If gear shift button gets stuck and key won't come out of ignition--what do you do?

Asked by Camieg15 Mar 15, 2015 at 07:13 PM about the 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser Limited Turbo Wagon FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

4 Answers

150

Press the brake and put in gear them put back in park try to take key make sure or aren't turning key to far back.

14 people found this helpful.
915

My PT has had the same problem for years but hasn't affected how the car runs. When I put the car into park, the button stays depressed and the key cannot be removed unless I pull back on the shift without depressing the button. As I pull back on the shift, the button pops up and the car is now safely in park and the key can be removed. Hope your solution is as easy to resolve as mine was and is. Good luck.

13 people found this helpful.
160

If shifter button sticks and wiggling it no longer gets it to pop up, you'll need to remove the console to get at the problem (search Youtube). Examine the nylon track that the shifter travels in. There is a horizontal pin with a spring that pushes it up against that track. The slot at the Park position should let the pin pop up into it but it develops a burr that traps the pin. Clean that burr off with a very sharp blade and it's fixed.

16 people found this helpful.
20

just a quick tap backwards on the shift lever is all that I needed to do.

2 people found this helpful.

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