Hey everyone, I sure hope that you can help me on this one… I drive a 1990 teg, RS, it’s an automatic… now, usually the key won’t come out unless the car is in park, and the little box around the “P” on my dash lights up… well, when i put the car in park and turn off my ignition…the little light on my dash usually doesn’t light up… and until it lights up I Can’t get my key out… it’ll usually light up after 5 or 10 mins but it’s getting worse… any ideas?!? please help, i was late for an exam because of this…
Hmmmm I’m not sure but I think this may have something to do with your shift linkage. Under the gearbox there’s a cable with a tightening screw and maybe it got misaligned. Do you have a service manual ? Please tell me you do because they tell you how to get to it in there much better than I possibly can.
I have that problem as well ocasionally but I just push the shifter a little further without the button engaged
always solves the problem for me
usually happens when it it sold out though
i have the same problem but havent tried to fix it yet. do a search for ‘key’ there are a few suggestions in my thread
I’ve had this same problem when it starts to get cold out. It drives me nuts. Had to leave the key in the car one time to make class on time. Only thing I can suggest is when you put it in park don’t let go of the shift lock button! This way you can keep wiggling between park and reverse til the park lights up. If anyone can solve this please let me know! pedro_armstrong@hotmail.com
This happened to my old 323 before…It had some problems with the shifter and the key wouldn’t come out sometimes. I found out that even when the marker is on “P” it sometimes isn’t really in “P”, so the parking pawl doesn’t come down to lock the transmission. I just played around with the shifter until the key came out.
hey thats a common honda problem. its the relay for the shift lock thingy. they go out often. take it to honda/acura. and its like 70 bucks to replace. mine does it all the time. but its not that bigga deal to me so i just leave it for now. especially since i just had to buy a new tranny 
ack 70 bucks… i think i can live with it, unless it worsens over time? if so is there anything i can do to not make it worse? it hasnt happened for a few days…
It will take longer to get into park. and for the lite to come on. but i dont think its gonna like not go into park. not anytime soon at least. mines been like that for about 6 mos
Hey thanks for your help you guys, I do have a service manual i was reading through it, i was just wondering if you guys knew anything in your experience…
i havent tried to fix my problem yet, but i did realize that after a year of ownership, this problem did not arise until i started using s4/s3 all the time. i dont know whether the extra shifting is at all related but i think its something to note of… archivethis
The part is called a neutral safety switch, I believe. I had the same problem. I took it to the dealer, and the first time they misdiagnosed it as a bad ignition switch. Second time, they got it right… they replaced the neutral safet switch and my tegra hasn’t had the sticking-key-syndrome again. This problem seems to show up in the winter, my key started sticking on me this time last year.
kai how much did this cost? can we do this ourselves?
I think it costed between $75 and $100. You should be able to do it yourself for much cheaper, though. I believe the switch has a couple screws holding it on, then you just unplug it+ reattach a new one. You will want a Helm’s manual before you try it, though, because it knows better than I do. I just let my dealer (Karen Radley Acura/VW) do it, they do good work and they dont screw with my car.
ya im beginning to think you are right. the other day while i was stopped in s4, i went up to reverse and then it happened again, no response. no way to shift into any gear except restart the engine a few times. right in the middle of the parking lot with someone behind me! how embarrassing… well im gonna have to give this one a higher priority on my todo list now. *sigh… so many things to fix. but its ok =P
kai-
NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH
Vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions require the use of a neutral safety switch. The neutral safety switch prevents the engine from being started unless the shift selector of the transmission is in NEUTRAL or PARK. It disables the starting circuit when the transmission is in gear. This safety feature prevents the accidental starting of a vehicle in gear, which can result in personal injury and vehicle damage.
i dont think its it cuz i can still turn on the engine, thats the only way i can get it into the park position to take out the key. ive narrowed it down to these according to the haynes manual-
shift cable
key interlock solenoid
shift lock solenoid
im gonna try and adjust them like they said first. it seems relatively easy.
Yeah, but that switch is responsible for telling the car if the tranny’s in park. If it is not saying “park” the car thinks it is still in gear. Of course, you can’t take out the key when it is in gear. I am pretty sure it is the N.S.S.
…nm