Key Ignition Fault

[Denny]

Hi I have a strange one here, sometime I cant remove the key after switching off.
I have to keep switching the engine on & off quite a few times to remove it?
Have tried turning the wheel while trying with no joy. Also now & again the car wont lock
by using key fob, just flickers red, end up having to lock it with key? Any clues out there please.

2005 2.4 V6

 

[marsmail]

The flickering red suggests that the key is "out of range" or more probably, the battery needs replacing (I don't know if you have done it before, but if not - that will be the most likely cause of that problem) without teaching to suck eggs - time is of the essence once the battery is out of the key to get the new on in (or risk the key being unrecognised by the car)
As to being unable to remove the key - is yours an auto box? If so, you can only get the key out in park or neutral positions - I don't know about manual box versions.
It could be that the selector is not "registering" where it is correctly, so the lock refuses to give up the key (I always assumed that this was a device to prevent the steering lock being activated if the car was in motion - I could be wrong!)