I have gotten this same exact problem, however, it has happened in my 7th gen. I just put in an amp and of course had the battery disconnected (got the radio lock code reminder, dont have the code though...) and had the shifter in position 1 while the engine was off. I went to put the car all back to together, everything seemed fine. I put the key in to test out my new system and got the stupid code (where can i find it?) but more importantly i could not take the key out.

Now i did some inspecting and found that when my removable shifter **** is OFF the key can release, but when screwed in correctly it cannot be released. there is a compressing mechanism that compresses when the **** is put on, i believe this is the problem but dont know where to go from there? ANY help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks to everyone for the previous posts! They definitely helped me with troubleshooting.

I had the same problem--key wouldn't return to zero position. And while I did eventually get the key out, the car electronics stayed on. If I put the key back in and tried to start the car, the starter would engage, but the car wouldn't turn over.

I tried WD-40 and could then get the key in/out easily and start the car, but I still couldn't get the key to the zero position or turn off ALL of the electronics. Strangely, this time everything on the dash turned off--radio, ventilation, etc--but the open-door chime still sounded with the key out. Also, I could turn the ignition with the key just halfway in.

Dharwood had mentioned the "AT transmission shifter position" and the park switch perhaps being in a constant state of open, so I thought maybe changing the "park state" a little bit might help goose the indicator into knowing its true state.

I typically park the car without the parking brake engaged, despite a slight incline in our driveway. So to change it up, I started the car, reversed a foot, drove forward a foot, and engaged the parking brake before shifting the car to Park. This took some pressure off the transmission in the park state.

After doing that (set up by the WD-40) I was finally able to return the key to the zero position, turn the car completely off, and remove the key. Problem solved.

Thanks again everyone--your posts saved me a lot of grief and $100 in parts.