I used to have a Honda a few years back that would have this problem only in the Winter. My wife has a Honda and it has the exact same problem. It’s starting up again now that it’s getting colder. It NEVER happens in warm weather.
Every winter, after driving the car and putting it in park, the red ‘P’ light does not turn red until several minutes have passed. If it’s in park and the ‘P’ is not red, the key won’t come out and you can not put the trans in any other gear. Sitting patiently is the only option.
Me: Honey, why are you still siitting in the car?
Wife: I’m waiting for my ‘P’ to turn red.
Is the key the original key you got with the car, or is it a replacement key?
I had a problem a little like this with my Pontiac Sunfire. Turns out, the problem was the replacement key I had gotten made at Home Depot- it wasn’t quite the right shape or size. When the weather was warm, it wasn’t a problem, but I had trouble starting the car when it was cold.
I don’t think it has anything to do with the key. It works fine as long as the ‘P’ is red. It’s probably more along the line of what bouv said, and is an electric or electronic issue.
Will the starter crank when this is acting up? If not, it’s a pretty good bet the the neutral safety switch is the culprit. It may be adjustable. If it isn’t, replacement is the cure.
If the starter does crank when this happens, there’s likely a different shift indicator switch that needs to be adjusted or replaced.
Yes. You can shut the engine off and turn it back on again.
QUOTE=Gary T]If the starter does crank when this happens, there’s likely a different shift indicator switch that needs to be adjusted or replaced.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I’ll look into that. Hopefully it’s a job I can handle.
Try jiggling the shifter. I had an automatic 92 accord that did this. It turned out that if you pushed the shifter fully forward it didn’t read as being in park. if you tapped the the shifter backward a tiny bit(without actually shifting to reverse) the “P” would come on and you would be able to remove the key. I never bothered to get mine replaced as it seems that it was simply just slightly out of alignment.
As gary said, it’s probably just a sensor that detects what gear you’re in.
Believe me, when this used to happen to my Honda, impatient me would do a lot more than jiggle it! It’s definitely not a loose connection or anything like that. It only happens when cold and the ‘P’ would turn red when it felt like it, jiggling or no jiggling.
I remember putting it in park while at a red light once. I got a lot off beeping when the light turned green. Nothing I could do but sit and wait for my ‘P’ to turn red.
I have no clue how Honda does their key lock system (What keeps you from pulling the key out until the car is in park) On all of the cars I have looked at the key lock is a cable that runs from the shifter to the ignition lock. The display on the dash showing which gear is from the gear position sensor.
I guess it is completly possible they could both be off an electrical sensor with no cable, but I have never seen that style. Gary T the OP didn’t list a year, but if it is a fairly current car I am guessing there is no N safety switch, just a gear position sensor that inputs to the TCM.
You might drop a dime on the Honda service department and see if they sould like they have heard it before.
My wife’s car is a '95 Honda Accord. I had a '90 Honda Civic that did the exact same thing.
I did a Google search and I found some posts in other forums also making the same complaint in Honda’s. Here is one guy with the same exact problem, but he doesn’t mention the year of his Accord.
There is a gear position switch at the left of the shift lever base. It seems to be the only component that could affect both the key interlock and the Park indicator lamp. It is adjustable.
I would mark the switch so it could be returned to its original position (you never know), then adjust it slightly so it signals “Park” a little sooner in its travel. With any luck, that will fix it. If it doesn’t, replacement is probably the only fix.
I sometimes have to jiggle the gear shift thingie in Park to be able to turn the key to off. The Park light comes on fine. Would that have anything to do with the shift position thingie?
