Key Stuck in Ignition Problem
07-02-2007, 11:32 AM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: 05-01-2006
Location: New London, CT USA
Posts: 2,507
Sorry for the brief hijack, but it is relevant to the OP's last line of thought......
I just now got off the phone with my dad's Chevy dealer and they said the same thing, the Uplander is going away. Might be a good time to get one if they are giving them away, but his dealer too said they were not selling.
Gm wants those buyers to go into the crossover vehicles they are in the midst of producing, the Arcadia, the Enclave, and the future Chevy. SUV sales are down and GM is scramblin'. Meanwhile I do find the minivan segment to be alive and well in the population. The Odyssey forum is fairly active with lots of folks from Canada and the US sharing great info.
I' still sad that GM let itself lag behind in that once active market segment. We really liked out Safari AWD and would have replaced it had it existed and been modernized a bit. You know, natural engineering evolution within a species, like happens to all platforms IF the auto maker cares..........
I forgot the Saturn Minvan, same platform. If GM is discontinuing the Chevy, I'm betting it's curtains for all their minivans.
I just now got off the phone with my dad's Chevy dealer and they said the same thing, the Uplander is going away. Might be a good time to get one if they are giving them away, but his dealer too said they were not selling.
Gm wants those buyers to go into the crossover vehicles they are in the midst of producing, the Arcadia, the Enclave, and the future Chevy. SUV sales are down and GM is scramblin'. Meanwhile I do find the minivan segment to be alive and well in the population. The Odyssey forum is fairly active with lots of folks from Canada and the US sharing great info.
I' still sad that GM let itself lag behind in that once active market segment. We really liked out Safari AWD and would have replaced it had it existed and been modernized a bit. You know, natural engineering evolution within a species, like happens to all platforms IF the auto maker cares..........
I forgot the Saturn Minvan, same platform. If GM is discontinuing the Chevy, I'm betting it's curtains for all their minivans.
07-02-2007, 01:42 PM
#12
Platinum Member
Join Date: 05-09-2006
Location: "Upland" Mesa, Arizona
Posts: 6,804
06-29-2011, 09:35 AM
#13
New Member
Join Date: 06-25-2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 20
Everything Harpozep and Snoopy said is true. But sometimes, as with my HHR,
the ignition locks in the ON position, and you can push that button/lever under
the steering column all you want and the key isn't going anywhere!
I had to pull the fuel pump fuze, then disconnect the negative cable on my
battery just so I could turn the car off and park it overnight before taking it to
the dealer the next day. Then had to leave the car all that day and overnight
cuz they didn't have the part.
Its fixed now, but now I have to wait for my ride to take me to pick up the car
after work. I AM SO GLAD to hear they've discontinued that part (on future cars
I'm sure). Should have been fixed YEARS ago.
But yes, otherwise I love my HHR to pieces!!!
the ignition locks in the ON position, and you can push that button/lever under
the steering column all you want and the key isn't going anywhere!
I had to pull the fuel pump fuze, then disconnect the negative cable on my
battery just so I could turn the car off and park it overnight before taking it to
the dealer the next day. Then had to leave the car all that day and overnight
cuz they didn't have the part.
Its fixed now, but now I have to wait for my ride to take me to pick up the car
after work. I AM SO GLAD to hear they've discontinued that part (on future cars
I'm sure). Should have been fixed YEARS ago.
But yes, otherwise I love my HHR to pieces!!!
06-29-2011, 11:30 AM
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: 06-16-2011
Location: Rocheter, NY
Posts: 95
While this is an old, revived thread I'll throw this in. My 2004 Saturn ION - a car/series I love & a big reason I liked the HHR as it uses the same platform - has had an ongoing issue with the ignition key. The original did get stuck after 80,000 miles and had to be forced out (by the dealer) when I couldn't remove it. It did turn to start & stop engine but would not come out after placing everything in the proper spot to allow it. It had been touchy before but a slight turn of the wheel seemed to handle it until that day. After they extracted it and replaced it it has gone to 113,000 but still occasionally will balk at turning or removal. Never bad enough to take it in but frustrating at the time it happens. Very random so until it gets chronic or gets stuck again I'm living with it. Also have the occasional "misfire" of the keyless entry fob - that too is so intermittent that I just change my position and/or use the keylock and all is well. So these issues appear to be across brands and vehicles not a HHR problem specifically. Other than noting that it exists it really hasn't been a big thing on the Saturn.
06-29-2011, 12:05 PM
#17
Founding Member
Join Date: 11-23-2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 8,210
I didn't even notice.But I do see he has posted about this here also:
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/show...t=32372&page=2
Last edited by ChevyMgr; 06-29-2011 at 03:04 PM.
02-21-2012, 11:40 AM
#18
Join Date: 05-30-2010
Location: Florida
Posts: 8
Alright, bumping this thread up. I came across this thread last night on my phone while trying to find an answer on Google to what exactly this "button" is. I searched this entire thread, and found nothing of value. My HHR didn't come with an owner's manual since it was used. I had downloaded the owner's manual to my computer, but I was far from home. So my phone was my only option.
For those of you who need to find the "button" for the manual key release, I found out that it isn't a button, or a lever. It is a plunger, as said in the owner's manual (2010 HHR). I had to learn this information from a Chevy Cobalt forum, which said it looked like a coil. If anyone has a flashlight, they can see a white plunger piece with a spring over to the upper left side when looking up where the access hole is underneath the steering wheel column. It is that white plunger that one pushes down on top, the top of the plunger pointing to the right, (The "button" is not very tall or big) to release the key.
I am including a YouTube link of my out of focus camera phone video of this "button" because although out of focus, it is better than nothing, and the phone had a light on it.
http://youtu.be/xKNJ_7-yeEY
So now hopefully someone, like me, can stop spending an hour trying to find information on the internet about the key release on the Chevy HHR on our smartphones while the car is running and not know where this plunger is at due to lack of information. For me, it sounded like the button was "right there" according to other people across the net, just hidden under the access panel like a big Staples Easy Button, until I found out just how hard it was to locate it in the dark and trying to feel around. I was pressing on this black plastic piece for the most part, and when I read, "Lever", I tried to pull that black plastic piece towards me with all my might. That wasn't the key release.
My shifter knob recognized that the car was in park, and the shifter knob button wasn't pressed all the way in, so it wasn't the shifter that was the problem. After some more research, I've concluded that the ignition lock cylinder seized up, and it will be around $300 to get it fixed near Jacksonville FL at the dealership. No other person can do this because they say the car is too new, and there are no generic parts out yet. This is as of February 21, 2012. I believe this is the ignition lock cylinder that is the problem because even after pulling on this plunger, the key still will not turn towards me. It will turn towards the engine to start the car, but it will not turn towards me to turn the car off and be released. It won't even budge in that direction. So even though I have found the plunger that releases the key, the key won't come out. This after the fact in which two times I thought I had simply forgotten to turn the car off and managed to pull the key out with a little effort before it seized up completely.
For those of you who need to find the "button" for the manual key release, I found out that it isn't a button, or a lever. It is a plunger, as said in the owner's manual (2010 HHR). I had to learn this information from a Chevy Cobalt forum, which said it looked like a coil. If anyone has a flashlight, they can see a white plunger piece with a spring over to the upper left side when looking up where the access hole is underneath the steering wheel column. It is that white plunger that one pushes down on top, the top of the plunger pointing to the right, (The "button" is not very tall or big) to release the key.
I am including a YouTube link of my out of focus camera phone video of this "button" because although out of focus, it is better than nothing, and the phone had a light on it.
http://youtu.be/xKNJ_7-yeEY
So now hopefully someone, like me, can stop spending an hour trying to find information on the internet about the key release on the Chevy HHR on our smartphones while the car is running and not know where this plunger is at due to lack of information. For me, it sounded like the button was "right there" according to other people across the net, just hidden under the access panel like a big Staples Easy Button, until I found out just how hard it was to locate it in the dark and trying to feel around. I was pressing on this black plastic piece for the most part, and when I read, "Lever", I tried to pull that black plastic piece towards me with all my might. That wasn't the key release.
My shifter knob recognized that the car was in park, and the shifter knob button wasn't pressed all the way in, so it wasn't the shifter that was the problem. After some more research, I've concluded that the ignition lock cylinder seized up, and it will be around $300 to get it fixed near Jacksonville FL at the dealership. No other person can do this because they say the car is too new, and there are no generic parts out yet. This is as of February 21, 2012. I believe this is the ignition lock cylinder that is the problem because even after pulling on this plunger, the key still will not turn towards me. It will turn towards the engine to start the car, but it will not turn towards me to turn the car off and be released. It won't even budge in that direction. So even though I have found the plunger that releases the key, the key won't come out. This after the fact in which two times I thought I had simply forgotten to turn the car off and managed to pull the key out with a little effort before it seized up completely.
Last edited by Astanax; 02-22-2012 at 02:17 AM. Reason: Updating with a YouTube video
02-21-2012, 11:55 AM
#19
Premium Member
Join Date: 10-09-2010
Location: Tacoma
Posts: 14,420
This is a deal that Gm should be fixing, My buddy 08 banshee had it happen to him yesterday, car only has 31k on it, was a few months older than 3 they stole 325.00 to fix it, whats up with that, I didn't see it listed in the brochure.
02-21-2012, 12:04 PM
#20
Deceased
Join Date: 06-30-2010
Location: Kannapolis NC
Posts: 25,739
Like I've said before, there are two kinds of HHR owners. Those who've had their key get stuck, and those who have yet to get their key stuck.
So far I'm two for three, just one of those deals. It could be worse, people who have old British sports cars seem to be perversely proud of their electrical systems that go up in smoke if they do something like turning on the lights when its dark outside.
So far I'm two for three, just one of those deals. It could be worse, people who have old British sports cars seem to be perversely proud of their electrical systems that go up in smoke if they do something like turning on the lights when its dark outside.