This was the workaround I needed. Worked on my Chevy Captiva 2014. Was very simple to do. Anyone else with this problem can easily do this to avoid leaving the key in/killing your battery.
Good luck on getting the dealer to fix it. Had mine in 3 times for this exact problem, and it was never fixed. Now it's out of warranty so I'm living with it. I find that pulling the gear lever back out of park, and then slamming it into park frees the key right up.
Thank you for sharing @Montman. This makes sense as I've noticed I'll hear the release trigger after putting it in park. If I don't hear it I know the key isn't coming out I'll give this a try as I hate having the casing unscrewed. It obstructs my mileage and speed indicators.
Thanks for the video it was helpful. I found an easier way tilt the wheel all the way down put your forefinger in the right side near the leather flap push it back until you feel that plunger twist the key and it pops right out nice simple
This problem is usually caused by a defective shifter assembly on the console. The assembly you use to put car in gear. If you buy the assembly from the dealer or most shops plus labor can easily cost over $700. Buy the part on eBay for new or used for a fraction of the price and install yourself or pay a shop to install. Will save hundreds.
I appreciate all of the comments friends. As an update to this post, in mid-2020 I had the Transmission Control Module replaced at a Chevy dealership. This corrected my issue of the keys locking in the ignition. I had taken the vehicle in for diagnosis testing on what I considered to be a separate issue. Repair cost of this was over $1000 with part and labor.
@@tiino4690 This is not a permanent fix, and would need to be performed any time the key gets stuck. In the replies to my post others have mentioned a new shifter assembly would be the permanent fix.
@@toddschroeder9967 I am having this same issue, and have used your workaround, so I am at least able to get my key out now, thank you! I have an appointment with the dealer in August, you mention you had the Transmission Control Module replaced, is this related to the shifter assembly that others say is a permanent fix?
@@jocelynthomas6901 Hi Jocelyn, sorry for the late reply. The issues I had leading to the Transmission Control Module being replaced were nothing short of frightening. While driving the vehicle, at random times it suddenly felt as if it were losing engine power. It would lurch a bit and the doors would begin locking and unlocking. In the moments both wife and I experienced this, as we both drove this car, we found that pulling over, turning the vehicle off and back on, would at least give temp fix. Honestly, I wanted to get rid of the car at this point. I have young children, and it scared the shit out of me on more than one occasion. Again, sporadic, difficult for dealership to repeat. They gave it back to me once without an answer but I was back within a week. I told them to just keep test driving it, didn't care if they had it for a month or more. I couldn't even risk driving it at this point. Thankfully, their device picked up on the issue. It seems rare to take a vehicle in with a specific, hard to replicate problem and get a resolution. But I think they nailed it. Those issues stopped completely after the module replacement. Ironically, I also stopped having stuck key issues for about a year and a half. The stuck key issue has returned as of Nov. 2021. A bit rare but it does happens. We attempt to straighten the steering wheel and that works sometimes. I just keep a screw driver in the vehicle. You only need to unscrew the top screws shown in my video to pry the top off and get to the key release.
Did this to my nephews car. The solenoid wasn't pulling the lever in so I put a stiff wire on it to push in to get it to go into lock position. Wondering if I could just hook separate wires and a push button switch to the solenoid to activate it when turning the key to lock. Sounds a lot simpler ( and way cheaper ) than messing with shifter mechanism.
Thank you for this video. I’m having the same problem with my 2014 Captiva. The dealer told me I needed a whole new shifter. Just wondering if you took yours in and what they told you. TIA
Chandra, I'd say your dealer told you right. UPDATE: I initially took it in to the dealer and, of course, it didn't occur for them. They put some kind of lubricant on the key and placed it into the keyhole (so I was told), ended up not working, had issues with it later that day. They didn't charge me so I didn't really care. A few weeks later I happened to be passing by my local mechanic's shop and stopped in just to get his thoughts. Initially he did the same thing, sprayed lubricant, but he sprayed directly into the open ignition. That didn't work either. He got in my vehicle and started trying a few various things while I told him all the scenarios that I'd tried. He was able to get the key to release by wiggling around my shifter a bit (so he said). His educated guess at that point was that it was something with the shift interlock. He said low price would probably be at least $350. He actually recommended I go to the dealer or live with it since I already have a work-around. So, I'm living with it for now. It's about 50/50 on when the key comes out fine and when it sticks. If your below 60,000 miles this could be covered by powertrain warranty.
2015 Chevy Captiva. This happened to us yesterday but in addition there seem to be no power going to the car as well. So I disconnected/reconnected the positive end of the car battery and the key released and power came back to the car. My next step was to try this method. Just wanted to share in case it happened to anyone with the "no power" issue.
Anytime this happens to mine, the power completely locks up. No lights, won't start, can't take thr key out, nada. Usually resets itself after a while and no problem. Tonight however I went to turn the key just to check a light and the whole system locked up. Been that way about 3 hours now; longest it's ever been. Wondering if it's a bad ignition block 🤔🤷♀️
This is another defect that GM is aware of and will not do a recall. There is two parts to this system. One part is on the shift lever that detects the shift lever is in park and the other part is a selonoid on the ignition switch that allows the key to go into the lock position. Sometimes the sensor on the shift lever will get loose and just needs to be put back in place and that will fix the problem. I have heard of people going to the dealer and they will replace the whole shift unit at a cost of over $1000 or want to replace the whole ignition switch for $400. If either part is bad they are both $25 parts and you don't need to replace the whole unit.
In May 2018, my 2014 Captiva had same issue, keys stuck in ignition, only to find a dead battery after 8 hours. The dealer's garage found that when shifting the transmission controller into PARK, the shift lock solenoid was indicating that it is in the OFF mode. They found the transmission controller is not sending the signal to the shift-lock solenoid, thus the key cannot be removed. They replaced the transmission controller. However, the problem would occur randomly all summer. A combination of restarting, then putting transmission into PARK, a slight turn off the wheel, all the time with foot on the brake, then in one motion, turning ignition off and removing key. Sometimes, I would go through this motion many times before success. Finally, in October 2018, I returned to the garage. They replaced the ignition, solenoid, transmission controller, etc. No problems...for a week. Now the problem is back!
Seriously? Did they cover it? I think I am done with GM cars. Husband's Cruise has some major issues that should be warranty. It's just over 60,000 miles so they won't touch it. Now my captiva is stuck in the garage with the dang key in the ignition. Plus half the family just got laid off. So done with GM.
Cost me $517.00 to have the shifter unit replaced. The sending unit in the assembly that sends the signal for the ignition servo/solenoid to release the key in the ignition tumbler is integral. One can jury rig the servo/solenoid behind the ignition panel but it is not safe and not recommended. That means the key can be shut off and removed while the shifter is in any mode.
Everything you mentioned here was me for the first week or two. Then I made the video. Sorry to hear your story, but thanks for sharing. Due to the cost a year later I'm still using the workaround.
Probably a broken wire near the shift lock solenoid connector on the shifter. Pull on the wire and if it breaks, that is it. Repair the wire and good to go
5 million Chevys recalled for this reason. My Captiva wasn't one of them. I had this problem from the start but they "couldn't replicate the problem." They wanted to teach me how to take my key out or pay $800 for repair. I have fought this through 80,000 miles. I can push the lever without taking the top cover off, but my wife cannot seem to do so. She takes my 2019 Colorado, which was born with transmission problems, like many other Chevys with that particular transmission. Recall? Yeah, right. I hope it finally goes out before my warranty runs out.
Alvin Lenford. If you have not found a remedy, I have the quickest fix for you. Go to my video and I will show you how to push down on that cloth. Best stuck key fix 2014 Chevy Captiva. Fast!
Has anyone found a permanent solution to this issue? My 2014 has gradually been getting worse. My wife did something with the shifter recently that sorta helped for a while and indicated that it may be a connection issue.
Some show pushing it in, some show pulling it out. Which is it? At least you show where screws are which is one of the more important things before people break stuff.
I have a 2012 Chevrolet captiva and I just got it not too long ago and i mean not too long ago as less than two months and my car would shut off the radio when using blinkers or high beams, me and my wife called our dealership they took it and said it was the battery. When the whole time I believe it's the fuse box cause my car would shut off then lock keys in ignition and I would snack on the fuse box then it turns on and spits the key out. Very unsafe to drive. The dealership didn't fix the problem so I'm taking it into a mechanic that knows what they are doing. This has happened way too many times in the two months of having it. Dealership wouldn't take it back.
I had to get a jump the first time this occured. I had just pulled into work. Turned the vehicle off but couldn't pull out the key. Had a meeting so I just left it. Battery was dead by noon. At the time I worked in a gated lot for a large company and they offered free car jump service and shuttle if needed. Got lucky there. Fixed it in above video when I returned home. At the time it was hit or miss, I could sometimes reposition the wheel to extract the keys.
This was the workaround I needed. Worked on my Chevy Captiva 2014. Was very simple to do. Anyone else with this problem can easily do this to avoid leaving the key in/killing your battery.
This worked for our 2012 Captiva as well. Thanks for sharing!
Good luck on getting the dealer to fix it. Had mine in 3 times for this exact problem, and it was never fixed. Now it's out of warranty so I'm living with it. I find that pulling the gear lever back out of park, and then slamming it into park frees the key right up.
Thank you for sharing @Montman. This makes sense as I've noticed I'll hear the release trigger after putting it in park. If I don't hear it I know the key isn't coming out I'll give this a try as I hate having the casing unscrewed. It obstructs my mileage and speed indicators.
Dude, thank you sooo much, I went to a maintenance shop, I went to the dealership and no one had any idea. So again I'm so glad I found this video.
Thanks a bunch for sharing Todd, it worked on a Chevy Captiva 2012 as well.
Thanks for the video it was helpful. I found an easier way tilt the wheel all the way down put your forefinger in the right side near the leather flap push it back until you feel that plunger twist the key and it pops right out nice simple
This problem is usually caused by a defective shifter assembly on the console. The assembly you use to put car in gear. If you buy the assembly from the dealer or most shops plus labor can easily cost over $700. Buy the part on eBay for new or used for a fraction of the price and install yourself or pay a shop to install. Will save hundreds.
What’s the part called?
I appreciate all of the comments friends. As an update to this post, in mid-2020 I had the Transmission Control Module replaced at a Chevy dealership. This corrected my issue of the keys locking in the ignition. I had taken the vehicle in for diagnosis testing on what I considered to be a separate issue. Repair cost of this was over $1000 with part and labor.
Hey is this a permanent fix or a fix for every time the key gets stuck
@@tiino4690 This is not a permanent fix, and would need to be performed any time the key gets stuck. In the replies to my post others have mentioned a new shifter assembly would be the permanent fix.
@@toddschroeder9967 I am having this same issue, and have used your workaround, so I am at least able to get my key out now, thank you! I have an appointment with the dealer in August, you mention you had the Transmission Control Module replaced, is this related to the shifter assembly that others say is a permanent fix?
@@jocelynthomas6901 Hi Jocelyn, sorry for the late reply. The issues I had leading to the Transmission Control Module being replaced were nothing short of frightening. While driving the vehicle, at random times it suddenly felt as if it were losing engine power. It would lurch a bit and the doors would begin locking and unlocking. In the moments both wife and I experienced this, as we both drove this car, we found that pulling over, turning the vehicle off and back on, would at least give temp fix. Honestly, I wanted to get rid of the car at this point. I have young children, and it scared the shit out of me on more than one occasion. Again, sporadic, difficult for dealership to repeat. They gave it back to me once without an answer but I was back within a week. I told them to just keep test driving it, didn't care if they had it for a month or more. I couldn't even risk driving it at this point. Thankfully, their device picked up on the issue. It seems rare to take a vehicle in with a specific, hard to replicate problem and get a resolution. But I think they nailed it. Those issues stopped completely after the module replacement. Ironically, I also stopped having stuck key issues for about a year and a half. The stuck key issue has returned as of Nov. 2021. A bit rare but it does happens. We attempt to straighten the steering wheel and that works sometimes. I just keep a screw driver in the vehicle. You only need to unscrew the top screws shown in my video to pry the top off and get to the key release.
Did this to my nephews car. The solenoid wasn't pulling the lever in so I put a stiff wire on it to push in to get it to go into lock position.
Wondering if I could just hook separate wires and a push button switch to the solenoid to activate it when turning the key to lock.
Sounds a lot simpler ( and way cheaper ) than messing with shifter mechanism.
Thank you ever so much- got it. Your my hero. Appreciate you doing this
Thank you for this video. I’m having the same problem with my 2014 Captiva. The dealer told me I needed a whole new shifter. Just wondering if you took yours in and what they told you. TIA
Chandra, I'd say your dealer told you right.
UPDATE: I initially took it in to the dealer and, of course, it didn't occur for them. They put some kind of lubricant on the key and placed it into the keyhole (so I was told), ended up not working, had issues with it later that day. They didn't charge me so I didn't really care. A few weeks later I happened to be passing by my local mechanic's shop and stopped in just to get his thoughts. Initially he did the same thing, sprayed lubricant, but he sprayed directly into the open ignition. That didn't work either. He got in my vehicle and started trying a few various things while I told him all the scenarios that I'd tried. He was able to get the key to release by wiggling around my shifter a bit (so he said). His educated guess at that point was that it was something with the shift interlock. He said low price would probably be at least $350. He actually recommended I go to the dealer or live with it since I already have a work-around. So, I'm living with it for now. It's about 50/50 on when the key comes out fine and when it sticks. If your below 60,000 miles this could be covered by powertrain warranty.
And we are definently not alone. See this link: www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Captiva/2014/accessories-interior/key_stuck_in_ignition.shtml
I was wondering what this part was called? in case I could try to replace it and see if that works for a permanent fix
2015 Chevy Captiva. This happened to us yesterday but in addition there seem to be no power going to the car as well. So I disconnected/reconnected the positive end of the car battery and the key released and power came back to the car. My next step was to try this method. Just wanted to share in case it happened to anyone with the "no power" issue.
Save my life! Thanks
Mine has no power right now and mine is stuck too I’ll try this thank you!
Anytime this happens to mine, the power completely locks up. No lights, won't start, can't take thr key out, nada. Usually resets itself after a while and no problem. Tonight however I went to turn the key just to check a light and the whole system locked up. Been that way about 3 hours now; longest it's ever been. Wondering if it's a bad ignition block 🤔🤷♀️
This is another defect that GM is aware of and will not do a recall. There is two parts to this system. One part is on the shift lever that detects the shift lever is in park and the other part is a selonoid on the ignition switch that allows the key to go into the lock position. Sometimes the sensor on the shift lever will get loose and just needs to be put back in place and that will fix the problem. I have heard of people going to the dealer and they will replace the whole shift unit at a cost of over $1000 or want to replace the whole ignition switch for $400. If either part is bad they are both $25 parts and you don't need to replace the whole unit.
In May 2018, my 2014 Captiva had same issue, keys stuck in ignition, only to find a dead battery after 8 hours. The dealer's garage found that when shifting the transmission controller into PARK, the shift lock solenoid was indicating that it is in the OFF mode. They found the transmission controller is not sending the signal to the shift-lock solenoid, thus the key cannot be removed. They replaced the transmission controller. However, the problem would occur randomly all summer. A combination of restarting, then putting transmission into PARK, a slight turn off the wheel, all the time with foot on the brake, then in one motion, turning ignition off and removing key. Sometimes, I would go through this motion many times before success.
Finally, in October 2018, I returned to the garage. They replaced the ignition, solenoid, transmission controller, etc. No problems...for a week. Now the problem is back!
Seriously? Did they cover it? I think I am done with GM cars. Husband's Cruise has some major issues that should be warranty. It's just over 60,000 miles so they won't touch it. Now my captiva is stuck in the garage with the dang key in the ignition. Plus half the family just got laid off. So done with GM.
Cost me $517.00 to have the shifter unit replaced. The sending unit in the assembly that sends the signal for the ignition servo/solenoid to release the key in the ignition tumbler is integral. One can jury rig the servo/solenoid behind the ignition panel but it is not safe and not recommended. That means the key can be shut off and removed while the shifter is in any mode.
Everything you mentioned here was me for the first week or two. Then I made the video. Sorry to hear your story, but thanks for sharing. Due to the cost a year later I'm still using the workaround.
Probably a broken wire near the shift lock solenoid connector on the shifter. Pull on the wire and if it breaks, that is it. Repair the wire and good to go
Should be a ducking recall mine and seems like every other owner has this problem. Some people are getting raped by auto places to “try” repair it.
Yeah it makes me want to cry. Feeling so frustrated and just bought this 1 month ago.
5 million Chevys recalled for this reason. My Captiva wasn't one of them. I had this problem from the start but they "couldn't replicate the problem." They wanted to teach me how to take my key out or pay $800 for repair. I have fought this through 80,000 miles. I can push the lever without taking the top cover off, but my wife cannot seem to do so. She takes my 2019 Colorado, which was born with transmission problems, like many other Chevys with that particular transmission. Recall? Yeah, right. I hope it finally goes out before my warranty runs out.
Can also just press the button down thru the cloth. Saves a lot of trouble of unscrewing
How do you do that? I'm currently having this issue with my 2014 captiva.
Alvin Lenford. If you have not found a remedy, I have the quickest fix for you. Go to my video and I will show you how to push down on that cloth. Best stuck key fix 2014 Chevy Captiva. Fast!
Has anyone found a permanent solution to this issue? My 2014 has gradually been getting worse. My wife did something with the shifter recently that sorta helped for a while and indicated that it may be a connection issue.
jbrollintec1 my sister car does it every time, Anyone found the permanent solution?
Solution is to replace the shifter assembly
bless you for this!!!
Some show pushing it in, some show pulling it out. Which is it?
At least you show where screws are which is one of the more important things before people break stuff.
Thanks, had to do this to my '12 Captiva. Taking it to the dealer tomorrow, still under 50k miles. I'll let y'all know what they say
cheesemonkeyms Any update?
@@almazan312 @cheesemonkeyms yes, would like to hear a follow-up
This works, thanks :)
I have a 2012 Chevrolet captiva and I just got it not too long ago and i mean not too long ago as less than two months and my car would shut off the radio when using blinkers or high beams, me and my wife called our dealership they took it and said it was the battery. When the whole time I believe it's the fuse box cause my car would shut off then lock keys in ignition and I would snack on the fuse box then it turns on and spits the key out. Very unsafe to drive. The dealership didn't fix the problem so I'm taking it into a mechanic that knows what they are doing. This has happened way too many times in the two months of having it. Dealership wouldn't take it back.
It definitely should be a recall, I have to disconnect my battery from the post everytime I stop
It just happened to me,I just turned my steering wheel to the left then the key finally release and was able to start again
My battery was dead and I could not remove the key
Ramon Arvizu me too! I was panicking til I found this!!
And what if you cant start the car???
I had to get a jump the first time this occured. I had just pulled into work. Turned the vehicle off but couldn't pull out the key. Had a meeting so I just left it. Battery was dead by noon. At the time I worked in a gated lot for a large company and they offered free car jump service and shuttle if needed. Got lucky there. Fixed it in above video when I returned home. At the time it was hit or miss, I could sometimes reposition the wheel to extract the keys.
Look at my video. Best stuck key remedy 2014 Check Captiva also on youtube. Fastest remedy ever. Alvin Lenford