Q: Key won't come out of the ignition, clicking sound while pressing brakes

asked by on May 24, 2016

The key in my car won't come out of the ignition. I managed to take it out by using the release lever. Why does this happen? Also, there was a clicking sound while I was pressing brakes. After that the key was stuck again. What should I do to prevent this from happening again?

The most common cause of this is a failing ignition switch.

For the ignition switch to allow the key to turn, it looks for the car to be in Park or Neutral. When the car isn’t in either of those gears, the key should not turn. When the ignition switch begins to fail, it can’t detect what gear the transmission is in and locks the key. A qualified Technician like the ones at YourMechanic will be able to diagnose your stuck key issue and perform any necessary repairs.

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