chevy P-30 doesn't even have this stuff, so when I take my grandkids camping, make darn sure the parking brakes are on and the wheels are blocked. Very easy for them or anyone to knock this thing out of park. But it didn't come equipped from the factory this way, so its okay.


----------



## MzPrice (Jan 16, 2017)

*Key Stuck 2011 Cruze LT*

I have a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT and my key keeps getting stuck in the ignition. The gear shift has been getting stuck in park off and on as well. I have an appointment for Friday with the dealership. Any suggestions until then?


----------



## BrandoFisher117 (Mar 14, 2016)

See @jblackburn 's post 2 posts ahead of yours.

"Put the car back into gear and slam it hard into park. There's a cable from the shifter over to the ignition and it likely needs a bit of adjusting. 

The button you depress to move the shifter may also stick a little if crud gets in there - you can spray some silicone grease around the edges and work the button a few times to free it up."


----------



## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

Sometimes you need to slightly rotate the steering wheel for some reason, aside from stepping on the brake.


----------



## reese3anna (Sep 4, 2018)

Do you know if I will have to pay to have this repaired if I am out of my warranty?


----------



## Ghost14 (Jan 25, 2019)

robertbick said:


> I had my first issue with my Cruze yesterday. The wife took it to work (school, 1.5 miles away)and called me at home from the car saying that she could not get the key out of the ignition. I figured she didn't have it in Park and told her to try a few things. Long story short, I took my truck over there and she was right. I could not remove the key because the ignition would only go back to the "Acc" position.
> 
> I left her the truck & took the Cruze home and put it in my garage. Nothing I did helped with getting the ignition all the way off and the key out. I did not want to leave it that way too long because the dash lights were staying on. I called Onstar and after answering stupid questions like what color is your Cruze, all they could do was send a tow truck to take it to my local dealer. I told them to forget it and I will drive it there myself.
> 
> ...





robertbick said:


> I had my first issue with my Cruze yesterday. The wife took it to work (school, 1.5 miles away)and called me at home from the car saying that she could not get the key out of the ignition. I figured she didn't have it in Park and told her to try a few things. Long story short, I took my truck over there and she was right. I could not remove the key because the ignition would only go back to the "Acc" position.
> 
> I left her the truck & took the Cruze home and put it in my garage. Nothing I did helped with getting the ignition all the way off and the key out. I did not want to leave it that way too long because the dash lights were staying on. I called Onstar and after answering stupid questions like what color is your Cruze, all they could do was send a tow truck to take it to my local dealer. I told them to forget it and I will drive it there myself.
> 
> ...


Anyone find a solution to this? I’m also having issues with trunk not opening and brake lights. I checked my fuses and batteries good. I’m at a complete loss.


----------



## Ghost14 (Jan 25, 2019)

MzPrice said:


> *Key Stuck 2011 Cruze LT*
> 
> I have a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT and my key keeps getting stuck in the ignition. The gear shift has been getting stuck in park off and on as well. I have an appointment for Friday with the dealership. Any suggestions until then?


My 2011 Chevy Cruze LS doing the same thing. Did you get this fixed?


----------

