Sorry to hear about the problem with the key. I purchased the same vehicle (same year and everything) a few months ago and have not had this problem. Incidentally, if you're in the market for a new car, you ought to check out the guys at Randy Adams, Inc. in New Braunfels, Texas. I have NEVER had a better car-buying experience.

Thanks for the heads up on the key thing. I'll watch out for that. Let us know if it persists or if you come to a resolution!

 

Hello all - I have a 2002 Mazda MPV and came here for help since my ignition key is stuck and will not go into the lock position so I can take the key out. My husband removed the fuse and the key did come out now, so thanks for the info. I have seen different answers to what the problem is and what needs to be replaced. How can I tell which of these things will need to be replaced? What else runs from these fuses that I will be shutting down by taking the fuse out?

Any help would be appreciated........why do these things always happen on the weekend and after the garage closes?

TIA,
Crissi

 

Huey,

As you probably can guess, I haven't been on in a while. Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that I replaced the shift column without incident. Everything went off without a hitch. I have also replaced the power window unit in the driver's door. My (and especially the wife's) confidence is growing slowly. We had to have the coil packs replaced (about $500 with the work being doneby a friend of mine).

Hope all is well with you and yours. Once again thanks for the help.

Brad

 

I was wondering if the pictures could be reposted.

Thanks,
HitchHiker

 

There is a safety interlock switch in the gear select linkage system. It prevents key removal if vehicle is not in park.
If that switch is misaligned, has failed, or its connector is dirty or has failed, the "brain thing" is tricked into thinking you're not in park, and it will prevent key removal. Switch things are cheap and easy to diagnose, "brain things" are neither; go for that switch thing.
Its called the transmission range switch (TRS) and is mechanically linked to the shift console via a cable. The link setup is adjustable at the transmission interface.
Normal linkage wear and tear can eventually de-index the linkage to the point where while the shift lever is in park, the transmission range switch position is still in the reverse sector, so the key is locked into the ignition.
So there ain't no $582 "brain thing" to it. It's mechanics, electrics, relays, and solenoids, period.
Go to another Mazda place, tell them the problem, say "Is it possible the transmission range switch adjustment is the problem?" and the chances are you won't get stung.
At worst he'll tell you the TRS, linkage cable, or whatever had to be replaced.

 

We have the same problem with the key/ ignition switch stuck in park. I've found the connector, the brown wire with white stripe (ours is a 2003), but the white connector with the 2 wires does not want to come out. Is there a release switch of some sort, or another trick I should know about? Thanks for any help anyone can give!

 

Over the weekend, I pulled the intake manifold to change the plugs on my wife's 2002 MPV (w/91k mi), and wound up doing the last part of the job in the rain, (with the - battery terminal disconnected). I finished up, and took it out for a drive, and it ran well (solving the hesitation problem). When i went to take the key out, it wouldn't budge, and I found this thread, and went through the motions re: disabling the solenoid circuit by pulling the ROOM or HAZARD or ignition key fuses, and finally, took apart the steering column and unplugged the connector to disable the TRS.

Of course, now, the power sliding doors don't work. Before I pay the $225 for a TRS switch, is there any way I can be certain that this will fix it, or any way to troubleshoot further? Is it possible that some moisture caused a short, and this will dry out in a week?

Any guidance/advice would be much appreciated.

 

Hi all, my first post here.

We just began experiencing SKS ourselves. OK, I made that up - Stuck Key Syndrome. Anyway, great info here. I've done the battery disconnect thing and now I'm going to try and give some of these solutions a go tomorrow. Will report back.

 

Following instructions here, I chose to disable the microswitch. Took about 10 minutes. Hardest part was separating the connector.

First, it's mounted to a metal holding clip. Slides out when you leverage it just enough

Second, the connector clip itself of course has a tab that has to be compressed to release connector. Bit of a push-and-slide-at-the-same-time thing.

Narrow space but a pair of needlenose and long thin screwdriver did the trick.

My wife is happy, no more stuck key. And we're not worried about the key coming out in any position. Worth saving $550+ for mechanic replacement.

Thanks everyone.

 

Thanks to the photos and instructions on this thread I was able to find the micro switch. The switch wasn't making contact with the gear shift lever because the switch had moved back a tiny bit out of position. I put my finger behind the switch and pushed it forward toward the gear shift lever and my key came right out. I then used a small dental style mirror so I could see to put a couple of drops of super glue behind the switch to hold it in place. It has been a few months now and everything is still working fine. The fix took less than 5 minutes.

By the way, to get to the switch all I did was pop off a single plastic cover on top of the steering column. It snaps off and on so I didn't even need a screwdriver.

I wanted to post this to thank you all for the photos and instructions that I found here and I'm hoping that what I have discovered will work for a few others.

All the best,
Hiker, Mazda MPV 2001