Hi, I wonder if anyone can shed any light on why the following is happening
and possible cause / remedy.

My car is a: Ford Focus, 1.6 Zetec 5dr Auto 2008

Last night I got home from work parked up on my drive, put the gear
shift into 'P' but when I tried to take my keys out of the ignition they
would not come out and were stuck. The 'P' was flashing on the dashboard
display, along with bursts of beeping.

I tried shifting into 'N' and then 'D' then back into 'P' but this did not
help. I also started the car again and  drove off the drive and then
back onto the drive, stuck it back into 'P' and tried again, but they
keys were still stuck. Eventually my other half managed to get them out
after doing similar to what I had already tried (must have been her magical touch!).

I then went out later and the same thing happened again.

Does anyone know why this is happening and what could be the possible cause?
Along with what I would need to do to get it fixed.

Thanks in advance
Mark

The switch/sensor that detects that the gear selector has been moved to the Park position is not functioning.

The keys are meant to be held in the ignition and under no circumstances should any attempt be made to force them out. It is a safety lock system to prevent the keys being removed when the vehicle is not in Park.

The chances are it is just a faulty switch on the gear selector, but there are other safety interlocks involved so the quickest and easiest way to identify the problem is to use FORScan.

 

Hi Unofix,

Thanks for you prompt and informative response.

If it is the gear selector switch /sensor, do you know roughly how much
this would likely cost to repair? Just so I have a rough idea.

FYI. It happened again this evening when I got home from work.
But after wiggling the gear selector about a bit while it was in 'P'
it then released the key. Obviously I don't want to have to keep
doing that each time and will get it repaired.

Regards
Mark

Assuming it is only the Park switch at fault, then cost of part is about £50 and it will take about one hours labor so possibly £90 at an independent garage.