key stuck and won't shift!!!!!

I have a 2.4L 97 Grand Am. Today....my key got stuck and won't go back to the off position. Likewise, my shifter went on a dead lock. The only way around it was to manually release both ( a button on the right side of the shifter and a button under ther steering wheel) It still drives and transmission is good (i think). Is this a really bad thing....aside from the obvious safety issues. Any ideas on how to fix this or the cause of the problem? Can I just fix it myself? Also, if I take it to a mech....how much would it cost??? Please help....it's the only car I have!!!:crying: :eek7: :crying:

Hey there! Had the same thing happen with my 00 GA GT! Had to have it towed because I did not know what it was either! Turned out the tumblers had fallen out of alignment in the ignition cylinder. Popped in a new ignition cylinder and everything was fine for a while! I ended up going through three of them in four months. Turned out I had too much weight on my key ring and it was constantly tugging down on the cylinder too hard. That was a while ago and I am not sure what the cost was! I am sure you can just get onto a auto parts web site and find the price of a new part. I would imagine you could do it yourself. Never done one myself (Car was still under warranty when it happened to me) but I don't see why it would be all that difficult! Hope this helps

yes I had same problem hungrycat7 is rigth it was the lock cilynder
I did took it off and take it to a locksmith it cost me $15 dollars to fix it