[sammyd173]

2005 Malibu Maxx.

I would shift the car to park, key would not come out. Would have wiggle the key excessively until it would click over further counter clockwise and then release. WD 40 into the cylinder did not help at all.

Also the button you squeeze to pull the shifter out of park was very sticky.

I found a TSB on the issue which required pulling out the center console and adjusting the park lock cable mechanism, which is cable that goes into the side of the ignition cylinder. It looked like a lot of work. Also, that turned out not to be the issue.

Instead I pulled out the little coin (pen?) tray directly infront of the shifter. This reveals the cable in question. The raw cable is exposed before going into the outer cable.

I could see that the cable was getting hung up and not releasing smoothly.

Put a little WD 40 where the cable/ wire goes into the outer cable. Now the key releases perfectly, and the release for the gear shifter is much better. I could also swear that my MPG's and horsepower increased, j/k!

I hope this helps anyone else with this infuriating problem.

 

[DrivenDaily]

Now there's an unusual post! Problem AND solution in one!

Thanks for the input and hope you stick around.

 

[Starship]

Really useful information. I'd like to point out that WD-40 is good for the water displament application but is a poor substitite for a lube (I should know, I use it to dry out wet skate bearings in a pinch).

 

[RalphP]

There used to be a Teflon(tm) spray that worked great for cables, but I don't know where to get any anymore (back in the 80's I used to buy it at the Black & Decker repair depot in town.)

Since I can't find that, I usually use a silicone spray (silicon? Not sure which variant). Latest purchase was a can from Liquid Wrench.

Don't like WD40 when used as a lubricant. Up until recently, they didn't even CLAIM it was a lubricant, but the cans now claim lubrication capabilities.

See, it's mostly the carrier that's lubricating - any long term is probably due to washing crud out of the way.

RwP

 

[alcantar06]

Thank you so much for your solution. This worked perfectly!!!

Regards.

 

[dpfeiff12]

I have an '09 Malibu and I had a similar issue. My solution was a bit different though. I had to take off the plastic bit that goes around the shifter, the first piece of plastic he removes here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8QIamwc4hI

Then if you look to the drivers right of the shifter there is a cable tension adjust knob. I had to release (turn clockwise) this knob a few times. This lets the pin that release the shift button all the way out rise all the way to the top. This pin can be seen from the passenger side if you take off the side panel to this center dash area. I also sprayed everything around these mechanisms with WD40 (I didn't have silicon spray) to make sure nothing is getting hung up. This seems to have fixed this really annoying problem and didn't take long even with me needing to figure out my own problem.

 

[kmartp]

Similar issue, similar solution;
2005 Maxx LS; dealer did the Trans Recall repair, then the "key locked" issue occurred. Dealer (Momentum Chevrolet in San Jose) claimed "we didn't touch it, we won't fix it (unless you pay us)". So...
What happened is that when they repaired the transmission shift cable, they removed the wiring harness. When they replaced the wiring harness they did it under the shift cable but *over* the key interlock cable. removing the little cup in front of the shifter and adjusting the wiring harness fixed the problem.

Thanks for leading me to this solution!

 

[itfarmer]

Sammy, Thanks so much for this info. My key was doing something similar where I could almost turn it off, but the key would not fully move to the off position.

for a 2010 Malibu, there is a small plastic panel on the passenger side that is removable without tools. Once off, you can see the cable running from the shifter to the key switch. The plastic piece which attaches to the shifter had been stuck out of proper position. Once I jiggled the wire and moved the plastic piece, my keys came right out.

Thanks So Much !

 

[HandyJack]

Hello,

I had a problem with the car not turning all the way off. The engine would shut off but would not turn far enough to turn off the accessories and that would drain the battery. I replaced the key cylinder and that didn't fix it. I replaced the ignition switch and that didn't help. Some one mentioned that the shift knob has linkage that needs to completely return in order for a cable to pull a lock in the ignition switch that releases the key. It is called the Chevrolet Malibu Shift Interlock Solenoid. Once I replaced that part, everything worked fine. I put the old key cylinder and ignition switch back in and plan to try returning the parts I bought. You should be able to Google the part and see what it looks like.

I had a problem where I could not turn the key all the way to the off position so the accessories would not shut off and the battery would drain. I bought a new key cylinder and that didn't fix it so I bought a new ignition switch and that didn't fix it either. It turned out to be the Chevrolet Malibu Shift Interlock Solenoid. I replaced that and everything worked again. it was a 2003 car with over 200,000 miles.