Key will not turn and car locked in Park

[norripe]

My wife's 2001 Escape is having a problem. The key will not turn in the key cylinder. I have tried moving the wheel back and forth but the key won't turn. The wheel is locked and the shifter is stuck in park. I need to get the car towed to have this fixed, but I can't do anything when the car is stuck in park. Any ideas how to fix this?

[phantom_smack]

Have you tried getting the weight off the front tires sometimes with the wheels in a bind it very hard to turn the ignition.You could disconnect the shift cable and push the vehicle back so a tow truck could pick up the front wheels.

[Pops]

This might sound kind of brutal, but might be worth a try. First disconnect the negative battery cable. With a spare key (one you can throw out when done), with only the key in the ignition and all other keys and ring off the ignition key. Try tapping moderately at the key ring end of the key (towards ignition lock) with a small hammer. At the same time, try turning the key. Keep trying for about 5 minutes. Chances are if you tow it to a dealer or shop, they will try the same procedure before hammering or drilling out your ignition lock cylinder. Also make sure you have an extra key, or even have one made for this task, as you might damage the transmitter part of the key you’re hitting on. I’ve seen this problem I don’t know how many times, and next to making sure the key is good and not worn out, it’s the first step I will try. If your think you’re mechanically inclined enough to replace the lock cylinder after you free it up, you will need to have the ignition in the run position to remove the cylinder (so will the dealer or repair shop). Some or most of the times I’ve had to do this, the key would turn without further concerns.

[phantom_smack]

Wow we havnt had that problem yet with an Escape just the Focus.It is worth a try .Get your registration take it to the Dealership and have them cut you a key from the vin number.(not worth tracing a worn out key)Ask the parts guy to give you the tumbler numbers in case you cant read them when rebuiding the cylinder and its easier than measuring the key.

[Pops]

First time this happened to me was on a 98 ranger when it was about 1 month old. I also haven’t seen this kind of problem on Fords... lately, although it does happen. Last year alone I probably had to do this to more than dozen GMs my self. This kind problem can also happen for other reasons, like the steering wheel lock mechanism paw binding internally or the lock cylinder binding in the bore of the lock housing. I should have suggested first checking for TSBs, but like you, I don’t think this is common enough on the Blue ovals.

[OBIWAN]

If none of your brake light will come on then the car does not think you have your foot on the brake which means you cannot get it out of park. I had a 1997 Cougar that had that problem because the turn signal switch was bad and all the brake lights and emergency flasher go through that switch.