I just had mine replaced. I was able to force the key loose, but then the solenoid was stuck in teh other position, and I could not get the car out of park. Bad design, cheap parts. Dealer fixed it under warranty. 30k miles on it at time of problem.

 

You force the key loose, and then claim bad design? Excuse me if I seem rude here, but why didn't you find out if there was a way to release they key before forcing it? You would have found out that there is a simple way to get the key out and avoided a few headaches.