key stuck and gear selector sticks in park

wonlov100 · Post by **wonlov100** » 14 Jul 2005, 09:34

i have been unable to shift my car out of park without using the shiftlock release for about a week. now my key is stuck in the ignition. can anyone help? thanks.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 14 Jul 2005, 11:32

I have a 2000 S70 had a similar problem when my key would not return to the O position so I can remove it after turning off the ignition, putting the gear in Park and putting on the parking brake. The furthest the key would go was in between O and I. I could go all the way to II and turn on the ignition. This happened when I was quite low on gas and thought it might be a precaution for low gas. So I got gas, but still it wouldn't budge. So I turned the ignition on and off again, and then it came out.

However, I have been low on gas recently, and my key and the ignition did not have any problems. Tempermental.

Jot · Post by **Jot** » 14 Jul 2005, 16:09

Go to the top o this forum. "Volvo Repair Database" scroll down to "PNP Switch"

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 15 Jul 2005, 06:00

Another possibility is the mechanical portion of the ignition switch.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 18 Jul 2005, 14:46

i found out what was keeping the key in the ignition. in order to get my car out of park i had to press the shiftlock overide button. from overuse this button did not spring up and therefore the key would not rotate to the release position. as far as the reason i have to use the overide button in the first place is still a mystery. i am taking her to the volvo service dept.

northeastfreak · Post by **northeastfreak** » 13 Jul 2009, 17:08

My key was stuck in my ignition for a few days before reading this thread. I pulled up on the Shift-Lock-Override with my fingers and the key came right out.
I have never used the override before and was probably sticky due to years of coffee being spilled into it. The button was up so high that it didn't even seem to move when I pulled on it, but it let the key out anyhow. The tollerance between, key or no key must be tiny.

alvinlee · Post by **alvinlee** » 20 Jun 2010, 21:09

I came across the same problem today. I don't remember why I pressed the Shift Lock Overide button but I did. The key got stuck for a good part of the day. However, it came out when I got home. After reading this post, I experimented with pressing the button and it locked the key in the ignition almost every time. Thanks for this forum and the postings. It saves me a trip to the shop and at least a hundred dollar just to have to it looked at.

hornetv6 · Post by **hornetv6** » 24 Jun 2010, 20:56

This also happened to me. The culprit turned out to be the button on the gear shit you press to move the lever out of park, It was broken around the pivot. I ordered a new one from euro parts and the problem went away. It is very simple to replace. Just follow the instructions that come with the repair kit.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 25 Jun 2010, 12:24

wonlov100 wrote:i have been unable to shift my car out of park without using the shiftlock release for about a week. now my key is stuck in the ignition. can anyone help? thanks.

Cars with automatics are trying to keep you safe. They've been designed with an interlock that requires
the driver to depress the brake in order to get the shifter out of park. It's a simple electrical circuit that
has three basic components: A switch at the brake pedal, a switch in the shifter and a solenoid in the shifter.

You didn't tell us what you drive, but I'm posting some '98 70 series info.
They're all very similar up to 2000. Here are the relevent diagrams:

98 x70 Shifter Lock diagram.pdf: (88.69 KiB) Downloaded 888 times

98 x70 Shifter Lock Component Locations.pdf: (125.4 KiB) Downloaded 657 times

When the key is on, relay 2/6 is energized ( That's the relay numbered 106 ) and power passed
through C/29 ( fuse #29) and then becomes present at the brake pedal switch, 3/9.
When you hit the pedal, it's next stop is the unmarked normally closed switch in the shifter.
It's there to be sure that solenoid 8/36 doesn't get triggered everytime you hit the brakes.
It only passes 12 volts on to solenoid 8/36 when the shifter is in park.
The solenoid's last a lot longer that way.

It could be the relay or the fuse, but other things get power from those and you'd probably notice.
The switches are the parts that fail most commonly. If either of these switches is inop, the solenoid
won't get triggered and the shifter remains locked.

Often, the one in the shifter ( that's sometimes referred to as a "microswitch") is the culprit.
IPD sells a replacement and has a great picture! Here ya go:
http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-S70V70-1998 ... -813-3109/

The button is there in case something electrical goes wiggy.
It's not unusual for it to get gummed up and not release all the way, keeping your key hostage.
Be sure that it's pulled all the way up and you should get your key back.

s60turbo · Post by **s60turbo** » 09 Jul 2010, 21:11

Happened the same thing to me today ...spill coffee very bad cup holders place anyway the mechanic open the board of the shaft spray windex then cleaner then air compressor to clean and now its fine.