Key stuck, engine light on, no 1st gear?

[WHOSNEXT]

This has happened to me for the last 3 weeks and then goes away? Every time I make appointment @ dealer it just goes away? Any ideas?

[Captain of the Titanic]

I had this exact problem with my '99 Tahoe. I ended up getting the ignition replaced before it was fixed. I had to hammer on the dealer quite a bit, but they eventually gave in, even though I couldn't reproduce it at the shop. If a Chevy dealer will give in after a few times at it, a Hummer dealer should just say "Okay, No Problem".

Be careful, mine eventually got so out-of-whack it wasn't turning off the security and wouldn't start.

Good Luck

[HUMTECH]

Take it in and tell them exactly what you wrote here. They will scan it and find A pile of transmission codes and replace the ignition switch. Ignition switch is dropping ign 1 voltage signal to transmission causing your problems which will sometimes be accompanied by the key not turning back to lock position.

[obzidian]

I can understand the ignition switch being faulty, but what do you mean by no first gear?

[HUMTECH]

If the trans module loses ign 1 power the transmission will go into limp mode

[WHOSNEXT]

Originally Posted by HUMTECH

Take it in and tell them exactly what you wrote here. They will scan it and find A pile of transmission codes and replace the ignition switch. Ignition switch is dropping ign 1 voltage signal to transmission causing your problems which will sometimes be accompanied by the key not turning back to lock position.

just got off the phone with dealer, told them what was happining and before i could get it all out he said ignition switch....bring it in today and you will have it today....wow great service.

[obzidian]

right, but it's not like, for example, burned out a clutch pack/seal/solenoid and have no first gear?

good info though!

[IRA51]

Dealer will fix it free .be glad you don't have a for Focus the ignition switch's on them is a real joke .

[dkhummerh2]

yeah, i had a silverado that was like that. Like the captain said above, my got so bad that the ani-theft would go off and I would be stuck for about an hour until it reset. I paid $300+ to have the ignition replaced about 2 years ago. So I am sure that they are aware of the problem, since 3 peiople on this thread alone have had the problem. So I wouldn't pay a dime for it, they will fix it, or they should atleast.
best of luck
dk

[dkhummerh2]

yeah, i had a silverado that was like that. Like the captain said above, my got so bad that the ani-theft would go off and I would be stuck for about an hour until it reset. I paid $300+ to have the ignition replaced about 2 years ago. So I am sure that they are aware of the problem, since 3 peiople on this thread alone have had the problem. So I wouldn't pay a dime for it, they will fix it, or they should atleast.
best of luck
dk

[Microday]

Same issue last week....pushed the OnStar button and they determined I had low voltage issues....Dealer new the problem immediately and is replacing the ignition.

[kalantar]

Got home tonight and my ignition key will not come out? Car is out of factory warranty but I have an extended warranty with 200 deductible?
Should I fix it myself?

It drives and shifts just fine but when time comes to get the key out, no luck.
And the push button on the gear shifter works just fine as well.

Any suggestions on what to do? How do I remove the console to see if a wire is loose underneath or should I just take it to the dealer.

It is an 04 with 45k miles on it and never had this issue before.

[SummitUp]

The following should be helpful (it's a copy and past from one of the Hummer forums I belong to, unfortunately I forget who the poster was).

You might consider printing this out and keep it in your glove box:

==================================================

"There are three ignition problems that appear to occur rather often with H2's. These are:

The key will not come out of the ignition and therefore not allow you to park the truck.

The Truck will not shift out of PARK resulting in your inability to move or even easily tow the truck.
The truck either discharges its battery when the key is removed and/or the truck will not crank over and/or the truck will start and then just stall again.

Needless to say when any of these happen it is VERY aggravating.

There are some solutions to these problems to get you out of a bind. It is also pretty easy to fix the truck. Some can be done with no parts, the other needs a special part that cost about $40 at the dealership.

Tool list

Emergency tools-

For emergencies all you need is a Phillips screw driver. KEEP THIS TOOL IN YOUR TRUCK AT ALL TIMES. I suggest you buy a uni-tool and keep it in the truck.
It is also suggested to keep a small drill bit - 1/8 inch

Repair tools-

Phillps screw driver (the same as used for emergencies)
An allan wrench set
A knife
Some tape or preferably some small butt splices and a crimper
Some 24 ga. Stranded wire

Problem - I Can?t get the key out of the ignition!

Here is the procedure:

KEY PROBLEM ? emergency extraction

For the key problem, you have two options. The first is to remove the bottom part of the steering wheel column cover. The second is to drill a small hole in the cover in a specific place (don?t worry the hole is on the bottom and you cant see it). The steering wheel column cover is the gray-black thing that covers the steering column between the wheel and the dash. It tilts up and down with the steering wheel.

If you don?t have the drill bit here is how to get the cover off:

Put the steering wheel tilt to the highest position.
Remove the steering wheel tilt knob by pulling it straight out.
Press the seam of the top and bottom plastic pieces of the cover inwards. You need to press hard enough to cause them to deflect enough to release the locking tabs that are on the inside which hold the halves together. Use this procedure on all sides, one at a time. They WILL come apart. If you can?t get them apart this way then you can break the part but it will cost you about $100 to get replacement parts.

If you have a drill bit (preferred method):

Put the steering wheel to the full up position:
Look under the steering wheel on the right side and look for an oval blemish in the plastic. This blemish is the spot where a plug was put into the plastic mold resulting in an imperfect surface finish.

Use the drill bit to bore a hole into the exact dead center of the oval. You can be off center a bit but try to keep it close to center. Once the hole is drilled adjust the drill angle so that you can insert the drill bit straight up (rather than perpendicular to the plastic which is a curved surface).

Once you have the hole drilled or you have the cover off:
There is a gold /silver button at the bottom of the steering wheel assembly that is either in direct line with the hole you drill or can be seen just behind and under the key. This button needs to be pushed up. Once pushed they key will come out.

If you have the drill hole you can use a tooth pick, paper clip or the drill bit to push the button. The nice thing is that the button is in direct line with the hole so you don?t have to fish around very much. You can feel when you are pushing the button as it has about ?? of travel and has a weak spring trying to push back.

Now that the key is out, what next?
The problem will still exist next time you shut off the truck so keep the cover off or keep the drill bit handy.
To fix the cause of the problem you need to do the work described in the next section.


I can?t get the truck out of park!

Park Problem ? Emergency procedure

This is a more serious problem as the truck is totally immobilized. You will have to do something if you want to get to where you are going. Fortunately, the solution is very easy. Note that The park problem can occur at the same time as the key problem so you may have to do both to get out of a bind . The repair of the shifter as described below will fix both problems.
Here is the procedure

Open the center console glove box and using the Phillips screw driver, remove the 4 screws that hold the center console "glove box" in place. The box is the tub right under the flip up door. Remove the tub then stick you hand into the hole toward the shifter. While jiggling the shifter feel where the bottom of the shifter goes. Somewhere near the bottom, you will feel a round mushroom shaped thing, with the round part facing the PASSENGER SIDE. If you press on this, the shifter can now be shifted out of park using the regular method. You need to hold the button down when you want to shift out of park. The lock is only for park so all other gears are ok from this point on. Remember- every time you go to park position, the shifter will lock and you need to access the ?button? each time to get out of park.


What is the cause of the problem?

One frequent cause is a broken wire that goes to the shifter (the break is located in the center console). These wires control both the key removal and the parking lock. If you have either of these problems then have the cable checked or you can fix it your self as indicated below:

Shifter stuck or key stuck repair
Put the parking brake on
Make sure the engine is off
Put the shifter into 1 (farthest back position)
Remove the shifter handle. To do this you need to loosen the allan screw (it is actually a torx screw but an allan wrench will work fine) There is a screw on the front of the shifter that needs to be loosened, Pop the shifter console off the center console. There are 4 very hard to release metal clips that hold the shifter cover on. To release, you need to pull straight up on the shifter cover. Beware, you might break the plastic around the clips so be careful. The cover does come off perhaps with a lot of effort. If you are worried about breaking it go to a dealer for the repair.
Once the cover is off you will see a cable and connector near a mushroom shaped button. This button is the one you pressed to release the shifter from park. Either the connector is off or the wires to the connector are broken due to the flex back and forth that occurs during movement of the shift lever. Find which wire is broken and fix it. It is preferable to use a small gauge, highly flexible wire to extend the harness to connector cable length. It is also preferable to use butt splices rather then solder joints.

Test it and then put everything back together.

Problem

I start my truck and it stalls immediately
OR
The truck just turns over but will not start
OR
I turn the key and truck wont turn over
OR
I took the key out last night and the truck batteries are dead in the morning but I did not leave a light on, nor was there anything plugged in the lighter or accessory jacks

The problem is most likely a defective ignition switch. You will need to get a new one. The part number is GM# 15242754. It is a common GM part and most dealers will carry it as a stock item. Cost is about $40.

Procedure:

Remove the negative connection to the truck battery.
Remove the bottom cover of the steering wheel column cover as described in the stuck key problem procedure.
The key switch assembly can be seen on the bottom right side of the steering column.
You need to unplug the switch and then press in the spring loaded tabs that hold the switch in place to slide it out. There are several cables that may have to be moved around a bit but DO NOT UNPLUG THE LITTLE WIRES THAT GO TO THE TOP OF THE COLUMN If you do so, the truck will think this is a theft attempt and set the security alarm.

Once the switch is out, get the new switch and make sure the gear of the new switch is in the same position as the one that was removed. Put the new switch into the proper position and plug in the connector

Hook up the battery

Test that the switch works. If the gear is in the wrong position, the key either won?t come out or the key will not move to the start position (the spring loaded start position). In either of these cases you need to remove the switch and re-position the gear.
Put the bottom cover back on the steering wheel column. Be sure to have the pieces aligned properly as it you don?t, you can screw up the locking tabs."

[kalantar]

Thanks!

[Dug]

Im going through this crap again. Put in new switch and it still blows fuse (ign 0) . My ass is starting to pound ! Hopefully I can finger this out soon.