The ignition is stuck on my 1996 grand am !!!! please help !!!

[thejushinator]

Ok the iginiton is stuck on my grand am, it wont move at all. I have tried turning the steering wheel and pushing the car back and forth, to make sure it wasn't in some kind of crink. Well i have took the plastic of the steering colum and i have read other problems about this, but i dont know excactly what i am looking at or what i should do to fix this problem. Is there some kind of rod that needs to be broke to start the car or what ?? I am sorry if this is not very descriptive, as i am very pissed right now. If there is anything else you need to know i will try to answer it. But does anyone know what to do about this ????

[Chameleon-kat]

I had to think about this a bit to remember what happened to mine when it went. Mine is 4 cyl manual tranny and I had (actually the tow guy figured it out) to put in in neutral to get switch to move at all. I did get it started when I did that and got it to garage. Perhaps if you have an automatic it will work the same (Hhmm is there an override button somewhere that allows you to get it out of park?)

[thejushinator]

if there is one i dont know about it. But thanks for the reply. And yes it is an automatic

[Chameleon-kat]

If there is an override button, I think it might be behind a little door on shift console

[thejushinator]

alittle door ?? are you trying to hint me somewhere.... if so, where ?

[1ForTheMoney]

There is a recall on the ignition on my 96 grand am. I will be getting mine fixed soon. Check with your local dealership to see if your VIN# comes up as it needing to be replaced and if it does, it's free. Otherwise, I have the same problem with mine. I have to step on the brake, turn it to the ON position, and push the button on the gear shifter slowly until you hear a click and then it will release your keys. I hope this helps you.

[thejushinator]

The Gm dealer said that ii is a locked cylinder. In the 96 grand am's they have a passlock I. And the dealer said that is the only year they made that certain passlock. I was wondering if a bought the steering column of a 96 grand am (guaranteed), would it still be compatable with the computer and the other electronics... Because the dealership they did not know if that would work.

[meg_ga99]

the same thing just happened to my 99 grand am, was the recall just for the 96, or do you not know.

[thejushinator]

i think it was 1996 model only.