Greetings.

I have a 2006 Saturn Ion coupe, which is showing a problem
with the ignition key switch lock. (I also have a 2003
VUE, but that's not strictly relevant right now ;-) It has
the automatic transmission, which is probably relevant.

Sometimes when I shut the car off the key doesn't release.
This happened a couple of times when the car was new, but
the dealer couldn't find anything. For years it has only
happened rarely. Now it's happening frequently, and a
couple of times I've had to turn the engine back on and
even put the car in gear and move it, and then shut everything
down again to get the key out. Sometimes I just have to
put it in the 'run' position and move the shift lever in
gear and back into park, but it's getting very annoying.

I have the Haynes manual, but the key circuit is not included
in any of the wiring diagrams. The section in the manual that
covers the steering column is a bit sparse on details. It
does show how to replace an ignition switch, but says nothing
about the interlock. (It also doesn't say anything about
replacing the cruise control +/- switch assembly, but that's
another topic.)

I haven't been able to come up with the correct search engine
terms to point me to more information on this circuit, or
even a circuit diagram. I would like to fix this, even if
it means adding a new push switch to manually trigger the
release mechanism. I'm even willing to modify the switch
if I have to to eliminate the key retention feature, but that
would be a last resort.

Do any of you know how to fix this, or can you point me to
a web page or other resource on the subject, or give me
some web search engine phrases that will find web pages
that cover this topic? Or is there some sort of work-around
that will easily convince the car to release the key?

Thanks very much.

Bart.