It's a 2003 MPV.

Everything else seems fine, so I was a little confused about a short causing such a specific issue without blowing a fuse, but the timing was pretty suprising. We had stopped for fuel and found a signal light out on the camper. The bulb seemd okay, so I tested some things and added the grease. Turns out it was the bulb after all, but after that moment, we couldn't remove the key and I later found a brake light out on the van itself.

 

Here is a way to eliminate everything else being a possible cause of stuck ignition key. About 5 inches straight forward of the ignition switch on the passenger side of the steering column is a connector with six wires in it. Three of them are black. First pic below is of that connector with the steering column covers off and lower panel loose and pulled down. Pic taken from seat area and you can see the relation of the connector to the ignition switch. Second pic is from the bottom with camera resting on the brake pedal. Easy access as you can see. Unplug that connector. If key can now be removed then the problem absolutely has to be a faulty park switch in the change lever assembly. If key cannot now be removed then problem is somewhere else. You could actually do a similar thing with installing a separate toggle or push button that osenessmpv used with the hazard fuse. His toggle interupted the power supply to the solenoid itself. Snipping and installing a toggle or switch at this connector wire would actually simulate the actual switch. The wire color at this connector for the park switch is Blue on 2000 and 2001 models. For 2002 and up you would want to use the Brown w/ White stripe wire. Shorting this wire to ground will simulate a Not In Park condition and not being able to remove the key. Not connected to ground would simulate an In Park condition and would allow you to remove the key. The other two colored wires are from the O/D OFF switch and is Black w/ Red stripe wire, Wire from the shift lock solenoid is White w/ Red stripe and is the solenoid that keeps you from taking out of Park position unless key is on and foot is on brake pedal. The other three wires in this connector are all black and are ground wires for each of these switches and solenoids.
Now if you do want to go ahead and fix the problem by installing a new change lever assembly then part number for 2000 and 2001 MPV's is LC62-46-10XE with MSRP of $246.90. 2002-2004 would be a LD47-46-10XB with MSRP of $250.40.
Pic from seat area
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Pic from floorboard area
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I am a new member on the forum. Thanks for all the helpful advice. The forum is a Godsend now just as I remember it when I made the decision to purchase the MPV 3 years ago. The ignition key in my wife's 2003 MPV just became stuck this afternoon. I disconnected the plug and corrected the problem. However, the power sliding rear doors do not work. I can understand the logic of these two issues being connected, but I needed a sanity check to be sure. If it is as I suspect, I assume the only way to correct it would be to change the $250 lever assembly. I am a mechanical engineer with a good bit of mechanical aptitude. What would be involved in changing this lever assembly? I guess what I am asking is if it would be too difficult for someone who is not a trained mechanic? Would you give me a basic run through of the steps it will take to change this part before I decide to take on this task myself? Thanks in advance for the info.

 

The power sliding doors get a park signal off of this switch too. Replacing the change control lever is not a difficult procedure.I did one this evening so I could get some pics and step by step. Give a check back tomorrow when I have some more time to type in a story and download the pics. Total R and R time took approximately 15-20 minutes.

 

That sounds great! Thanks a bunch! The wife will be excited to get the power doors back. Looking forward to your next post.

 

Tools you will need to replace the change control lever with park position microswitch so you can remove your key like normal people.
#2 phillips screwdriver
very small flat screwdriver or small prying device
ratchet and 4" or 6" extension
10mm, 12mm, and 21mm socket

First thing to do is to disconnect the negative battery cable and wait at least 5 minutes for the air bag backup battery to deplete stored energy. You will be removing the drivers air bag and this will make it safe to do so. Go grab a beer or something.



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Remove these small hole covers on both sides of the steering wheel with small flat screwdriver.
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Use 10mm socket to remove both of the bolt heads that are under the hole covers. If horn honks then you did not disconnect the battery cable so get-er-done.
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Pull the air bag out and turn it air bag over and use the small flat screwdriver to pry the BLACK portion of this connector up. It should pop up approx 1/4 of an inch and the connector will easily come loose. Do not pry on the orange or yellow connector part with out releasing the BLACK lock in tab or it will break!!
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Use ratchet, extension, and 21mm socket to remove the large nut in the center of the steering wheel. Turn nut counterclockwise while holding steering wheel to remove. Release the connector I am pointing to. Notice that I have marked a yellow, vertical line on the steering wheel and steering shaft. This is so you can easily reinstall the steering wheel in the original position so steering wheel is not off-center to one side. Grasp the steering wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and rock back and forth to release steering wheel from shaft. If is being stubborn then alternate between grasping at 12 and 6 o'clock position. If you have a steering wheel puller handy all the better. Make note of how the wires feed thru the hole in steering wheel as you remove. Use a piece of tape to keep the clockspring from turning.
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Now remove the steering column covers. To remove the upper cover just lift straight up. It will unsnap from the lower cover. Remove lower column cover by removing the three screws that retain it. The one more towards front of van is a different color and thread so make note of that for reinstalling.

 

Continued from last post

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From underneath, use a 12mm socket to remove this nut. Mark nuts position on the cable so it can be reinstalled in same place. You will see that the slot it goes on is elongated for adjustment. Pull off cable and set aside. This is the cable that runs to the transmission for changing from Park to Drive to Reverse, etc.
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Back up top remove the three phillips screws that hold the clockspring. Note that I have used a piece of tape to keep the clockspring from turning. Will just make it quicker to reinstall later. If you think it might have turned already then there is a reseting procedure printed right on the front. I did not disconnect the electrical connectors for this as it easily pulled toward you and off of the steering shaft. Can just let it hang there.
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3 more phillips screws to remove the combination switch. These screws are different then the ones you just removed so make a note of that. Again, did not remove connectors but easily pulled toward you and off the steering shaft.
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If you have not already unplugged this connector for the change control switches then now is the time to do that.
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Use 10mm socket to remove the two nuts on left side and one bolt on right side that retain the change control assembly to steering shaft. Pull straight off toward you and you are halfway there..

 

continued. Last one I promise.

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And there is the offending microswitch that cost you all that time and money. Looks like a little 25 cent part doesn't it. If you have a new change control assembly to install then reverse the order that you took them apart. Not all that bad eh?
Oh, and make sure to give that switch a good whack with something heavy for making you go thru all of this.

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One last diagram that may show how to release the stopper plate on the air bag connector. Make sure that when you reinstall the connectors (They are color coded and will only fit in one direction by the way), That you press that black stopper plate in untill it is flush with flat of connector or the air bag light will be on first time you start it up.

 

Not too intimidating (the wife lost all confidence in me when I showed her the pictures LOL!). Thanks for taking the time to help me out. If you were close enough, I would buy you a nice dinner somewhere.

Once again, THANKS!

Brad

 

Restore the confidence Brad by making the repair seem easy. It really is an easy thing to replace. I put in so many pics just to be as specific as possible.Thought of reducing down to just 5 as that is all you can download in a single post but thought that the extra views would help out and make much easier to do. The hardest part was probably getting the steering wheel to release from the shaft, otherwise just a matter of removing a few screws and bolts. If you have any difficulty at all then give a post back and will help all I can.
Dinner would be nice but I would rather get a post back from you saying that all went well and the MPV is back to normal. That would be a much greater reward to me.