Key won't turn off and stuck in ignition 2004 Blazer
 

The key in my 2004 Blazer would not turn off and the key was stuck in the ignition. I found many posted reasons why this happened. From the tumblers needing to be reset to putting a tool in the hole on bottom of the steering column shroud to manually actuate some mystery switch to release the key. Here's the cause of my issue. There is small spring mounted at the base of the shift lever that provides tension to hold the shift lever in the proper position when in park. This allows the shift lever to actuate a small switch on the top of the column that will release the key. I found that if I pulled the shift lever to me when shifting into "Park" the key would not turn off all the way and it was stuck in the ignition. But if I pushed the shift lever toward the windshield while going into "park" the key worked correctly. I was able to fix the broken spring but that was just dumb luck. The problem is that while a new 25 cent spring would fix the problem, it's not available. You have to buy the whole shift mechanism for $395..hmmm, go figure! You can see the spring by removing the bottom column shroud. A real PITA...If you just push the shift lever forward toward the windshield when going into "Park" it'll work fine...and it's FREE! A close up picture and more details available. email me at MLF "at" Q.com

I actually wired in a momentary push button switch to release the key on my 2004 Extreme Blazer.

This is the second shift mechanism the first one I replaced lasted about 3 years then the problem occurred again.

Hit up a pull a part if you have one around. There are blazers and s10s at just about everyone in a 100 mile radius here.